Estate Farmhouse Ale
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Estate Farmhouse AleEstate Farmhouse Ale
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From:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
Ranked #655
ABV:
6.7%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,484
Avg:
3.69 | pDev: 11.65%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
40
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 31, 2022
Added:
Apr 03, 2019
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  5
Estate Farmhouse Ale brewed with wet hops, wild yeast, and aged in wine barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Sludgeman:
Photo of Sludgeman
Rated by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

2.99/5  rDev -19%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
Sweet. Like a wine cooler from the eighties.
May 04, 2019
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

2.77/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
Unusually dark amber to brown with a very short khaki head that quickly dies to a fizzy collar.

This does not seem to have done what they perhaps may have wanted it to, as it's very plum and even prune forward while also being somewhat syrupy and less effervescent. While there's a faint brett quality in the background, there are also hints of caramel and toffee.

This seems closer to a port than a farmhouse ale, but not a good one.
Oct 31, 2022
Photo of JayQue
Reviewed by JayQue from Virginia

3.99/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A nice sour from Sierra Nevada. Poured from a corked and caged12 oz bottle into a flute glass, this beer displayed as a well carbonated amber color with lots of bubbles and a fizzy, delicate white head. Not much in the way of head retention or lacing, more like a fizzy champagne. First impression on aroma and taste is yeast and sourness. The sourness was just at the right level - not too vinegary but still quite pronounced. As you get used to the sourness, the fruit and wine barrel flavoring become more noticeable. The fruit is mostly ripe peaches that provide a little sweetness to go along with the sourness and there is a touch of bitterness from the oak barrel. Mouthfeel is enhanced with a strong "pucker factor" from the wild yeast strain and the level of carbonation. Very enjoyable!!!!
Apr 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.4 by heerboth from Pennsylvania

Mar 13, 2022
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Reviewed by BalancingBrooms from California

4.04/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Murky brunt orange with brown hues, thin white head. Nose is very malty and hop forwards with pine and orange zest, honestly reminds me of bigfoot on the nose? Taste opens with a vinous character, with dried apricots, dried cherries, and dried cranberry sourness, that folds into a bready malt. Oak comes through near the end with vanilla sweet dates and apricot. Ends dry and ever so slightly puckering in the back. Body is light to medium with medium carbonation. Overall somewhat all over the place but evolves and has hidden complexities. Kind of like a fruit cake to be honest. Not what i'd usually expect from SN. It's a very interesting beer.
Mar 27, 2021
 
Rated: 4.08 by LXIXME from New Mexico

Feb 26, 2021
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Reviewed by chum_husk from Minnesota

2.45/5  rDev -33.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.75
12.7oz corked and caged bottle, $10 from E.P. Liquors

Pours up brown, mostly clear, minimal head. Smells surprisingly hoppy, with lots of oak and wood and alcohol. The taste follows very closely, leaning pretty heavy on the wine barrel flavors. Some fermented fruit, sickly sweet alcohol soaked oak, dry white wine-like sweet esters. Even more wood and wine comes through as it warms...

This one was all over the place, and none of the places were enjoyable. I thought it was interesting, but Id be lying if I said I thoroughly enjoyed it - I was grimacing every other sip. It's drinkable, but barely. Complete failure of a Wild Ale
Feb 20, 2021
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

4.24/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Mid sized bottle, caged and corked, but sadly lacking any vintage or freshness info.

Pours out with a medium haze, minimal lacing left on the glass....carbonation seemingly on the low side.

Ripe fruits and some vinegar on the sniff.

On the palate its a bunch of fruits, cherries, peaches, apricots, some smoky/woody notes...complex, interesting, and highly worthy offering...well worth a try...went well with some cheddar on toast and a peppery salad...go get dome of this nectar and enjoy
Sep 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.03 by drstalker from Illinois

Jul 25, 2020
Photo of puboflyons
Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire

3.8/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Out of a corked, caged bottle with no date that I can see. Sampled on April 18, 2020.

Nice looking copper-amber pour with good clarity and a quickly dissipating off-white head.

An array of complex aromas such as anise, brown sugar, fruit, musk, dankness, and wild yeast. Not Brett.

Medium or better body.

The taste is sweet at first and then tart toward the end. But I also get this licorice and anise character in the flavor. A fascinating beer but I probably won't try it a second time.
Apr 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by khargro2 from Tennessee

Apr 02, 2020
 
Rated: 3.79 by OtisCampbell007 from Tennessee

Apr 02, 2020
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.96/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Brewers of wilds and saisons strive for terroir. Estate Farmhouse has terroir. In fact, its terroir is so convincing that it I am sitting here on Leap Year Day in Chicago and it feels like I am sitting in the Northern Central Valley near Chico and am enjoying a bowl of pasta and red sauce... overlooking a fecund peach orchard and, just for affect, I am downwind.

And by the way, this Wild pairs great with the red sauce... so good that it could be a saison (which is what I thought I bought.) And while I'm not glad to have yet another Wild, I am glad to have this one. If the subtlety of its tart was emulated more often, I would be less shy of Wilds.

Given BA's new deal with Untappd, I am getting reflective and wonder how much data will be available to me. (Or if an old man like me can ever figure out Untappd.) So in that vein, I ask why I am so hard on SN. Until this Estate Farmhouse Ale, I rated only 1 out of 9 of SN ales above the BA average. Certainly part of my way-below average ratings is palate preference: I confess to being a malt-head and SN is famous for hoppy brews. But, I also should be more respectful of the first generation of the craft movement that is now its grandfathers. Also, SN is probably among the movement's few genuine godfathers by the standards they have set and the careers SN fostered and the competitors they collaborated with and encouraged. Furthermore, I also subscribe to the Club Euro Saison Head (a phrase coined courtesy of StonedTrippin.) And being much more a fan of traditional saisons, I am very glad to give Estate Farmhouse a rating well-above average in the hope it shows other American crafters that mildly tart is better than sour.

10/21/21 Found another copy. Less than peak, but also a milder tart. Counting over @ UnTappd.
Mar 01, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by aztraz from Sweden

Jan 13, 2020
 
Rated: 4.1 by BirdsandHops from Oregon

Dec 27, 2019
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.96/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
a sexy little bottle of beer here that sells itself to me by the packaging alone, so pretty, not a lot of beer from these guys in this format, and its immediately appealing. this estate project has taken on some cool forms over the years, this easily the most evolved to me, wild ale in red wine barrels, and i have to assume peaches, with the aroma and flavor and label on this one, no way this isnt fruited right?! a hazy light amber from the bottle and a ton of funk and acid on the nose, oak tannins, red wine piquancy, sweet ripe juicy stone fruit, apricot and peach, vanilla from the wood, rich almost maris otter type malt from their property, and no real hop profile to speak of, even though i expect in an estate beer from sierra nevada, especially with wet hops stated here. hops are almost irrelevant in flavor to me, even though its cool they are in here and wet and homegrown, its sour and wine drive, almost flemish to me, with an acidity approaching a vinegar level. there is weirdly some oxidation to the grain here, this hasnt been out that long, but it tastes a little fading to me, perhaps just all the wine on it. plum and raspberry and cherry notes from the vino, some malt sweetness here too. a little less refined than it could be, especially from sierra, but a complex and interesting expression of their brewery, maybe a little too sour, but the peach i taste is awesome, nectar, and the layers of flavor come out even more as this warms. neat combination of estate ingredients, wine barrels, and the fruit which has to be in here, hoping for more funk less acid, but glad to have gotten into this one with new friends! these guys remain underappreciated for this sort of thing...
Dec 11, 2019
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

3.88/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12.7oz bottle. Caged and corked bottle. USDA Organic. No dating information found.
Apple juice, medium amber colored body. Fizzy off white head, with a bubble fed ring. No lacing.
Aroma of apple, peach, oak, and apple butter.
Taste is like a cinnamon caramel apple. Sweet with just a touch of tartness. Lots of wine oak earthiness at the end. The end is dry.
Medium mouth feel, with a buttery texture. Very good carbonation.
A very mellow wild ale/farmhouse/saison type beer that has a very different buttery texture, and a flavor overlaid with the wine and oak barrel. Any tartness quickly passes and the beer reminds me of a buttery cocktail with apple liquor and spices.
Nov 21, 2019
Photo of Gajo74
Reviewed by Gajo74 from New York

3.63/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a slightly cloudy light amber and copper color. A wispy head quickly vanishes.

The aroma displays lots of sweetness with notes of honey and vanilla. I was expecting some tartness in the nose, however, I’m not getting it here. There are fruity notes of grape, slightly vinous.

The taste is tart with lots of honey sweetness in the background. Vinous notes of tart white and red grapes evoke both red and white wine. There is a rustic quality with notes of oak and wood. There are flavors of berries, currant and lime. The ever present sweetness, for me, slightly overpowers the tartness.

Medium bodied and moderate carbonated. The finish is dry and tart but not too mouth puckering.

I don’t quite know what to make of this one as it doesn’t seem to fit a particular style. In addition, the balance felt a bit off as I feel that the sweetness detracted from some of the qualities of the wild yeast.
Nov 01, 2019
 
Rated: 4.07 by beaulabauve from Louisiana

Oct 26, 2019
 
Rated: 3.98 by smi69 from New York

Sep 29, 2019
Estate Farmhouse Ale from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 40 ratings