Florence
Hill Farmstead Brewery

Pours a very light straw yellow from the bottle, light 1" head that falls out to a coaster of foam, lots of active carbonation. Nose is super doughy with bright lemon juice and peel, as well as fresh cut grass. Taste is pleasantly tart and lemony, but not at all bracing - a notch or two below a good key lime pie. Dough, wheat, and fresh baked bread lurk under the surface, but only a background note. Reminds of a gose minus the salty brackishness and any added flavor. Feel is crisp, light, and clean. A very nice, tart, refreshing beer.

 

 

 

From a 0.5L bottle, pours a slightly cloudy light straw. Bright white head of fine bubbles leaves scattered lacing. Smell is earthy and grassy, with a touch of barnyard funk and tart citrus. Taste follows. Lightly tart. Lovely beer.

On tap at Sabatinis in Exeter pa this evening.

Looks nice enough. Pale straw yellow body with a small white head. This shrinks to a ring leaving scattered lacing.

Light fruity aroma.

On tasting, drying, tart, sour, with a lot of fruitiness.

Mouth medium, finish drying and tart.

Overall, a great beer at the end of a day moving beer around.

 

 

Had a single draft at Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, Vermont for about twelve dollars (2019 vintage). My twelfth brew from these guys. Did not love this, very sour.

 

 

 

Large, but large bubbled, head. It settles quickly and leaves few spots on the glass. The liquid is a cloudy, straw color.

Less wheat to the nose than expected--present but muted. More pronounced is the farmhouse smells and yeast.

There's a light lemon to the flavor, almost like a Shandy. This brings a tartness to the flavor. The body is thinner than most with a slightly elevated carbonation. The finish is closest to lemonade without the sweetness.

Look - golden clear nice rimming
Smelll - grainy slight malt caramel citrus
Taste - grainy
Feel - light slight carb
Overall - ok beer

 

 

 

 

Brief Review:

Shout out to SadMachine for sending this my way. Haven't had any HF in a while, and never had this one. Real nice to get to try their more available offerings. Pours a little paler than I'd expect; it's pretty clear. Aroma is nice, very earthy. More tart than I expected, almost comes off as a gose or weissbeer. But it's very nice, very drinkable. What you really look for in these types of beers from HF. Great beer to share, or have at dinner. Nicely done.

Recommendation: Maybe not the best beer I've had from HF, but it's still darn good and a must-try.

Bottle dated 7/15/21:
Light white haze on a pale Golden background, modest head with brief streams for lacing. Nectarine tang with a little mix of citrus and apple cider vinegar in the nose. This comes through in the taste.

Nose gains a little sweet bread as it warms, but the taste keeps its tart edge. Light without waterlines, carbonation seems to be from micro bubbles, but the tartness covers for it. Little longer on yeast in back that holds on to some of the stone fruit.

 

 

 

 

Unbelievable ale. This one of the finest farmhouse ales ever produced, and the best I've ever had. The light, refreshing tanginess coupled with the smooth mouthfeel add up to a highly highly drinkable ale. The tartness isn't bitter, and more reminiscent of sweeter New England apples and fresh apple cider I grew up around. Finally, the freshness and quality seeps through noticeably, likely a result of the fresh well water Hill Farmstead is known for utilizing.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a crystal clear straw color with a sudsy white head, with the body adding a slightly hazy hue as you continue to pour from the 750ML bottle. Gorgeous beer.

The nose has “that funk” that is joined by some citrus aromas (lemon and tangerine) and tart apples. The tart apple taste, like a Granny Smith apple, is forward on the taste, and the lemon flavor follows, and there’s a subtle wheat flavor as well. Simply delicious.

The mouthfeel is bright and effervescent, mimicking Anna and Arthur with their champagne-like quality. What a wonderful beer this is from a world-class brewery.

750ml bottle dated 10/21/19.

Pours clear yellow with an inch of white fluff. Nice retention with some smears of lacing. Minerally and grassy in the nose with hints of lemon and apple skins. Crisp and snappy on the palate with a light body. Lemon, soured apples, and grapefruit on the palate. Finishes dry with a lingering tartness, zero malt, and minimal bitterness.

 

750ml bottle - Vintage 7/17 - poured into a teku at 40°F.

A heartfelt thank you to Alan for this one!

Pours a lightly cloudy honey-straw golden, topped with a large finger of coarse grayish-white head that quickly recedes to an airy collar, leaving no lacing behind. Plentiful streaming effervescence.

Nose: The complexity here is simply unreal. Never before has a beer smelled more like cellar stone than this. Gentle wheat and pale malt beneath massive aromas of dusty stone cellar, damp earth, wet forest floor, petrichor, wet hay, damp musty farmhouse, dead leaves, tree bark, and a truly unreal note that I couldn't possibly describe. Almost like a classic 80's cologne, with lemon-lime, and exotic outdoorsy floral aromas that words cannot describe. This is the aroma of magic.

Palate: Florence greets the palate with delicate but pronounced acidity and that beautiful signature Hill Farmstead minerality that tickles the palate. The flavour profile so perfectly mirrors the aroma, it's unbelievable. Old wet stone, dusty cellar, damp hay, firest floor, dead leaves... Flavours that don't even make sense as flavours, but they're there! This is the definition of funk - not barnyard stable horse funk, but earthy, woodsy, floral funk. It's the air after a summer rain, the most that rolls over the lake, the chill autumn morning. Flavours that can really only be described with pictures. Yes, there's some lemon and lime oil, some apple blossom, some pear, apricot pit, coriander, rosemary, dill, and wildflowers, but the rest is this whole new dimension - Florence. She is bone dry, bright, and ever-so-slightly tannic, finishing tart with clean wheat, bergamot, juniper, spruce, lilac, and lemon, with a gentle peppery spice.

Mouthfeel/Body: Florence is lighter than air - fluffy, but airy, with a gentle prickly effervescence, which is complimented by that tingly Hill minerality - presumably from their water source. The ale ia bone-dry, crisp, refreshing, and balanced with its mikd acidity.

Overall: Few ales possess the magic of this one. The complexity and nuance that this displays, both in aroma and taste are truly unrivaled by any ale that hasn't seen time in oak. There is an allure to this ale - aromas and flavours that cannot be described with comparisons. Sort of like how you cannot compare perfume to food or spice - this is like perfume, the way it lures you in and stimulates your olfactory senses, evoking images of forests and fairy circles. It's a beautiful ale, and I cannot imagine how incredible Flora, its barrel-aged counterpart is.

 

L: A slightly hazy gold with a thick white head that dissipates into nothing with very little lacing.

S: Very tart smelling, nice funky apple notes as well as citrus. The bready malt is a nice backdrop.

T: Big notes of lime, apple and pear. Reinforced by a solid, fresh doughy malt backbone and some mild yeast spiciness.

F: Very dry and crisp

Overall: An excellent beer with loads of flavor and aroma. Not really huge in hop character but rather very much driven by the yeast culture that they are using. I recommend this beer to anyone who wants a refreshing, quenching treat.

I can’t imaging a better wheat beer. I’ve had two other barrel-aged wits tonight (2nd shift gin barrel hibiscus then look it’s got pockets) then a Stella then this 12/29/2015 Florence. Unintentional aging brought out an amazing complexity. Even a little thick on the tongue still. A little lemon, orange peel, white pepper but so balanced. Not sour. Almost gave this a 5 for being the absolute paragon of the style. 5% wit—how do I rate alongside 15% pastry stout? Even if it was t 95f right now this is the better beer

L -- Slightly hazy straw body with a half finger of white head that, surprisingly, laces and retains quite poorly. A first for me in a HF offering
S -- Lightly funky wit aromas: wheat, hay, orange peel, coriander, and a general 'outdoorsy' character
T -- Straddles the line between a lacto lemon seed tartness and the refreshing fruity yeast character of a Belgian wit or a hefeweizen
F -- Incredibly drinkable, I could down this whole 750 in one gulp if I had more. Light mouthfeel, medium+ carb

85/100

 

Beer was decent but a bit tart for my liking. Golden pour with good Hill Farmstead classic foam on the top. Good funk in this beer and overall a solid.