Saison-Brett 2014 is one of the most interesting and unique efforts that we have had the chance to review at NeuFutur. While it seems like a large subset of breweries are coming out with a saison or a farmhouse ale style for spring, Boulevard’s Saison-Brett is miles more complex and intricate of an experience. 2014’s Saison-Brett pours with a long-lasting white head and a hazy yellow-bronze color, yielding grassy, floral,…
Sweet and without much a tart bite, The Bruery’s Sour in the Rye pours with a dark and dirty coloration. The effort’s head is substantial and slowly retreats. Sour in the Rye possesses a nose that focuses on citrus and bread / yeast, while the initial sip provides imbibers with funky, fruity, and barnyard notes.
Plum Island is a tremendous beer for warm days, possessing a considerable lightness that makes it tremendously to pick up and quaff. The beer pours with a rapidly-dissipating white head, and a considerable effervescence. Grainy elements are present, representing the perfect palette for floral, coriander, and spicy elements to be shown.
Live is a bottle conditioned pale ale, which utilizes 4 varieties of hops and 4 types of malts. There are substantial sweet and malty elements, while the hop notes become more prevalent as one continues to drink Live. The beer pours with no head and a very pale yellow to light copper color.
Glimmerglass is the latest seasonal release by Ommegang Brewery. It pours with a very pale yellow color, possesses a substantive white head, and has a sweet, fruity nose. The beer opens up to provide imbibers with a more peppery and citrus fruit flavor, while inserting a small amount of bitterness at the end of each taste.
Jolly Pumpkin’s Bam Noire is a beer that looks to expand imbibers’ minds regarding the farmhouse ale style. The effort pours with a reddish-brown color, yielding a decently robust off-white / tannish head.
Abbey’s Single pours with a hazy yellow coloration and a considerable amount of carbonation. The whitish foam on the top stays throughout the beer. The light amount of bitterness that the beer presents is quickly moderated by sweeter fruit and malt elements. The fruit elements link together peaches and cherries along with a buttery and peppery end.
The beer pours with a very dark coloration, and a solid tannish head. This beer has a considerable amount of sweetness, which is moderated by the inclusion of malt elements. The sugar and toasty elements provide additional variation, as does coffee and smoke notes. This considerable array of flavors ensures that an individual will have a considerably different constellation of elements each time that they open up a bottle of…
Trailhead Brewery has four taps available and ample sitting and standing space. The beers available during our visit include a Hoppy Pale Ale, Coffee Stout, 15 Feet Wheat, and a Belgian Strong.
The latest Abita seasonal is a Spring IPA, a very approachable india pale ale that pours with a hazy, yellowish-amber coloration. The lacing in this beer is very thick and persistent; subsequent sips will yield great lacing down the glass. The hop bite provided by the Spring IPA is due to the inclusion of Centennial and Amarillo hops, while there is a decent amount of sweetness that concludes each quaff…
Summit’s latest effort in the Unchained Series is a German-influenced offering from brewer Nate Siats. The beer pours with an amber coloration and a small amount of slightly off-white head. This effort has a malty, slightly biting initial mouthfeel. This set of flavors opens up to a sweeter overall flavoring. Rather than beat imbibers with the sweet side, a significant grain and hop side freshens up palettes.
Golden Brett pours with a very titular coloration, while a small white head that creates some long-lasting lacing. The beer is a perfect introduction into the wild ale style. The golden beer (Belgian-styled) base is the perfect breeding ground for the brettanomyces yeast. With the initial sip, one will be able to taste white wine and citrus (particularly lime) elements, which rapidly shift to notes of pear, grape skins, and…
Full Sail’s ESB pours with a dark-brown / reddish hue and a small amount of persistent off-white head. The beer’s initial flavors link together sweet with a slight amount of hops. Full Sail has pegged their ESB at a level that will keep individuals warm through the spring months while still having enough outward sweetness to include the widest possible swath of imbibers.
Monk’s Blood has a wonderful reddish-brown color and a small tannish head that sticks around for a decent time. The beer has a decent amount of hop flavor that is moderated by a bit of sweetness. These two elements combine to make for a beer that is eminently drinkable despite having a considerable (8.3%) alcohol percent.
Three Philosophers pours with a small off-white head and a vibrant brown / orange coloration. The beer nearly approaches the 10% ABV mark but hides this considerable alcohol percentage with a nice amount of sweetness and a deceptively cloying overall mouthfeel.
Ophelia is a beer that looks to provide some much-needed teeth to the wheat style. The beer is able to have a fairly substantive hop bite while still being approachable to a wide segment of beer drinkers. There are fruit elements brought by the wheat style that are spun in a completely new direction with the inclusion of Mosaic and Palisade hops. The beer pours a hazy gold with a…
Strike Brewing Company is behind the aptly-named Strike IPA. The beer pours with a hazy reddish-brown color and a considerable amount of head. There is a considerable hop presence that pervades all aspects of this IPA, ensuring that those that seek out the most assertive and in-your-face releases will be appeased. Hints of pine, flowers, and other astringent notes can all be discerned, while the beer gradually opens up to…
Harlot is a beer that looks to expand upon what one will desire from the blonde ale / lager style. This Carson’s Brewery effort pours with a very dark, amber / copper coloration. The head that issues forth dissipates quickly and is fairly off-white. An initial sip provides imbibers with a number of twists and turns. The beer has a good amount of sweetness that is moderated with the slightest…
Rolle Bolle is New Belgium’s spring seasonal, and it pours with a very pale yellow. The beer does possess a very small amount of a white head that sticks around a considerable amount of time. We’ve been bottle-aging this release since its release last year, and are pleased to report that the beer has settled I nicely. The beer has a considerable sweet portion on the initial sip, but it…
Allagash has created a Saison that expands the contours of the farmhouse style while imbuing it with just enough alcohol presence to make this into an endearing effort. The beer pours with considerable haze and virtually no head. The head that does collect is off-white and dissipates quickly, owing to the effervescence of the Saison style. The beer blends equal parts malt, hop, and links these sides together with…