Hill Farmstead Foster

Brewed by Hill Farmstead Brewery
Style: Black IPA
Greensboro, Vermont USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Dead black pour with a cappuccino like tan froth. The nose holds an extreme pine/ evergreen character with spurce like herbals and only the slightest hints of sappy resin. A touch of citrus compliments it all. The flavor holds sweet caramel and roasty malts with excellent proliferation of evergreen. Balsam fur, wheat grain, and dry roast. Really interesting and unique. The palate is medium to full with low, but perfectly caressing carbonation. Evergreen and roasty dryness in the finish. An amazing example of the style, and a small notch above James.

**Note: This is a different recipe in 2012- no rye, straight wheat black IPA** Draught at the Farmhouse in Burlington; big thanks to my main man sflpunk for putting this on tap! Nearly black pour, smallish creamy but bubbly head. Nose holds a beautiful combination of dark evergreen notes (spruce and hemlock tips), orange rind, and good toasty malt and wheaty bread presence. Flavor brings more great west coast pine sap, excellent grassy bitterness, roasted malt, and beautiful smoothness on the palate, though also very very effervescent. Not the most complex of their beers, but the simplicity and forward flavors fit so wondrously with this brew. Excellent.

On tap at brewery.
Appearance : Pitch black with a small creamy brown head. Nice head retention.
Aroma : Nice citrusy and resinous hops with nice spicy rye. Really nice fruity hops.
Taste : Spicy rye with roasted malt. Crisp finish with spices. Sharp bitterness on the finishé
Overall : Really nice one. Great balance between rye and hops. Nice mix of rye spices with roasted malt. Nice dry and sharp finish. Great hop profile.

UPDATED: JAN 23, 2013 750 mL growler paired with original Nintendo and a wife. The beer is a deep, dark shade of brown nearing black. The head is wet sand hued, standing in at nearly two inches tall and plastering the tulip glass with sticky lacing.The aroma offers pine, hops, roast, chocolate. So fresh and flavorful. While I’m not normally a huge fan of black IPAs, this one is delicious. Hop forward, yet well balanced, offering chocolate, bready malts and lingering resinous pine. Medium bodied and smooth on the palate. Lightly bitter for the style with an elegant roast character.While Hill Farmstead Jimmy is undoubtedly my favorite black IPA (though barrel aging certainly plays a role in this instance), Foster stands in second. A great example of the style.

On tap at Capones. Pours a black color with beige head. Medium bodied. Aromas of citrus, wheat, cherry/lemon, kind of reminded me of motueka. Taste is roasted malts, fruits, some chocolate, and other spicy tones. Very good,

Draft @ Blind Tiger. Black pour with some tan head. Some pine, citrus, roasted aroma tones. Flavor is herbal, chocolate, coffee, some pine and grassy tones.

On tap at Capone’s. Black pour with a persistent little head. Aroma of roast malt and hops. Unlike other Fosters I have come across, this one is full flavored, with lots of hops and toasted grains. It is hard to believe this is a wheat ale. It is spicy, citrusy, with perfume-like aromas that come thru as it warms. Really good.

On tap at the source. Pours a solid dark brown, black color with a decent sized off white head that persists forever. Smells of garlic and green onion with a nice hit of caramel and light chocolate along with a nice earthy spicy wheat aroma. The flavor follows the aroma quite well. sweet caramel and bready spicy malt accentuated by hints of chocolate and countered by onion and garlic hops. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a creamy grainy mouthfeel. I normally don’t go for a wheat beer, but I enjoyed the hell out of this one.

This one is better then James. A total hop bomb with a background of rye and chocolate. FInish is very bitter but still quite tasty.

On tap at the Blackback Pub & Fly Shop - Pours a quite dark brown/black in color with a hefty tan head. Aroma is quite hoppy... both pine and some citrus. Flavor was medium bitter and hoppy with a hefty dose of the rye’s spiciness filling in the middle. Finish is lingering and quite bitter.