Spice Cabinet
Mother Earth Brew Co.

neat beer, way way way outside their normal range, a biere de garde type base, darker maltier farmhouse anyway, amber saison, done with chamomile and pink peppercorns, cool for spring, totally unexpected for mother earth, im here for it! lighter medium amber color from the tap, nice and clear for the style, and with a short off white head on top and some web lacing as it drinks. the nose is striking, sweet and nutty grains meet floral chamomile and pink peppercorn, both of which are obvious, and this hits me like a bowl of good granola in a blooming spring meadow, definite baked sweetness and honey richness along with bitter herbs, tea, and dried flowers, really interesting, pink peppercorn a little bit out in front but not out of balance, yeast is subtle and generic, but well deployed here and it fits well with the rest of the beer, slightly vinous overall. the flavor is well layered but also well integrated, sweet and warming on the grain side, pink peppercorn florals abound here, a hint of pink lemonade, white pepper too, hibiscus, cool with the richer grain, a maple note, then the chamomile which makes this tea-like and bitter, medicinal in a good way, almost healthy, faint almond, white wine, and anise in the mix as it warms, just a little alcohol which fits in well, and pretty good carbonation doing its best to wash the palate clean after each sip. its not as rustic as i like as far as the base beer is concerned for the style, but the spice additions are great, the fermentation is professional if a little sterile, and overall this beer is excellent. good to see these guys taking a stab out in this direction, hope its a sign of more to come, really dug this, as did my wife, one of their best non hazy beers ive had...