Farm House Ale
Carter's Brewing

 

 

 

also called saison locale from what i understand, as it uses locally sourced ingredients, presumably the grain, but i do not know that for sure. its a little darker in color than i am used to in the style, more of a brass than a golden, and with a short white head on it from the tap. the aroma and flavor are a little off too me, its a too warm fermented belgian strain, nothing farmhouse or funky about it, which is both a shame and somewhat surprising, as i have known some nice saison, belgian, and wild types to come out of this place in the past, i was expecting a more interesting and more refined yeast character here for sure, and its a disappointment that it isnt there. i can see some appeal if you like a little phenolic thing in your saison, but not in isolation like this for me. its also not dry as i like these to be, sweet even through most of it, and it limits drinkability in a style built for high consumption. overall this one is a bit of a miss to me, although its hard to be too critical. i like the use of local ingredients, we dont often hear about montana as a hotbed for brewers grain or hop production. this could be made radically better with a cooler and longer fermentation i reckon...

edit: had this again, i believe, on a beer list as carters saison in the fall of 2025, and it seems cleaned up slightly but still afflicted by yeast simplicity and phenolic character at the expense of more nuance. that said, its fuller but fluffy, very well carbonated, and i have to improve the mouthfeel score slightly. this is not one of the stronger beers in this style space for these guys, but in a state where everything still seems to be a scotch ale or an ipa, this is a mighty fine change of pace, even if they make better saison than this one. peppery as it warms, a honey note, but high tone clean yeast dominates, almost a belgian golden to me as such...