Table Dorothy - Wine Barrel-Aged
Hill Farmstead Brewery

#95 unique HIll Farmstead beer; getting very close to #100.

375ml bottle poured into Hill Farmstead white logo Durobar Charente.

bottled on: Nov 8th 2018

Appearance: Golden opaque bodied beer with bone white head. Hard pour delivers a big head that has a little bit of staying power but eventually settles down into a ring around the outside edge of the glass.

Smell: Big juicy limes with mild tartness, lightly vinous white wine, and musty old mature oak. You immediately know this is Hill Farmstead wine barrel aged saison as soon as you get the first whiff.

Taste: Surprisingly mild acidity considering how robust the aroma was here. White wine, sweet meyer lemons, grapefruit peel, Orange peel, lime juice, old musty oak & dusty basement funk. Earthy and floral lightly bitter hop finish. This is just incredibly delicious!

Mouthfeel: This is very soft textured with no acidic bite to this at all. medium bodied beer no doubt. It's clean and makes your mouth water. It's got a light dryness to it as well.

Overall: I wish this was a 750ml bottle. Man that was a really excellent White wine barrel aged Pale Ale.

A 375ml bottle, bottle conditioned since November 24, 2020. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.

Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a very nice one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.

Aroma: Tropical and citrus fruit mix. Mango, peach, lemon zest, calamansi, yuzu, oak, light funky notes, and a touch vinous.

Taste: Lightly sour, citrusy, calamansi, yuzu, lemon zest, oak, yellow stone fruit notes, white wine vinous, a touch funky, and a touch bitter.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, clean, light bodied with moderate carbonation.

Overall: Really enjoyable and easy to drink with great flavours and complexity. I could just keep drinking this again and again and again.

 

Bottle conditioning since nov 2020.

White head with lace. Clear (mostly) golden color.

These wine barrel pale ales are amazing. They drink like what a wild ale should be. Not acidity or over the top citrus. Lots of hops. Earthy and bitter. Floral and a little weedy. Beautiful wine notes and wet oat. Grapes. Lime and grapefruit citrus blend. Light bodied, full of flavor.

This is fantastic.

A chill haze dissipates to a clear gold under a bubbly white head clinging at the ridges.

Simcoe is readily apparent right up front with a little catty must, but then funk and acid add their complements, bringing straw, horse blanket and pear via a frothily light body that yet fills out before a semi-dry finish.

At times it has flashes of champagne.

 

 

 

 

 

Lucked out at the Farm. Never quite know what you are going to get when you are there. This is exceptional. Kind of sour”ish” and I like that style.

 

 

 

Bottle: Poured a clear light-yellow color ale with a large pale white foamy head with OK retention and light lacing. Aroma of vinous notes with some light funky ester and oak presence is also perceptible. Taste is a great mix of vinous notes with some light funky ester and oak presence with a dry finish. Body is about average for style with good carbonation. Nice barrel-aged saison with great balance of flavors and complexity.

 

 

 

poured from a 375mL bottle into a perennial wine glass. pours a hazy light yellow with minimal head that fades to nothing instantly. nose is that typical HF soapy yeasty oak wine barrel smell with a slight bit of hops that adds a floral element. taste is lemony, floral, somewhat hoppy and extremely mellow. feel is very light on the tongue. not as carbonated as expected and kind of feels like nothing on the finish but it is a low abv table beer. overall, very drinkable and extremely well done table pale.

bottled dated november 8, 2018, and generously shared by my brother. this is some special stuff, a cool version of one of their classics, and a beer i could drink gallons of if i had my way, its a shame thats not an option, but gluttony with this one would be a fantasy. its so light, crisp, interesting, and drinkable. the hops are crazy fresh still almost a year later, the white wine elements are huge, and the now familiar hill farmstead yeast is in full swing here. there is something special about opening one of their beers, especially one of the little ones, thick glass, iconic labels, a feeling just sets in even before the top pops. this is blonde and fizzy and humble looking, like so many of their beers, but it sings in the nose and taste. honeydew melon, lemongrass, bee balm, white tea, limey citrus, and soft notes of wet white flower petals, rose hip, white sangria, and peach. the hops have almost no bitterness but there are tannins and acids here, despite this being more rustic and funky than sour on the fermentation side. the hops are super fruity and fresh, and the brett element pops the hops right off. its refreshing at the same time that its complex, and so few beers can do that. there is a lot to be excited about in this delicate but interesting session saison thats both old world and new school in each sip. monumentally cool, thanks to my brother for sharing on a special occasion. this is a nice hybrid of what they do best, hoppy and wild, its really killer stuff. do the hops change from batch to batch? was this a one off? how do i get more?