Bison Organic Honey Basil

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

(22oz bottle) Crystal clear apple juice body with small off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, honey, orange blossom, light basil. Taste is mild sweet, basil, light grassy. Light-medium body with a very dry finish.

Bottle... Hazy, golden ale with a mid-sized, frothy, off-white head. Spicy, perfumey nose with notes of basil and dishwashing liquid. The flavor leans just slightly on the sweet side of balance, but lends plenty of spicy hops, basil, ginger and nutmeg. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation. Finishes spicy, bitter and dry. Pretty good, but bizarre.

Pours copper with a thin white head. Smells of ginger, honey, caramel, earthy. Tastes of licorice, caramel, tarte, honey, earthy, some citrus. Refreshing.

Bottle from Pat’s Liquors in Porter, Indiana: This poured a clear copper/amber body with a smallish off-white head. The aroma was honey sweet, cut by a spiciness that I couldn’t honestly peg as basil. Same with the flavor, although it was more complex with its spiciness and had a stronger, sweet malt presencce. I finally picked up on the basil in the dry finish. Okay.

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.

Bottle. Slightly hazed amber. No head at all. Nose is mostly fresh cut basil. Soft honey notes and light candied orange. Very pleasant aroma. Taste is basil, soft honey notes, sweet malts, and a bit of herbal/medicinal flavor. Body is generally light-medium with almost faint carbonation. Finishes with big basil flavors, honey, sweet malts, and light herbal flavors. Definitely a unique beer. I could see this pairing well with a basil heaavy pasta, salad, or sandwich.

Tallahassee, Fl. - New Leaf Market - 12 oz bottle. Aroma has a pleasant spicy-sweetness to it that does remind me of basil. Dark orange pour with a light orange pour. Flavor alternates between sweet and spicy with the honey being quite prominent. Hints of olives, basil, of course and a bit of sweet gumballs. Mouthfeel turns a tad metallic near the end. but still a decent novelty. Would be good with an Italian meal.

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.