Red Barn Ale
The Lost Abbey

 

Bubbly golden with a white head. Orange zest, dry earth, black pepper, crusty bread, barnyard funk, and general grain within the belgian yeastiness fill the nose. Taste sees that promised ginger add the tricky twist with a hint of lime too, orange zest benefits quite a bit from this development, orchard funk and esters are light but present. Feel is zesty and juicy up front for style before drying out with some rustic elements. An enjoyable twist on a classic

 

 

 

Look = hazy straw color - orange hue- crazy amounts of foam and great! head retention - almost like meringue
Smell = citrus and spice - ginger very faint
Taste = slight tartness upfront and then goes to fruit and spice - gets to a really sharp flavor almost like a strong ABV beer - but this is only 6.7% and not crazy high - tones down and more spices come through and a bit of funk
Feel = medium body but a bit lighter than expected
Overall = Very good and flavorful saison - i didn't get much ginger - I was hoping for more - but I would definitely buy this one again

 

 

Poured from a 750 ml bottle dated 8/2/17 into the test glass
A - Goldenrod colored backdrop with a slight haze, can not hide the very active carbonation. A towering cap of white loose knit froth resides as a statement through the experience.
S - White pepper, pineapple roasted, lemongrass, candied fruit buried in a musty handful of fresh earth.
T - Spicy tropical thread, with the focus on ginger, papaya, pineapple, lemon reduction. Nice variety with everyone getting along well.
M - Medium in body and a dominant prickly carbonation acting as the muscle in this experience. The start is semi sweet, then an ashen dry wave rolls through. Finish is delightfully dry with those spicy elements joining forces to linger a bit.
O - A very well executed, dusty, saison with a hint of mineral and fruit. As this bottle has some time on it, I am excited to find a fresh version to balance this experience against. Well worth effort to find and enjoy

 

Rarely do we find a true saison that executes the rusticity, the unrefinement, the organic nature of beer and also all the charm. Even more rarely do we find one of these fine examples rolling out of an American brewery. But that's exactly what the Lost Abbey has done.

Separating distinctly from the styles of tripel ale or strong golden ale, Red Barn pours with a hazy goldenrod appearance, topped with a rocky, billowing froth. Spicy on the nose, the beer's earthy and peppery scent is of dried citrus, white wine, exotic curry and a light soilish funk. Softly wheaten on the early palate, its sweetness is moderately light with a hint of honey, granola and light toast.

But the ale takes a decided farmhouse turn when the middle palate dissolves the sweetness with ease and the dried fruit flavors of orange peel, light lemon, grapefruit and papaya begin to play second fiddle to the blossoming spice. Peppercorn, perfume, ginger and hop spice adds a rye-like zing to the late palate which is also accompanied by a stern hop bitterness of lemongrass, hay and peppercorn of its own.

Medium light on the palate, the beer's nearly militant carbonation bounces off of the tongue to facilitate dryness and aromatics in the retro-olfactory senses, a light carbonic bite is lightly mineral-like and gives the beer a great sense of drinkability, digestibility and sangria-like refreshment. A medium length aftertaste is bitter with grapefruit peels and again a spicy grassiness.

 

 

Nice saison. Pours amber with decent white head. Classic funky barnyard yeast smell. His hints of citrus and maybe a bit of ginger. Overall not as funky as my favorite saisons but has a classic saison taste, very good.

Pours golden / amber with large white head.
Aroma has yeast, barnyard, hay, wheat.
Taste is same as the aroma, classic farmhouse ale, spices, malt sweetness