Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Bottle provide in two trades and served in pint glass: Initial pour shows a slightly hazed golden hue with a mostly lasting frothy head and left very good lace upon on the glassware. The aroma has notes of honey and butternut, hop and yeast driven spice (think cardamom and spearmint), apricot, grassy, and some bready malts. The taste is rather sweet and spicy but there is a level of twangy in the middle that kept this from becoming cloy. The best part of the taste is the dryer and earthy finish along with just a pinch of bitterness. The mouth feel is a tad sticky and soft and slightly warming. Okay but suffers from slight under attenuation. A worthy effort never the less.

Date: 08/09/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

hazy amber, whispy frothy white head that’s eaisly roused into a creamy head leaving drippy lace, sightly tart big funky aroma, creamy body, big complex flavor, slight tartness, touch of yeasty spicyness, good earthy backbone
-------- /> Date: 03/10/2007
Mode: bottle

big musty aroma of dust and cobwebs with a slight tart edge, lots of yeasty fresh bread coming though, flavor turns sweet and spicy with lots of complexity like a sweet spiced Christmas cake,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **4

draft. deep cloudy orange, thin white head. sweet aroma, some spice, light yeast. the classic musty yeast siason flavor is there, but it is drown out by pine hops, spice, heavy sugars and a sizable bitter. in my mind, siasons are supposed to be crisp and light so that you can savor the subtleties. they’ve gone the complete other direction with this and in the process destroyed some of the better qualities of the style. there is little tart, funk, or citrusy yeast to be found in this so-called farmhouse. i admit it is an interesting tasting beer, and if they had given it some other name i’d consider it in a different light, but i’m knocking this one down for missing the mark completely.

Yellow Amber pour with a decent white head. Light fruity, estery aroma, a bit floral, and of yeasty basement funk. Fruity overtones throughout the flavor, with that yeasty funk showing through a bit. Fairly straightforward in all aspects.

Tap at Blind Tiger. Deep orange amber beer with loads of yeast throughout. Quite spicy and fruity on the nose. Apricot, clove, and apple with some lighter citrusy aromas as well. Decent complexity with a touch of dank earthiness as the beer starts to warm up. Cherry and overripe stone fruits. Lightly sour/leathery wildness on the back with a lingering sweet/spicy quality. A pretty decent saison.

22 oz bottle from trade with bmartin08. Thanks Brian. Pours a golden color with a medium off white head. Aroma of bananas, corriander and yeast. Flavor of wheat, bananas, corriander and earthy. Has a bit of musty orange and yeasty taste. Nice finish with a hint of malt and citrus.

22 oz bottle. Very spicy aroma (in terms of spice, not "heat"). Saisons have always been a little iffy for me when drinking them, so they’re either extraordinary good or they’re just "meh." This was just "meh." Strong fruit tones finish this beer with a slightly dry scratchy finish.

Rich golden color with a lasting cream crown. Crazy nose of sun-dried tomatoes, sesame seeds, pimento olives and grilled asparagus. Hints of basil, intensely juicy oranges and sardines after a while. Complex and concentrated, but not necessarily pleasing. Tastes of chlorine, mint fluoride and sea salt amidst a confusingly loud presence of apricot and lemon hops. Some soapy character – clean and mild. A little off the map. A dusty haze of yeast at the finish lends an ample dryness to bring it back a bit. Palate reflects a bright fruity sweetness to a near blinding degree. Smacks of green apples after swallowing. Lacks traditional nuances, and there’s a definite fault in the craft. Could have been much better. Thanks Brian!