Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale

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

Big ol’ 22 oz bomber: Poured a true amber/copper color with a sticky head. Bread/yeasty aroma. Sweet and yeasty for sure, almost an apple jelly character, too. Think I could make bread out of this stuff.

The Farmhouse Ale pours a dark yellow to medium amber color, topped off with a small, off-white fizzy head. No lacing behind a fully diminishing head. Body is hazy with a significant amount of sediment suspended almost like jelly. Nose is complex. Notes of perfume and flowery hops, specifically roses, fruity hops in the form of Washington apples, and a sweet, doughy yeast aroma. Initial taste is a medium sweet which carries right through the finish. Long duration on the mouth. Soft carbonation, medium body, and a creamy texture left at the finish. Reviewer’s notes: "Holy chunkiness, sweet on your lips, good - really good, spicy - very spicy, it’s good, lots of particles"

Candylike sweetness and doughy, fruity yeasty esters along with herbal hop character in the fairly straightforward and simple aroma. Clear, orange-tan coloured body is topped by a low white head that recedes rapidly to partial cover. Candylike sweet fruitiness is apparent in the flavour also but malt character is rounder and more expressive than the aroma suggests. Moderate bitterness mitigates the fruity esters along with grassy, citrus hop flavours that though untraditional are enjoyable. Medium body is a bit slick in texture but decent effervescent carbonation livens things up. Bottle sampled at the post-Mondial 2006 tasting.

Copper colored beer with medium white head. Smells sweet and fruity like a cider, but with spicy belgian notes. Mouthfeel is a bit flat, and non-fizzy. 22oz/$6

pale orange average head. smells malty grassy and some fruit in the nose and hints of caramel. taste tart grassy light slight touch of honey. crisp finish. little alcohol kick. pretty middle of the road.

An orange beer with a beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with light notes of fruit - especially oranges. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel and quite a lot of fruit, leading to a dry bitter end. Compared to the French farmhouse ales and Belgian Saisons, this is a very clean beer.

Rerate: pours gold with a faint tan head and sparse carbonation. Smells sugary with some peachy notes. Tastes of chewable vitamins and perfumy. Some grassy emelents on the finish. Not what I like in a saison, but better than the infected bottle I initially rated.

Sampled at Arg0’s Pre-RBSG Tasting at his pad: Golden, white head and light lacing. Nose of grassy tart fruity coriander, light wheat. The flavor is funky and tart with a dry bitter finish. Nice farmy citrusy and hoppy compoundes. Lots of good components here, just not spackled together well.