Arthur Puncheon
Hill Farmstead Brewery

Good, but not top 250 good.

Bottle Conditioning since October 26, 2022. Purchased October 2025 and has been in my cellar since.
375ml bottle poured into a Treehouse Teku glass.

Look: Pale straw yellow. Somewhat opaque. There was quite a pop! when I opened the bottle. Not a gusher, thankfully, but definitely not a still beer. Mild, lightly active carbonation. There is very nice lacing being left on the glass like abstract art, now that I'm getting through the glass.

Aroma: I try to go in order but holy fuck the aroma is exploding with goodness before I can even finish the first pour! Well well. There is certainly some funky citrus like aroma coming from this glass. I'm already kicking myself for having only purchased one of these bottles, but it was a birthday trip to the brewery and I had already earmarked far too much money for other things. There's a very familiar smell but I can't place it just yet. It's very mature funk. There are very clearly some bugs present but they are well-mannered. Seems like a lacto, creamy lemon? Some citrus, I'm not exactly sure which. There's something I can't quite pick out yet. I am not getting any of the oak on the nose.

Taste: Well that's divine. A few second delay and then there came the saliva. My word that is good. It's going to be very hard to savor this slowly and not just down the hatch with it. This is everything I could want in a beer. I'm still not getting any wood character, not that that's a bad thing. Perhaps the sour citrusy creamy funk is, which is very refined, overpowering things. I'm at a loss for words. I'm just sitting here looking at the glass, cherishing the moment. I almost got a salty finish on that last sip. Yes, toward the end it's a salty lemon concoction.

Mouthfeel: Very nice! Original Arthur is one of my favorite beers but I must say that it always comes across as very thin. This has more body, more weight. It feels better to drink.

Overall: Drinking this lifted a weight off of my shoulders that I didn't even know was there. I remember all those years ago when I was first introduced to Hill, every beer was just in another league to anything I had had up until that point. All these years later, with a much more experienced palate and this beer is making me reminiscent of what it was like to have Hill for the first time again. A few times during this bottle I found myself blissfully staring into the middle distance, completely unaware of the world around me. What a masterpiece. Shaun really is the exception to the rule. His dedication to the craft really shines through with this. I lower my head to you sir. Just, wow. I am at peace.

 

 

On draft, 15th anniversary festival. Best pour of the day. Like Anna Puncheon is to Ann, this is basically a more available and slightly less oaky version of Art that still retains the complexity, astringency, and softness that makes Art so wonderful

93/100

 

 

2016

 

 

 

Appearance - The beer was straw yellow with visible carbonation.

Smell - The nose had bitter lemon and bitter funk.

Taste - The profile had an excellent dry funk. Lemon peel, papaya, and fresh cut grass notes followed. The finish kept strong lemon notes and Earthiness.

Mouthfeel - The body was light and bubbly with some stickiness.

Overall - I only wish the bottle was bigger.