Bay And Pepper Your Bretts
Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse

Bay And Pepper Your BrettsBay And Pepper Your Bretts
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From:
Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
 
Kentucky, United States
Style:
Saison
Ranked #637
ABV:
6.8%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,765
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 13.78%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
88
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 05, 2022
Added:
Sep 23, 2012
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  14
Josh Lehman (Holy Grale Chef) is the quintessential beer focused chef. Jerry Gnagy (ATG Brewmaster) is the quintessential strange brewer. So it only made sense they would work together on this bright, savory and spicy saison. What didn't and doesn't make sense is the name Bay and Pepper Your Bretts. But if it's good, does it have to make sense?
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Ratings by bros:

  None found.

 
Rated: 3.59 by petrusek23 from Ohio

Jul 05, 2022
More User Ratings:
Photo of Weisenbeer
Reviewed by Weisenbeer from Ohio

4.28/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
What a very, very interesting beer. Amazing and unique nose ... A very unusual yet pleasing taste....it's hard (I imagine) to get "spicy" into a good tasting beer, but these folks have done it ... I like!
Jun 04, 2021
 
Rated: 3.71 by robotic_being from Illinois

Jul 23, 2018
 
Rated: 4.03 by drstalker from Illinois

Jun 17, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by bnes09 from Illinois

Mar 05, 2017
Photo of Jadjunk
Reviewed by Jadjunk from Georgia

3.84/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
"Josh Lehman (Holy Grale Chef) is the quintessential beer focused chef. Jerry Gnagy (ATG Brewmaster) is the quintessential strange brewer. So it only made sense they would work together on this bright, savory and spicy saison. What didn't and doesn't make sense is the name Bay and Pepper Your Bretts. But if it's good, does it have to make sense?" Brewed in the style of a Saison Ale with Herbs and Spices added. Available in 750ml. bottles and on limited draft.

Poured from a 750ml. bottle to a tulip glass.

(Appearance) Pours a snow white head of a foamy smooth consistency over a densely hazy medium amber body with light streaming carbonation and moderate speckled sediment in tow. Retention is average and lacing is light and patchy. 3.75

(Smell) Lightly toasted bread malts, fruit sugars and soft acidity and creeping funk of brettanomyces, effervescent pepperiness, with no discernible herbal notes to the aroma. An appealing aroma overall, very accessible with an aromatically rich yeast, malt and brett profile. 4

(Taste) The flavor largely follows the nose, with toasted bread crusts and mildly sweetened pale malt body, a residual fruity sweetness, a gentle peppery and spicy yeast backbone, and a soft note of acidity and funk on the backbone. Some soft herbal characteristics are detected on the finish and don't serve as a distraction from the traditional qualities of the style. Overall tasty for a saison, although the Brett character and adjuncts don't come through quite as boldly as they did in the aroma, and the resulting impression is slightly more ordinary than anticipated. 3.75

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, smooth, lightly chewy, moderately dry. Carbonation is modest, generating a medium frothiness and a modestly crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, shy of medium overall. Balance is nearly even sweet to peppery, earthy bitter, tangy and acidic. Alcohol presence is mild and there are no off characters overall. 4

(Overall) This is a saison that seems to fall between acceptable and enjoyable. A peppery and herbal-infused saison could be an outstanding beer if the adjuncts are not overdone, but a wasted effort if they don't come through as evident. My overall impressions for this beer are good, although the herbs and spices don't really rise up above my expectations for the style, the fruitiness and malt body leave enough residual sweetness for there to be a bit more wiggle room for extremities, although I don't get that this beer takes those liberties. Overall, it's an enjoyable saison, but not one that ventures too wildly off the beaten path, significantly overpriced otherwise, considering all the quality comparable saison ales out there. 3.75

Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse's
Bay and Pepper your Bretts
3.84/5.00
Aug 14, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by ajdemma from New York

Jun 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.66 by hopley from Massachusetts

Apr 30, 2016
 
Rated: 4.03 by dcmchew from Romania

Apr 08, 2016
Photo of wisrarebeer
Reviewed by wisrarebeer from Wisconsin

3.49/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Clear amber color. Poured with nice head that dissipated to thin veil and then nothing. Saison-brett nose with a hint of spice - cloying. Taste is somewhat saison but spice is noticeable and, for my taste, distracts from the base. A bit sweetish mouthfeel and thin.
Mar 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by krome from Illinois

Feb 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.61 by mattsucks from Ohio

Feb 20, 2016
 
Rated: 3.96 by Beerhemoth from Illinois

Feb 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.98 by crbnfbr from Kentucky

Jan 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by West_Chester_Ale_Tester from Ohio

Dec 05, 2015
Photo of Emersonio
Reviewed by Emersonio from District of Columbia

2.89/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5
Pour: Bomber bottle into a tulip glass. Appearance: Hazy pale straw in color. Thin white head present. Aroma: Huge lemony citrus. Notes of funk and yeasty earth. Spice and pepper aromas as well. Taste: Surprisingly falls flat on the sip. Very contradictory to the nose. Pepper, spice, and lemony citrus come through but is minimal. Aftertaste: Not much on the back end. Earthy and funky notes linger but recede quickly. Overall: Expected more with this one. Okay. 2.89 out of 5.
Nov 30, 2015
Photo of Jaz2886
Rated by Jaz2886 from Illinois

2.08/5  rDev -43.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Too overpowering for me.
Nov 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.23 by Faxmesomehalibut from New Hampshire

Oct 16, 2015
Photo of DavoleBomb
Reviewed by DavoleBomb from Pennsylvania

1.65/5  rDev -55.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5
Poured into a snifter.

3.25 A: Murky bright straw yellow color. One finger of short lived white head that leaves about half of itself behind as irregular lacing.

1.25 S: When the cap came off, the worry began. My first though was: acetone. The taste nearly confirms my suspicions, but I'm still not fully sure. It could just be the bay leaves meshing poorly with the brett and saison funkiness. In any case, it smells terrible. Acetone astringency blocks out any attempt to find something better underneath, but I'll contradict myself and say I can pick up some lemon and brett funkiness.

1.25 T: I gave the nose a 1.25 so I could have some wiggle room to give a worse score for the taste, but alas, it is just as bad as the nose - no better and no worse. Again I'm getting acetone as the main flavor. Brett funk, lemon, and pepper follow but as above, it's difficult to want to get past the bad to see what's underneath.

3.5 M: The mouthfeel is actually pretty good though. Light and spritzy and dances on the tongue.

1.5 D: I really hope I'm right and this is the beginnings of an infection. If it isn't, then the brewer consciously released one of the worst beers ever made. Based on the other reviews here and on RB, I'd say it's the former. In any case, I tried to contact the brewer, but instead of being a normal company and putting an contact email on their website, all they offer is a hundred ways to use social media to follow their antics. If I was 10 years younger and much stupider I'd have a twitter account, but I don't today.

BEWARE! It sucks wasting $12 on a single bottle.
Oct 09, 2015
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
750 ml bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but likely from 2015. Pours hazy deep golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, orange peel, apricot, pineapple, pear, apple, peppercorn, herbal bay leaf, wheat, cracker, hay, straw, grass, light leather, musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great complexity and balance of fruity/funky/spicy brett, spices, and light-moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, orange peel, apricot, pineapple, pear, apple, peppercorn, herbal bay leaf, wheat, cracker, hay, straw, grass, light leather, musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Good amount of earthy yeast spiciness and slight tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, orange peel, apricot, pineapple, pear, apple, peppercorn, herbal bay leaf, hay, straw, grass, light leather, and musty funk on the finish for a short bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy brett, spices, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/spiciness/tartness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness after the finish from carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth, crisp, and lightly acidic/sticky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent spiced brett saison. All around great robustness, complexity, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy brett, spices, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering.
Oct 03, 2015
Bay And Pepper Your Bretts from Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 88 ratings