Flora - Cherry
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

 

From a bottle consumed at the tap room at Hill Farmstead. Pours almost like a rose, a lovely clear pinkish-red. Smell and taste are dominated by bright cherry flavors. As it warms, depths of hay and some funk emerge. Moderately tart. Amazing beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batch 2, 375ml bottle served in a HF stemmed glass. Bright lighter reddish pink body with a half finger pink head. Nice cherry skin tartness and mild acidity. Not all that funky like the base. Medium lighter bodied, good carbonation, refreshing on a hot day. Not particularly acidic.

Poured from a 500 ml bottle dated 10/12/2018 into he test glass.
A - Beautiful Rose' color, excellent clarity. The steady column of carbonation steadily creates small islands of off white.
S - Flora is in there for sure, with the Sauvignon Blanc signature, add a load of ripe cherry , signature farmhouse elements.
A bit of rime, some funk on the nose as well.
T - Again Sauvignon Blanc, light oak touch, some tannin, white pepper, apple skin, green grape, cherry skin,
M - Starts out tart, then loosens up a bit with nice mineralty, a chalky wave rides through. Also an ashen dry finish compliments the tart cherry. In the middle a delightful sweet spot where the tart and minerals blend in near perfection. Finish is balanced with a bit of yeast to smooth things out.
O - A beautiful offering to view, the aromatics are stone fruit, white wine, oak, the palate is a treat. All in all a very good variant of Flora

 

 

 

This one pours a slightly murky, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like very sour cherry, sour berries, juniper, and lemon.

This is definitely on the lower end for Flora variants, and definitely less balanced and more acidic than I'm used to for Hill Farmstead. It's got a bit of bitter spice, like juniper and lemon peel. There's basically no sweetness, and the usual Flora funk doesn't seem really prominent.

This is light bodied, kind of slick, and very tart on the back end. It's certainly a slow sipper, due to the intensity of the finish.

I usually always am head over heels about Hill Farmstead, but this doesn't do it for me a lot.

 

Pours a clear, vibrant red in color with minimal white head that quickly dissipated. Aroma is bursting with tart cherries. Taste is very tart upfront, after my palate adjusts I get cherry, red berries, and a light funk. This is a little sweetness mid way through the taste that helps balance the rather significant sourness. The finish is dry and there is a little puckering in the long finish. Light-ish body with low-moderate carbonation. Overall a great beer, maybe my favorite fruited Flora, the cherries really pop.

poured from a 375mL bottle into a stemmed bulb glass. pours a nice ruby red with fizzy white foam. smells of rubbery band aids with a faint hint of cherry. really do not care for the smell. taste is surprisingly excellent though. has that cinnamon pie crust flavor mingling with the cherry. you get a tad bit of white wine and oak but the cherry is the real star here. mouthfeel is spot on, with just the right amount of carbonation a touch of acidity making it pretty easy drinking. it’s really not sour at all. the cherries give us some acidity but it’s a very welcoming and smooth beer. i was a bit turned off initially by the rubbery smell but very redeeming qualities in the taste and per usual HF nails the feel for this style of beer. not my favorite fruited Flora but then again, cherries have never been my preferred fruit.

375ml bottle, dated 10.12.2018, poured into a Hill Farmstead etched RONA wine glass.

The beer pours a bright ruby red color, pink and garnet hues, cloudy and opaque with a fizzy pinkish white head that has no retention and yields no lacing. The aroma is pleasant, tart cherry, bright and delicate, lemon peel, fruity funk, a bit of earthiness and pie spice, light pale grain and some oakiness. The flavors are good, lots of fresh cherry, tart and rich, funk and pie spice, nice oak barrel, a touch of grain, lemon peel and mineral water. The mouthfeel is good, lively medium body with a crisp carbonated texture that coats well and finishes with a tart and dry snap.

Verdict: A very nice fruited Flora from Hill Farmstead. The cherry is nice, well expressed, rich and tart at the same time that brings out a really nice funk profile and starts to lean into the cherry pie realm. Not quite as complex or dynamic as some of the other fruited Floras but this is a lovely beer.