Peleg
Hill Farmstead Brewery

Bottled on 1/12/2018; consumed on 1/6/2023

Pours a immensely deep yet somehow clear burgundy hue capped with a short-lived finger of sudsy, pale khaki foam, soon yielding a spotty cap, thin, frothy collar, and minimal lacing clinging to the walls of the glass.

Aroma wafts cherry balsamic and a slight, wet horse blanket, enmeshed with old grain silo on the initial impression; musty raisin meets a lingering essence of barrel vanillins to accent, with further notes of baked caramel fudge, and lightly smoked toffee lingering in the distance.

Taste brings dry balsamic into heavy lacto-funk upfront, with a touch of twangy red fruit past the mid-palate as vague barrel threads inform touches of caramel and toffee on the back end of the profile.

Mouthfeel features a medium-light body and a soft, effortless carbonation quickly overtaken with acetic overtones, leaving slick textures into slight dryness through the back end; past the swallow, a twang persists against a subliminally oaky grit.

A funky amalgam of Old Ale and Flanders Red/Oud Bruin, the prevailing acidity proves an increasingly deterring factor, overtaking sweeter, barrel-tinged nuances in favor of a more one-dimensionally rustic look; a creative detraction that only partially hits the mark.

 

Bottle: Poured a deep burgundy/brown color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma of sour notes with some oak and faint bourbon notes. Taste is also a mix of sour notes with some ok and faint bourbon notes with some acidic notes also perceptible. Body is lighter than I was expecting with some medium carbonation. Sour notes are too strong and cover up some of the bourbon and malt notes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

375ml bottle, January 12, 2018 bottle, poured into a Hill Farmstead oversized wine glass.

The beer pours a dark amber and caramel color, nice opacity with a khaki head that is loose and bubbly that has minimal retention and offers no lacing. The aroma is interesting, very tart and funky, strong amber malts, caramel, toffee, plum, red grape, light oak. The flavors are curious as well, tart stone fruits, caramel and toffee, funky oak, rich grain, lemon zest and a bit of vanilla at the finish. The mouthfeel is lighter, very bubbly and lively that coats well and finishes with a tart bite.

Verdict: Not totally sure what to make of this beer. As an Olde Ale it’s very unusual, hardly any barrel character, no richness, it’s tart, just odd. As a Flanders Oud Bruin, I can see the vision, but this is just an odd beer style wise. That being said, it’s really drinkable and expressive flavor wise.

This one pours a dark-ish brown color, kind of murky, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

On the nose, I get funky red berries, caramel, toffee, breadiness, oak, vanilla, red wine, leather, honey, and a bit of mustiness.

This leans more towards old ale than wild ale currently, which works for me. It's got a nice deep and old maltiness to it - dark fruit, caramel, toffee, burnt bread, with a wisp of nice smokiness on the back end. I don't specifically get bourbon, but I do get dry oakiness, and a touch of vanilla. There's a very light citrus aspect, as well as some red wine vinegar, old leather, sour raisins, and old musty funk. It's incredibly complex, and really delicious.

This is medium bodied, slightly creamy, and strangely drinkable, with a lower level of carbonation.

This is possibly one of the most unique beers that Hill Farmstead has released yet. It's weird and funky and really well done.

 

Poured from a 12.7oz bottle into a Hill Farmstead bulb.

Pours a muddy, cloudy brown body with very little head or carbonation.

Aromas of tart lactic, leather, sweet molasses, vanilla, vinegar, dark fruits and cherries.

Oh the tongue, Peleg is moderately sweet and sour, sweet malt, lactic acid, dark fruits, grainy, cherries, sour apple, finishing lightly tannic with a lingering tartness. Mouthfeel is medium body with low carbonation.

Tasty and unique, more like a Flanders red than an old ale IMO.

 

 

a wild old ale with some very cool funk and maturity on it, as well as a remarkable barrel character, a lot of fun to drink with a new friend who so generously shared it with me! not sure i ever would have found my way to this one on my own. deep crimson to brick red, clear at first and a little sedimented towards the bottom of the bottle, old at this point, with a very active soda sort of head, uncommon in the style but it is wild after all, i have not seen many wild fermented old ales before, and this has me intrigued right away. i get the subtle bourbon up front, but a lot more of the wood than the whiskey itself in the nose, with vanilla and earth, wet and sturdy, lumer-like, milled and refined for being kind of heavy, and with what sweetness is left from the malt, its gorgeously complex. i want to say i taste bready english yeast and malt in here too, like they did some serious justice to the base beer before the barrel or the wild yeasts were part of the mix, and i think the quality of the base beer really comes through, almost defining this for me. a little our bruin or flanders red vinegar type bacterial tartness to it in the flavor, some rum character, lemons, piquant cherries and soaked raisins, and lots of booze too, especially when it sits in my glass for a moment. its autumnal to me, almost specifically thanksgiving, i even get a fresh cranberry note to the finish here before the whiskey and booze wash it out. overall a really complex wild beer thats held its own over time, still malty and rigid, but now so nuanced and funky, really a special brew. an honor to drink on this for sure, any older it might be too sour to appreciate the subtle layers, if you have one, now might be the time...