Leaves Of Grass: October 3, 2019
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

Solid beer

Bottled on 1/23/2020; consumed on 1/30/2022

Pours a slightly foggy pale straw body capped with a rocky multiple fingers of pillowy, eggshell-white foam, fed by a relentless stream of effervescence; great head retention leaves a mounded finger of cap, a moderate, fluffy collar, and ample strands of webby, soapy lacing draping down the walls of the glass.

Aroma opens to vinous, clean white wine grape against a backdrop of lemony funk with mossy undercurrents; subtle oaky presence feeds into intermittent tones of wet basement as pillowy grains emerge on the back end of the bouquet and a touch of bubblegum accents the close.

Taste brings waxy white grape and an underlying cherry pith upfront, with lemony funk developing mossy textures as subtle oak imparts a splintery character over the mid-palate; ultra-clean minerality eases to pillowy grains on the back end as a level funk finishes.

Mouthfeel shows a light body with extensive, prickly fluffs of high carbonation, dispersing wet textures past mid-palate to a bright tartness against an attenuated, moderate acidity rounding out the back end; a clean finish leaves residual wetness tingling to an oncoming dryness to counterbalance.

A bright and extensively clean expression of lemony funk with subtle oak underpinnings, the added grains bring a fluffy layer of texture and earth to this simply presented and pleasantly refined farmhouse ale.

I believe this is the third I’ve had from Hill Farmsteads Leaves of Grass series and it may be my favorite one so far. As with most Hill Farmsteads it is just so unbelievably balanced!

 

 

 

 

From a 375ml bottle. ‘Bottle conditioning since Jan 23, 2020.’ Served in a tulip.

Pours a hazy-cloudy, pale straw-yellow that glows like gold lit up from the inside in the glass. A big pouffy head of fluff with so-so retention, settles into a foamy, bubbly cap.

The nose is both candy-sweet and tangy-tart. Vanilla frosted cookies but with vinegar-like notes - which sounds like it had ought to be disgusting but it’s making my mouth water.

Taste is much less sweet than expected from the aroma i.e. not at all, and, in fact, first impression is of earthy, damp board wood. There’s SweetTarts, cactus and Granny Smith but first, second, and last, the predominant character is that of sawn oak wiped down with a vinegar soaked cloth. Razor sharp finish begs for the next sip.

Feel is clean and sharp up front but then firms up medium bodied, creamy-smooth and warming. Carbonation is vigorous and prickly.

Overall, a very nice beer but not a style I’m fanatical enough about to want to pay the premium price very often. It seems to me that this iteration speaks way more about the oak puncheons than it does the organic barley, spelt and oats. Hopefully, the oak was organic, too. As always, the minerality is exquisite - almost worth the price of admission right there.

 

This one pours a golden yellowish color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like pear, stone fruit, wheat, lemon, white wine, and oak.

This is a really solid little beer, with a wheaty and earthy funk, some lemon, pear, and peach, a bit of floral bitterness, and some oak. These beers are some of the most underrated in the Hill Farmstead canon.

This is light bodied, clean, crisp, and with just a hint of smooth acidity.

I wish I had more than one of these little guys. It's a great little beer.

Poured from a bottle (23Jan2020) into a Belgian glass

L: pours a very clear light yellow gold (~2 srm) with a great dense white head and very tight, fast visible carbonation. Head fades after a few minutes, leaves some nice and thick lacing as it does (as does each sip)

S: excellent, bright acidity on this great farmhouse nose. Notes of lemon, apricot, oak, granny smith apple. Mildly tart, a bit of earthy funk that grows nicely as it’s warmed a bit in the glass. Second pour incorporates lees, aroma more rounded and bready. Fruit and acidity still cut through, but nose has a bit more depth now

T: follows the nose very well, man this first sip is getting me excited. Those fruit notes lead, great bit of lemon flesh and zest with bright and balanced acidity. As the fruit fades get a nice middle that’s driven more by the puncheon and malt - get some fresh baked bread heading into that medium/long finish, with lingering acidity. Found the flavor with lees to be a bit richer, similar to my experience with the nose. Slightly sweeter, almost meatier if that somehow makes sense? I really like it

F: medium+/high- carbonation, medium/- body, nicely drying. Mouthfeel more full with lees, which I like

O: as you would expect, a really superb brew. Clean, expressive flavor with balanced acidity - great first pour, I preferred my second incorporating some sediment. Like that HF is moving to using more organic ingredients

 

Effervescent as fuck