Pineapple Fields
Stillwater Artisanal Ales

 

 

The CANQuest (tm) rambles & rumbles on with some selections from Stillwater Artisanal Ales today. It will be a strange admixture of styles, types & flavors, but variety is the spice of life. It should be interesting.

From the CAN: "Dry-hopped Sour Ale brewed with Pineapple & Sage".

A Crack! of the vent & I was off and running. This revealed a brimful craft CAN & so I was gentle in my Glug since I did not feel like creating or cleaning up a mess. Once it was sufficiently deCANted, an in-glass swirl raised just over a finger of foamy, fizzy, eggshell-white head with modest retention, quickly falling away to wisps. Color was Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was pungent, but it struck me as being more tart than sour since my lips involuntarily pursed. It really had an herbal, almost pine-like quality which was easily identifiable as sage, but I did not smell anything like pineapple on the nose. Here is a conundrum - yes, it smelled like a Wild Ale, but at the same time, pineapple was given top billing. If I am rating to style, shouldn't the adjunct(s) count in the equation? I say that they should. Mouthfeel was medium, about on par for a Wild Ale. The taste was predominantly tart with an offsetting taste of sage. I mean, it was absolutely sage! Like one of my ex-G/Fs burning sage to purge & cleanse. I had cooked with sage before, but once I smelled it being burned, it has really stuck with me. However, I still found myself searching for the pineapple. It finally appeared on the finish, giving the beer a sweet-tartness that somehow reminded me of CANdy. I CAN kind of understand its current Very Good (3.84) rating since as an American Wild Ale, it was kind of … pedestrian? Middle-of-the-road? I did not feel terribly challenged by it & for me to be saying that, for a Tart/Sour person, it would really be lacking. The taste, to me, had qualities of both of the advertised adjuncts, so I am scoring it high in that aspect, but lower overall. This is why I feel that the review is more important that a simple rating - I am able to justify my quantifications. YMMV.

Can.

A: Citrus, tropical hops, pineapple with light sage.

A: Straw color, clear, with a thinnish, uniform white head with adequate head.

T: Pineapple, followed by light funk, moderately light sourness, mild sage and faint floral hops with a light bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with medium carbonation, lightly sour but not acidic.

O: Interesting; the beer has a lot of hop aroma aroma, but doesnt really come through in the taste. Instead, the pineapple is expressive and becomes more prominent as the beer warms.

Decanted from a 12 oz (355 ml) can into a conical pint; code PF 1-AH 12250 (maybe a 12/25/17 batch?).
A: Pours a hazy, golden brown color with a half inch, white head, low retention and lacing. Yeasty chunks very evident.
S: Pineapple aroma predominant with unripened peach and nectarine. Tart and a little grassy, perhaps that's the sage.
T: Tart with a strong, unsweetened pineapple juice flavor, but light malty core and resiny funk also very much in the mix. Bitterness intertwines with sage spice; both very much in evidence.
M: Medium bodied with low carbonation.
O: Drinkable and enjoyable. Really solid if you like fruit sours.

Can shared by drabmuh. Thanks Matt.

I really seriously enjoy pineapple. This beer...NO.

 

 

 

Pours a hazed gold with one finger of beige head.Above average lacing, average head retention

S:A little funk, some grassyness, alittle orange peel & mango once warm

T: Pineapple, a little tangerine & some sage along with dryness up front. Orange slices, dryness, a little funky must, & a smidge of sage as this warms up. Finishes dry with little sage, some orange peel & pineapple

MF" Medium body, delicate carbonation, good balance

Drinks easy. nice offering

 

 

 

 

22oz bomber poured into a pint glass.

L: Pours a rather clear straw yellow with one finger of creamy white foam that lingers awhile and leaves a thick layer of lacing in the glass.

S: Sage, Barnyard funk, pineapple.

T: I feel like the sage is the most dominant flavor and thats too bad. It leans a bit too herbal and spicy for the pineapple or brett to do anything about it. Not getting much as far as hops (Stillwater is calling it an IPA) Has a bit of a tangy/tart finish, more lemon than anything pineapple.

F: The carbonation is soft and creamy, the beer itself has a very thin mouthfeel. A lingering dryness from the brett.

O: Just not too impressed. Quite experimental with the flavors but I would have rather had it the other way around. More pineapple, less sage.