McKenzie Farmhouse Saison

Formerly brewed at McKenzie Brew House
Style: Saison
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania USA

Had on tap originally a few weeks ago at Glen Mills location, but served in a cold pint glass so I didnt rate. Bought 3 growlers cuz I saw potential in a room temp tulip glass. Brought to the HWOH to share the growler, then again to BCTC. No one rated it I guess. Oh well. This is a phenomenal Saison as long as it isnt sampled at the pub (otherwise it is just "good"). Anyway- pour is a nice hazy deep gold with lively carbonation and nice fluffy white head which lasts a while. Not quite as immense as fantome or southampton etc, but maybe would be huge if bottle conditioned. Aroma is nice light fruity esters spicy clove and light pepper and a lot of sweet malt and wheat in there with just a bit of farmhouse aromas as well. Light fruity flavor, sweet malts, herbal hops, some apple-like fruity ester profile, and a traditional saison yeast character. Body and mouthfeel were both very full and big for a saison (especially for the gravity) but still finishes pretty dry. I love this stuff.

750 ml bottle. Light gold with an awesome looking thick, white head. You can tell right off, it’s going to be an awesome beer. Sweet peppery aroma to go along with farmhouse funks and yeasty breadiness. Taste is exactly what Im looking for on a 90+ degree day.Not overly sweet and just enough hop twang to make it all worthwhile. I get some cinnamon in this also that adds a real nice touch. A phenominal brew.

Pours a golden color with a fluffy white head and some lacing. Yeast and citrus fruit aroma. Malty, spritzy taste. Lots of yeast, some pepper, and more citrus, full mouthfeel.

Clear, golden body with a hugem rocky, fluffy white head. Fruity, hoppy, slightly funky aroma. Sweet oranges, lemon grass, fresh hops, rising dough, green banana and a little coriander. Light, effervescent and sharp in the mouth. The flavors are really quite nice. Starts with sweet, fruity malts, showing the citrus fruit, banana and grains. The yeast is fresh and funky. Sourdough bread and fruity esters before fresh, whole, dank hops unleash a thirst-quenching bitterness. Maybe a touch too sweet and hopefully a little time will help dry this out and make it even better.

750 mL capped bottle [bottled early 2004 (I believe), sampled April 2005]: massive bleached white, small bubbled & rocky foam, leaving behind thick cotton candy-esk lace. Clear gold with lemon highlights and a steady stream of bubbles rising throughout the body. Airy, spicy aromatics with strong lemon grass, bitter hop cones, orange zest, freshly kneaded dough, coriander, cracked black pepper, and sour melon balls. Intense, tingly carbonation deliver bitter melon rinds, perfume and sweet grass across the tongue. Finish is dry and bitter with a strong peppery flavour. Phenols and brett offer a depth of character and help distinguish the pale malts and soft yeast. Last third of the bottle turns the body hazy and the addition of some of the yeast dulls the palate, and morphs the flavour to include some iron, herbal notes and dusty chalk. Overall I would have like a bit more fruitiness, but the complexity and spice were more than enough for me to enjoy a second great Saison in as many days as Spring starts in Chicago…

Dense marshmallow head. Yeasty, clove/coriander aroma--wonderful; the best part of the beer. A more subtle version of the style. Lighter on the spices and yeast than others I’ve tried. Soft, lemony finish with a hint of sage.

The “Saison” style which was overlooked by this “Beer Lover”, certainly has risen in my book after sampling some Fantome and a few other beers from this style, and one if you have not tried, should certainly be put on your “Must Try List”, well in my “humble Opinion”

! The beer as it disembogues from the 750ml bottle displays a beclouded lemon yellow color with a dinosauric in size head that is spumescent in texture, and the color a bright white with the lace a silky sheet to drape the glass, also noticed some dross both suspended and coating the bottom of the bottle, and I will make sure to disengage it all, as I think it adds much to the taste and something to the appearance. One other thing I noticed it gained much in bouquet and flavors as it warmed to the room and the glass, something this style requires in my opinion, so on with the review. Sweet malt with a lime like crispness, hints of ripe pear, coriander and quite a treat for the olfactory and ocular senses. Front is sweet and tart, nice malt presence with the top light to middling in feel, acidity strict in its feel to the palate, hops are delectable in their spicy presence, aftertaste desert dry. Quite a good American representative to the style, certainly not a “Saison” clone and one that has many fine characteristics.

Faded hazy golden. Sticky, pillowy, rocky, stark white head. Elegantly airy aroma loaded with perfume, spicy/leafy hops and peppery yeast. Restrained salty phenols adorn the soft pale malts, apple, lemon, and honeydew notes. Expansive, quite brisk carbonation. Notably clean up front with a zesty, leafy hop edge, juicy melon notes, and chalky/leathery yeast mix. Underlying phenols and persistent, juicy melon notes. The airiness fluffs up the pale malts and gives life to the herbal/floral hop anchor. Abrupt, bone-dry finish with a pale malt tease alongside medicine, brett, and muted white grapes. Slightly earthy yeast backbone with a heavy dose of herabl hops lingering amid a trail of airy belches and zippy esters. Great display of elegant subtleties, but it lacks the boisterous hop/malt punch to rival the airy mouthfeel, spicy yeast, and understated phenols. Still, very good.