Anna
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

Pour at de Garde 10th Anniversary. Pale golden, light cloudiness, patchy head with ample lacing. Aroma is yeasty and funky along with notes of citrus. Taste resembles the aroma along with a nice medium tartness. Smooth, grassy, enjoyable.

A 750ml bottle, bottled on 8th December 2021. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.

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

Aroma: Lightly tart, fruity, funky, apricot, lemon, tea, honey, and a touch floral.

Taste: Lightly sour and a touch tart, lemon, lime zest, apple peel, tea, honey, floral, damp hay, funk.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.

Overall: Well balanced, good aroma and flavours, just makes this really easy to drink, and super refreshing.

Draught. Good but more tart than I expected. Not particularly saisony-tasting: Not really any spices, clove, banana, etc. More like a semi-sour.

 

Cloudy yellow.
Great floral smell.
Lightly sour with flowers on the end.
Lightly prickly with pithy end.

 

 

 

From a 750mL bottle, pours a mostly clear light straw. Smell features musty barnyard funk, hay and a light, tart citrus. Taste follows, with a pleasant sourness. Another great beer.

 

 

On tap at Armsby Abbey

Oh yeah, Armsby coming through with some Hill Farmstead heat! This is my first Saison fron them, a style they are famous for. This one isn’t the n of their biggest whales, but I’m still thrilled to try it out regardless. Let’s dive right in

Pours a cloudy pale yellow with 2 fingers of white head that fades to a thin cap and leaves nice lacing

The nose presents a light funk over the top of the typical earthy Saison notes. I’m picking up on aromas of lemon zest, stone cellar, wildflower honey, wet hay, buckwheat, apple skin, bread crust, and tannic white wine

It has even more of a tart bite in taste which I absolutely love for the style. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting lemon yogurt, crabapple, crackery malt, wildflower honey, straw, white wine vinegar, stone cellar, white pepper, and a touch of pineapple. The swallow brings notes of lemon juice, white wine vinegar, wet hay, apple skin, sharp oak, straw, coriander, wildflower honey, and orange zest

A light medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a crisp and effervescent beer. Finishes bone dry with a nice tartness

Even for one that isn’t super highly rated, this is masterfully done. I’m not sure I’ve had a Saison better than this to date

 

There's a light haze to the straw colored brew. Dense, but small, head. Slow to recede with some lumps to boot. Some thicker 3D streaks left on the glass after each sip.

Earthy with yeasty overtones. Still, it comes across as clean. I also get some light black pepper in the background.

Quite tart, just shy of a Berliner Weiss. The body leans thinner with an elevated carbonation level. The citrus sourness is strongest in the swallow, creating a long aftertaste

 

 

Gold in color with vibrant carbonation. There’s a fingernail of off white around the rim. The aroma is of sweet honey and hay. I’m tasting a touch of green apple and light, crackery malt. The mouth was crisp, dry, and refreshing.

 

On tap @Ma che siete venuti a fa ? (Roma) - January 2022
On the nose immediately aromas of farm (straw, hay, wet wood).
Straw yellow color, slightly opaque.
Soft and creamy foam.
In the mouth: light herbaceous notes (elderflower) followed instantly by a sour note, tending to acetic, very short that leaves room for hints of durum wheat and again a "raw" herbaceous, with a little earth and notes too that remind me of citrus fruits.
This citrus and grassy note blends well with the rustic and balanced acidity which is the most evident note on the tongue.
Soft, rustic but polite. Perfect balance, perfect style: the farmer who quenches his thirst at the end of the day and rediscovers the aromas and flavors of the farm.

 

Looks white/gold. Smells like wines iv had, with hints of sweet apple. Tastes tarty, but very smooth and a sneaky sweetness to it with nice bitter finish. It gives me a nice vibe overall. would be a great beer to pair with a meal.

On tap at Mikkeller Södermalm.

Pours a clear light amber with low, wispy head.

Smell is tart and funky with notes of lemon lemon peel, peach, grapefruit and white pepper.

Taste is tart and funky with a soft grapefruity bitterness. Notes of lemon, grapefruit, citrus peel, peach and a hint of white pepper. A very slight sweetness rounds out a superbly balanced beer.

Mouthfeel is medium with a frothy, effervescent carbonation.

Overall, a superb beer, one of the best tart farmhouse ales I've tried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This gorgeous saison pours a slightly hazy golden straw color with the most beautiful soapy white head I’ve ever seen - and that head hangs around, dissipating very slowly in volume and provides excellent lacing. What a beautiful beer this is.

The nose is funky and citrusy. I get grapefruit and lemon, and a touch of the honey referenced on the bottle. The taste is rightly funky and properly citrusy, but the subtle sweetness from the honey really elevates this - just so, so crushable.

The mouthfeel is very dry and effervescent, verging on champagne in a beer, if that makes sense. What a magnificent beer this is. Truly world-class, IMHO.

750ml bottle dated 12/10/19, released August 2020.

Pours clear yellow with a chill haze and a one inch head of white. Moderate retention with some short smears of lacing. Grapefruit, lemon, cut grass, and stonefruit in the nose. Light bodied with a crisp, prickly mouthfeel. Very tart up front on the palate with peach pits, citrus pith, and lemongrass following through. Finishes with lingering soured citrus and fairly dry.

 

Probably my favorite HF beer. I'm not super into their extra soft water thing and I'm not sure this is really a "saison". Their yeast profile doesn't really have the french saison bite that I crave but this is an excellent beer. I like the extra sweetness in Anna. I enjoy Arthur too but Anna has a bit of an edge on it because of the extra sweetness maybe. You can't really go wrong with an HF beers. It's clear that Shawn takes so much care in producing his beer.

L: Bright gold with a touch of haze (before you get to the bottom of the bottle). Aggresive pour revealed a moderate white head that dissipated quickly and left some nice lacing.

S: Bright citrus and pear, honey, and clean bready malt. Funkiness and peppery spice as well.

T: Nice tartness, moves into very funky and tangy citrus, spiced apple and pear with a nice clean malt backbone. A tad of honey.

F: Crisp, light, but not thin.

Overall: A very crisp, clean, tart and fruity farmhouse ale. It went superbly with an array of mild cheeses. Probably my favorite of the Hill Farmstead Saisons I have tried.