Leaves Of Grass: September 16, 2016
Hill Farmstead Brewery

This one pours a slightly hazy golden yellow color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells floral, with some tea, a touch of sweet candied hibiscus, tart candied fruit, pineapple, and citrusy funk.

This is one of two (I think?) Leaves of Grass entries that have sour candy in them. I don’t exactly what know what kind of sour candy are in these beers. Is it like rock candy? Gummy worms? Sour patch kids? None of them seem like something Hill Farmstead would use. But the mix of a sort of tart candied sweetness along with the floral sweetness of hibiscus just really works with this one. It’s quite fruity, with a refreshing citrusy and sparkling tartness. That more pronounced but manageable tartness helps to balance the sweetness – it’s all really well balanced overall.

This is lighter bodied, crisp, and pretty clean, with a really nice drinkability.

I don’t always like hibiscus, and I don’t always really like this same brewery’s (well Grassroots) Convivial Suarez, which features hibiscus in a starring role. Despite those preconceived notions going into trying this beer, I really liked it.

 

 

 

 

 

375ml bottle poured into a Phresh Phlavors snifter.

A~ orange with a pink hue. bubbly head that goes away quickly and no lacing.

S~ lemony hibiscus tartness up front, even smells like sour patch kids! haha followed by black/white pepper and very floral.

T~ like liquid sour patch kids with a floral bretty twist! wow! lots of fruit, orange, cherry, lemon, lime followed by sugary hibiscus tartness and a little wine barrel funk.

M~ nice carb but a little clawing from the sugar.

O~ wayyyyyyy better than the first iteration of this brew. the newer beers in this series have been sooo much better than when they first started it. i wasn't going to go after this series anymore but these last 2 have seriously changed my mind!

 

Poured into a tulip, the appearance was a mellow peach color with a thin quickly dissipating finger’s worth of white foamy head. The lacing is thin and gently sticks to the sides of the glass. The aroma starts off funky and then develops into a sweet to herbal hibiscus rolling into a dry sweet oakiness. Tart to sour lemon candy. The flavor yields to the crisp sour lemon candy. Herbal sweetness tries to be there but fades mainly in the background. Semi-sour with a rising bitterness in the aftertaste. Quick dry lemon-esque finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fair sessionable to sipping quality about it. Mild carbonation allows a nice adequate grip from the sour to hit my tongue. Overall, very nice American Wild ale that I could have again.

Poured from the bottle into a snifter.
Pours a really nice rose quartz/light garnet color with very minimal head.
Aromas are lots of sourness, light bread. Some very light herbal notes.
Flavors are a lot of great yeasty sourness, some mellow sweetness at end.
Mouthfeel is nice and finishes dry.
Overall, this beer is very sour and delightful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

375ml bottle, dated 9.16.2016 on the front of the label, poured into a Hill Farmstead oversized wine glass. Enjoyed on 1.1.17, reviewed from Tasting Journal.

The beer pours a bright pink color, salmon hues with a thin white head that offer little retention with a few spots of lace. The aroma is nice, plenty of hibiscus and wildflower, a bit of citrus, light acidity with light sweetness from the candy with a touch of pale grain. Soft, bright, delicate and inviting, not the most complex nose, but inviting. The flavors are quite nice, pleasant tartness with some balancing sweetness very floral, hibiscus is definitely present, with some watermelon jolly rancher, a bit of citrusy acidity, light pale grain, very bright and delicate. The mouthfeel is nice, light and easy body, very lively that is also soft and airy with a tart finish.

Verdict: A nice beer from Hill Farmstead, certainly unique and interesting. Very floral, very bright, the candy adds an interesting quality to the beer but doesn't totally distract or overwhelm. Pleasantly tart, easy going and very refreshing.

 

375 mL bottle. Light pink body. Smells of mostly hibiscus, some phenolic yeast, lemon acidity. Tastes quite sour. Hibiscus, lime. Strong sweet and sour flavor. Like gummy worms. Light body. Hefty sourness. Well carbonated. Not sure what I think about this one.