Unabridged
Black Raven Brewing Co.

 

 

Poured from 500mL bottle into my Fremont goblet.

Appearance: light silvery-golden hue with a touch of haze and a light effervescence. Head pours a finger of frothy white foam. Not at all bad.

Smell: moderately funky with a good note of tartness and a dash of oak. Overall, it has a bit of a tangy quality. I think it works rather well.

Taste: a sour blast right up front which quickly subsides and gives way to a light funk with a nice grassy character. Very vernal and very farmhouse; those wine barrels are also apparent through the whole thing. I like it.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a well-integrated carbonation and a very nice creaminess.

Overall: I like this beer a lot. For a slightly wild saison with some oak influence, it's exactly what I'd expect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

500ml bottle split between two snifters.

Pours very slightly cloudy golden, tiny head, very little carbonation. Smell is powerful, but really unfamiliar. Musky? Maybe lemon. Not sure how to feel.

Taste is such dense funk that it tastes bitter. Definitely lemon. Some other source of bitterness is obscured.

Mouthfeel is nice and crisp. Overall, it's unfamiliar, not great, but it's interesting.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a thin off-white head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of orange citrus, saison yeast, lightly phenolic. Flavor is wild yeast with a Brett quality, orange citrus, light white wine notes; light peppery spice and astringent wood. Light to medium bodied with peppery carbonation. An interesting saison style ale with good orange citrus from the mandarin oranges and a modest vinous flavor from barreling. Pleasantly spicy and with assertive wild yeast funk.

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle purchased and opened on 9.15.14
Stone Collaboration

Nose is heavy orange citrus. First sip the wine barrels and a touch of oaky funk make an appearance. The finish is again citrus and saison.