Chardonnay Barrel Fermented Saison
Mystic Brewery

2016 vintage

Beautiful clarity from the first pour. Bright gold color, good carbonation, with a creamy foam head that sticks around. Smells beautiful like white wine, oaky barrel, fruity yeasty esters, some mild and sweet acetic vinegary notes, buttery vanilla, Chardonnay wine, not too sour or acidic smelling, some floral notes, flowery, earthy, a little funky, leathery, some farmhouse yeast notes like clove, hints of banana, maybe the faintest bubblegum estery phenols, apricot, apple, pear, some toasty hay, doughy pale malts, with a sprinkling of gentle hops. Tastes terrific, balanced, not too acidic or sour, well integrated with the Chardonnay white wine barrel, some oak, buttery vanilla, sweet lemon, yellow pear, tropical pineapple, floral, earthy, farmhouse notes, banana, sweet clove, peppery spice, apricot, mild bubblegum, toasty hay, a little funk, apples, vanilla, doughy crackery pale malts, with gentle floral earthy herbal hops. Finish is dry and clean, leaving buttery Chardonnay and toasty oaky vanilla notes lingering on the tongue. Feels medium bodied on the fairly lighter side, creamy, smooth, oily, vinous, with moderate low carbonation going down. Overall a really great Chardonnay white wine barrel aged saison.

750 ml cork and caged bottle, 2016, drank 10.28.19. Really nice.

Poured with a tad of white head which settled out to just a little head on the sides. Color was a thin orangey semi clear color. Smell was somewhat fruity but not too strong at all. Taste was a perfect semi tangy semi sweet saison complemented by the chardonnay barrel. The sweet came from the saison and the tang came from the barrel. Not sure if the age mellowed the barrel or it was mellow to begin with, but the saison + chardonnay barrel worked perfectly. Feel was just about right. Really nice beer that I could easily drink again and again, and would have enjoyed trying on draft, but that's not going to happen given Mystic's demise last week. Bummer, but glad I was able to grab this one!

an awesome beer from these guys, who really can do no wrong, but is always especially impressive to me in the saison style. what this one lacks in relative complexity, it more than accounts for with drinkability and brightness, and it serves as a really nice expression of the chardonnay barrels themselves, partially because the base saison is so light. its a golden brew, clearish until the bottom third or so of the bottle, tons of carbonation and a fizzing airy head with great retention and lace, gorgeous beer by any measure. the fragrance is nice, lots of white wine, less wood, a little funk but pretty tidy, dry and floral, rustic but well refined, a little tang, mouthwatering, some pils and wheat malts too. the flavor is really wine forward, almost like there is some wine blended into a light saison base, i get the grain, but its thin in body and crackery and fast in taste. rich oak for a second in flavor but never feel, the effervescent carbonation pushes right through it, giving it more of a champagne vibe than anything else. a little funk to the fermentation profile at the end, stands out because its so dry, and with green grape, green apple, and elderflower nuances. tasty and springy beer, ages pretty well too, our bottle was from 2016.

 

 

 

Pretty good. Much more of a funk on the nose. A bit misleading though, as the taste wasnt as funky as expected. A bit phenolic but not to the point of dissuasion. Good carb. Tasty. Lemony.