Biere De Miel
Jester King Brewery

Batch #7, December 2020. Poured from a capped 750mL bottle into my Troubadour tulip.

Nearly clear stile de grain yellow with a lasting finger of off white soft peaks. Fine sandy lacing; faint legs; very good retention.

Complex sweet floral aromatics reveal the honey, working together with the malt and just a whisper of winter fruit punctuated funk from the wild microbes.

Dry, cider-kissed palate entry with unripe pear, green plum, and a gentle acidity. Lightly bready, crisp malt backbone, low earthy bitterness throughout. Finishes dry but with residual evolving honey flavors - interesting balance. Low floral notes and maybe a touch of citrus and white pepper as the beer warms.

Creamy, medium-bodied, well carbonated. Lightly warming, and not-quite-refreshing.

Subtle, interesting domestic take on the style.

 

 

This Honey thing is getting interesting... particularly in saisons whose yeasts (when kept correctly) tolerate and play with so many different ingredients. But Jester's Miel has taken Honey to a new level, some three additions noted on this label.

Note that I give very Big Overall Hugs to Jester King to compensate for me not tasting more of their saisons than I have. (Reason? I'm a cheapskate.) But, I also like them very much for proving that Texas' terroir does not have to be toxic.

As for this Biere... I drink probably three times as many saisons as the second style. My buds, being classically trained, complain about all this Wild-Brett-natural strains getting introduced. But when a brewer uses these "foreign" elements with discretion, it shows. And it shows with Biere De Miel.

I'm Looking at clarity for a saison. I'm Smelling mostly lemon and in the Taste the honey comes in to play on my palate. Biere is balanced, but finishes tart. Sits cleansing in my mouth. It performed well with a plate of leftovers... and that is high praise from a grump like me.

Pours a light fizzy small head covering with lower retention, very clear golden honey color

Nose mild farmhouse funk, tart lemony and some peachy stone fruit, grassy hay funk, lemongrass, little cereal grain, faint honey

Taste brings more tart lemony flavors, touch of acidity, into a sweet honey, almost honeysuckle, grainy malt, grassy, little hay, fruity lemon and stone fruit, light peppery spicy phenols, tart flemmy lemony finish, fair earthy hop bitterness late, nice tart sweet balance

Mouth is med bod, tart fair acidity and flemmy, med fizzy carb

Overall not bad, nice farmhouse biere de garde like with some honey

 

 

 

 

Oh this is a really nice beer I really like this is really good I also really enjoy it. Has a nice farmhouse taste and pretty typified of a farmhouse ale and I like the honey in it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In what's a dying breed of beer, the classic Saison has been rapidly replaced by more sour, spontaneous and barrel aged versions that change their character drastically, its both comforting and welcomed to see a well made, classic taste of the farmhouse remains alive thanks to Jester King Brewery.

Adding wildflower honey to the recipe gives their Biere de Meil an edge as the burnt gold pour rises with a foamy, froth topping that nearly overtakes the tulip. Floral honey notes are apparent in the very first whiff before the stronger ale aromas of peppercorn, dried citrus, grain and wine rise to dominate the nose. Gentle grain sweetness is slightly of cereal but also of fresh bread, cookie dough and whole wheat.

Culinary fireworks go off when the ale hits the middle palate. What started floral turns to a fruity and spicy balance quickly that starts with the citrusy taste of lemon peel, orange peel, apple and pear. Its subtle juiciness awaits a vinous spice with white wine with white pepper, cumin, coriander and slight clove for an offset of both sweetness and fruitiness. Trending dry and moderately bitter, a taste of lemongrass, hay and lemon pepper usher in a crisp and clean finish.

Medium bodied but trending light, the beer's spicy finish and racy carbonation facilitate dryness and lightness making this honey infused beer extremely effortless for the late palate. A linger of straw and dried fruit peels keep the wine-like alcohol evaporative for a fast linger that has another sip coming quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love this beer!

 

 

 

I like when I run into a beer that I really liked but then didn't get around to writing the review relatively soon. Such a nice trip down memory lane.

Pours a light slightly hazy yellow, 2/3" white head, nice retention. The aroma smells like saison terra firme, has all the hay and light tart from rainwater spontaneous fermenting and light grassy honey feels. Feels slightly unique even in their plethora of range for the saison style. Baby you and me, pickin' wildflowers comes to mind when smelling the beer.

The taste follows the smell, there is a nice amount of that hay, grass, green apple floral tartness to it, the mouthfeel displays a great deal of nuance and levity body wise, the wheat does its thing remarkably. No aspect dominates the overall profile of the beer, it all balances with each other quite nicely. Carbonation on point. Ever slightest wood note to it. Foeder?

So at the end of the day, I kind of hate this beer. Why? Well its a world class beer that is out of my distribution. I hate when that happens. This is just as good or better as anything Fantome has ever put out. No hyperbole.

Crystal clear, golden colored body; excellent carbonation; fine frothy, sculpted head. Pointed floral sweetness in the nose; fine light green apple scent. The taste follows along the lines of the smell; mildly sour and tangy; green apples; bitter. Medium body; sharp tanginess; crisp and biting with a semi-sweet finish.

An interesting and easy drinking farmhouse ale, with and apple and floral-like quality all around.

 

 

 

 

 

A: Poured into a tulip to a slightly hazy straw yellow topped by a dense and rocky three finger white head with excellent staying power that fades slowly while leaving excellent lacing
S: Smells of light funk and spices with some slight honey sweetness. Hints of tartness as well.
T: Taste is lightly funky and slightly chalky with some slight clove and herbal spice notes. Slightly grassy with a hint of lemon zest as well and just a hint of tartness. Swallow is more light funk, honey sweetness, spices, and a hint of tart lemon.
M: This beer is falirly light but approaching a medium mouthfeel. Carbonation is very effervescent but not prickly thanks to the bottle conditioning. The beer also has a drying finish that takes a little time to grab hold.
O: Overall this is a really nice beer with some good flavors and decent complexity. Kind of an easy sipper that doesn't have a lot of strong flavors but the subtlety is appreciated. Definitely worth a try if you like farmhouse ales,