Edward
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

I had this on draft 5/28/23 @ the Hopleaf.

Opaque bright orange appearance.

Nice bubbly white head; a thick curtain of lace.

Bright orange citrus, cane sugar & spring water notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Orange citrus, dry grass & dry pine flavors.

Smelled & looked great, but this was too biting on the tongue for me to truly love.

Glad to try it, though!

 

 

 

On tap at Monks in Philly. A nice west coast APA. Good herbal bitterness. Similar herbal aromas on the nose. Medium body . . . But not a beer so much better than others. BA’s overeating this beer because it’s from Hill Farmstead.

 

 

 

 

Draft at the Mad Taco. Hazy golden pour, thin creamy white head. Aroma is very light, soft citrus. Taste is subdued and mellow, pillowy, oranges, citrus, with a bit of dryness at the finish. Superb palate.

 

 

It arrived in a clear pint glass after being drawn from a tap. The color is dark apricot-amber, with a slightly off-white modest head. The aroma is of soft hops and some malt in good balance. It may look like it's from New England, but it tastes more West Coast. The hops are sharp from the onset, in something like a grapefruit way, then dryly biting at the finish. The balance found by the nose isn't really there, but it's not a bad thing. The mouthfeel is obviously malt driven, as it's rich and smooth enough to carry the hops. An interesting aspect of it is how refreshingly wet it feels going down, despite the dry bite. Wet in the finish, yet very clean. The level of carbonation is just perfect. Pretty glass lacing, too. Another example of what gives this brewery its well-deserved high regard.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a 16 oz glass from tap at Positive Pies in Plainfield, VT. Pours hazy yellow with two fingers of head; good retention and excellent lacing. Full body taste with slight citrus and hoppy bitterness. Very well done. Superb APA.

 

 

 

No canning date. Can to wine glass.

L: Pours a hazy orange with a fluffy white head that leaves a good amount of lacing. Some floaters visible in the bottom third.

S: Citrusy (fresh orange and lemon), piney and hoppy.

T: The citrusy and piney notes can also be tasted. Not that fruity, rather floral and a bit grassy. Medium sweetness and a slightly dry finish.

F: Crisp and crushable. A bit creamy. Low carbonation.

O: Quite complex Pale Ale, but rather on the light side. Everything’s rather subtle here, but thanks to its complexity and its high drinkability it makes for a wonderful everyday beer. Great stuff.

 

This is one of the best Pale Ales I ever had!!!! Had a pint at the Bench restaurant in Stowe VT. Served in a snifter type pint glass, this beer is a hazy apricot/ amber color. I couldn't rate the head or the lacing because the glass was frosted. The aroma and taste were bold and prominent. Plenty of citrus (grapefruit) and a strong piney presence also. As robust a flavor profile an most IPA's!! Mouthfeel was rich, crisp and bitter. A hophead's delight!!! I just wish this beer was available home in Virginia.

 

 

Pours a straw color with a tinge of copper and almost a finger of head. The nose has some light citrus hoppiness. The flavor is plenty bitter but other than that it's pretty mild and dry.

Really nice bitterness but lacking in pretty much anything else. A one note chorus.

 

On tap at Sabatinis in Exeter pa early this evening. Excited to try my first HF beer.

Looks pretty good in the glass. Hazy pale amber body. Bright white head shrinks to a ring and covering, rings of lacing.

Really nice hoppy mixed tropical fruit aroma.

On tasting, really aggressive for a pale ale. Huge grapefruit & pine bitterness. Malt is probably there, but hard to detect.

Mouth between full and medium. Finish a dry grapefruit bitterness.

Overall, I certainly enjoyed the drink, but was expecting an easy end of shift pale ale. This punched me in the taste buds and woke me up.

 

Noteworthy for its look and light and balanced taste (for an IPA). Pours a light golden yellow with billowing white foam. Light hoppy aroma is unique. Taste is bitter pine but yeasty bread, with a light malt aftertaste. Light but creamy and pillowy mouthfeel. Strikes me as almost European in its restraint and balance. Probably a 5 out of 5 of an IPA for a certain kind of consumer who is looking for something less aggressive and more elegant.

(shaker pint at Monk's Cafe around 2:30p)

Hazy, orangey-hued liquid; solid pad of dense, pillowy foam... on the nose and palate: orange creamsicle, grapefruit gummies, minty pine... as fluffy on the tongue as it looks; just enough suds and stunning, pithy bitterness to refresh the palate after bites of extra-spicy wings... not too shabby, but also not too memorable (1878)

 

Look: hazy medium orange, head retreats quickly, some lacing.

Smell: lots of pine and tropical fruit

Taste: flawless. The pine and sweet tropical fruit work perfectly together, with a bit of sharp bitterness at the end. Easy to imagine the cool pure well water playing a big part too.

Feel: flawless again, with a good proportion of a hazy's smooth satisfaction. Carbonation isn't a big deal here but it helps to keep things lively.

Overall: This is incredibly flavorful, well-balanced, and even refreshing. Can't think of any way it could be a better example of the style.

 

 

 

Serving: 16 oz. can poured into a Tree House teku glass. Canned on 11/30/21, making this just over a month old.

A: Pours way hazier than I remember. Had this on tap at the taproom in 2013 and it was much paler and clearer. Looks real nice now, good hazy, not murky though.

S: A lot of fruit and fruit juice. Mango, pineapple, lots of tropical fruit. Guava. Little bit of pine and earthiness at the back, but not too much.

T: Very nice beer. Real juicy up front, nice burst of papaya and tangerine. Middle and finish are a bit hoppier than I expected, good amount of bitterness on the finish. Not overwhelming though.

M: Nice and clean, full. Very balanced. Super drinkable. Decent amount of oily hop resin on the finish.

O: Quick shout out again to SadMachine for hooking me up with this! So, I haven't had this beer since a small sampler at the tap room while in line waiting for bottles and growler fills ca. Christmas 2013. HF was relatively new back then, and along with Lawson's and Alchemist, they were starting the NE-style IPA craze before we really knew they were. Much like Heady, this feels like progenitor to NE IPA. It's hazy and drinkable, but still retains some of that hop bitterness that we'd see replaced with more of a juicy/sweet profile down the road. I still prefer the more modern style, but it's such a treat to go back and experience the classics. Hill Farmstead is such a special place, and this is truly one of their most special beers.

Recommendation: A great representation of what an HF pale ale can do, this is a must try if you've never had.