Two Gypsies: Our Side
Stillwater Artisanal Ales

Sample at Copenhagen Beer Celebration. Golden colour. Nice aroma of tropical fruits and saison yeast. Tropical fruits in the flavour too, also notes of coriander. Good beer.

this is truly ancient now, assuming it hasnt been made and packaged identically again, and it sure is drinking old. i was always bummed to have missed it when it was first made, being a huge fan of both of these breweries. i love the label and the green foil, real regal. the beer gushes a bit when opening, and is a hard one to pour, mostly head. the bubbles keep rising up from the bottle too, very lively, tons of bottle conditioning has obviously occurred. unfortunately it rouses a lot of sediment, and there are some particles and haze in here, gorgeous white several inches high though, and not gross looking until the bottom bit. this may have once been a hoppy saison, stateside from mikkeller is an ipa, and stateside from stillwater is a clean saison. this definitely is more a saison than an ipa now, if that wasnt always the case. really cool esters to the yeast, more complex and slightly funky now than it ever was in the stillwater beer, if its the same strain, its aged well. there is some oxidation in the malt here and some hop fade, a little cardboard thing, a hit of iodine too, and a grassy bitterness. its obviously past its prime, but still redeemable to me, with a unique yeast evolution having gone on, its now just slightly tart, with some white wine and red and green apple character, even green olive somehow. its wheaty and raw on the grain side, tired sure, but the effervescence uplifts it a lot. the stillwater contribution seems more apparent than the mikkeller one now, i would have loved to try this fresh. i love the idea of collaborating instead of cease and desisting, so thats cool, and the beer is unique, but more a novelty at this point i reckon, a bit of beer archaeology, a fun experiment. feeling thankful to have encountered this one after i thought i had missed my chance forever...

Orangish colored beer, light, almost no head to it, one a saison? Aroma was belgian yeast but nothing beyond the pale of average.

Taste imparted those bitter notes from the hopping, but they didn't meld well with the phenolic yeast nature of the beer. This comes off as one of those collaborations that is way too expensive and where they just throw a bunch of mismatched weird stuff together and call it unique.

Too many tea leaves and toffee in this one, not enough tartness, not enough dryness, weird hopping regimen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a - poured a three-fingers thick bubbly and tan head into a tulip glass. the body was a bright and bubbly amber color.
s - apples, floral hops, yeasty.
t - apples, floral hops, a hint of spiciness, big belgian yeast flavors.
m - crisp and dry.
o - good beer but i expected a little more. didn't mesh as well as other stillwater-only beers.

 

 

 

 

This beer is both hazy and bright, a deep medium orange color. The head, tinted pale orange, is big and fluffy, a billowing crown about two fingers tall that just lays on top unmoving, for the most part, and leaves webby lace on the walls of the glass as it follows the beer down.
There's no questioning this beer's Belgian nature or rustic roots from the aroma: gentle soft fruit flesh meets earth, must and a very gentle spiciness backed by some tropical fruits and just a bit of grass and flora to balance. As it warms, there's something like the candi sugars used in bigger Belgian styles and a sweetness derived from that mixing interestingly but nicely.
That sweetness is further balanced by a light tartness that adds a freshness to the tropical fruits and the pear flesh notes. The yeast is strong but kept in check, mostly spicy phenols adding lots of character, and overall complexity is big as breads come in and the hops add a soft bitterness with just very little added dryness as earth, grass and apple finish it.
The body is fluffy but strong, gentle but soft, and almost everything a Saison should be. There's a nice crispness and a depth from the body, while the fluffy texture on the tongue leads into a dryness that doesn't go too chalky but almost dances into the finish.