Bison Organic Honey Basil

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Berkeley, California USA

22oz bottle. Poured a clear light orange color. Head was one finger high and settled to a thin lasting film after a minute or so. A bit of lace was left behind. The aroma reminded me of a cinnamon muffin/coffee cake. I didn’t smell any basil. Delicately sweet on the tongue with a relatively light body. The flavor was reminiscent of subdued honey, nutmeg and cinnamon. There was an occasional hint of leafy greens, which I suppose came from the basil, but I would never have picked it out prospectively. Interesting beer.

Aroma of lemon, honey and herb. Slightly hazy gold color with a very large white head. Thin to medium body with fizzy carbonation. The flavor is spicey, with basil (but not like fresh basil) and there is an underlying honey note. Rather dry, slightly bitter. Decent drink, though rather unusual.

orange brown and thick white head lemon hay and basil on aroma med light carbonation. tastes of honeyed lemon grain slight carmel and malt. spiced basil is pronounced and unbelievable, unique and refreshing well balanced and a definite try atleast once, for 3.50 for 22 oz makes it a great buy for such a original beer

I had heard Bison Brewing developed major breakthroughs in beer-basil technology to create this exotic brew, let’s see how well they did! Appearance: Pours a deep golden body with a tall, foamy head fed by a continuous stream of bubbles. Smell: A sweetish, honey-drizzled aroma that’s fairly herbaceous. Its like something you’d expect from the Yankee Candle Company - "Honey Basil Blossoms". Taste: The gentle sweet maltiness goes well with the soft, smooth honey flavor. Basil pops up midway, presenting itself along with hints of green peppercorns and ginger root. After swallowing, my mouth is left with a minty taste in it. Not bad. But, for me, the basil taste is cumulative in nature, and continues to build as you drink, almost becoming unpleasant near the very end. So, be sure to share this one! I think that pretty much sums it up, don’t you? Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: With its oddball flavor profile, this sure is one droll beer to taste.

From the 220z bottle, in what might be one of the strangest adjunct beers i’ve heard of. This thing was quite a trip, although, since I love pesto I actually really enjoyed this beer. Nice basil nose, sweet and herbal. Taste was a caramel and honey melody with a basil finish. Very crisp brew that would pair well with some pesto pasta.

I agree... too much basil and too little malts and honey. I felt like the basil used was the dry kind, the one they sell you in spice bottles, i didnt get that fresh italian kinda basil. And all this made the beer to acidic and tart. Although it pours handsomely with a hazy honey colour and a massive white head that lasts forever and klings to the glass. I could see some peppery stuff on the foam, maybe the basil spice used. Intresting and difrent, but not worth having again.

(22 oz bottle: $2.99 at Farr Better Spirits in Encinitas, CA) The first basil beer I’ve ever heard of, let alone actually tasted, and it’s a pretty interesting experiment. It’s a clean, crisp and light-bodied beer with very little else except the oddly sweet yet fairly bitter spicy flavor that seems to combine elements of basil, mint and ginger. In fact, if I were to compare this to another beer style, it would be to ginger beers, but with more bitterness and less sweetness, like eating leaves right off the plant. The bitterness isn’t obvious at the beginning of each sip, but it builds quickly, forming a sharper, somewhat astringently bitter finish that never really eases up its stranglehold on the palate. The malt base seems entirely lost until it warms to room temperature, and even then, maltiness is only "noticeable". Supposed addition of honey doesn’t add flavor, but probably just that general sweetness I’m attributing to sweet basil and ginger. In the nose, it’s definitely coming across as a less-sweet version of a ginger beer. Golden amber in color but fairly hazy. Hardly any noise when I opened the bottle, and hardly any head during the pour either, and just a small ring remains around the outside. But thanks to the etchings on my stemmed goblet, plentiful carbonation rising toward the surface creates a small island in the center of the ring. Billed as their "classic summer ale", it’s a very interesting beer, definitely a different take on the summer beer, but in the end, perhaps a bit too heavy-handed with the basil.

Thanks(?) to gputty, I think. Clear gold with a huge white head. Basil and a bit of malt in the nose. They REALLY overdid the basil in the flavor, the mild honey and malt barely discernable.