Jack's Farmhouse Ale
Jack Russell Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

Big thanks to Abecall98 for providing this as an extra in a trade. (Excellent trader!)

Finger and a half of fluffy white head sits atop a light golden ale that is fairly cloudy. Looks spot on for a Saison.

The aroma is fantastic. Fruity, funky with a touch spice. Definitely a lot of earthy tones.. A touch of yeast and white pepper.

Very nice flavor. Slight banana, other sweet fruits. Light yeasty and very light clove. Nice hop bitterness towards the end that melds with a slight alcohol note.

Smooth and almost creamy.... Subtle carbonation.

Very drinkable. If they hid the alcohol a touch more it would be great. Almost a vodka quality to the finish...

A nice saison..

Single 12oz bottle as an extra in a trade from abecall98!

A: Pours a hazy unfiltered orangy yellow with a little bit of white head that reduces

S: yeast, slight banana, some citrus like orange peel, very tripel like scents

T: very similar to the scent, more yeasty flavors and like a muted tripel

M: refreshing, not creamy, but not thin, pretty well bodied

D: highly drinkable, it's got a tasty flavor and it's refreshing and alcohol isn't picked up

Trade extra from abecall98, Thanks Man. A hazy straw colored pour with a two finger white head that quickly disappears.Aroma of belgian yeast funk,spicy and fruity,some very nice clove scent some peppercorn,citrus zest A slight fruitiness,with some hints at banana.
The flavor is close to the aroma,yeasty funk all the way,slight fruit and pepper notes,lemon zest and a touch of grass,some nice light pale malt flavor with just a dash of alcohol. Medium body with lively carbonation,nice dry/lasting finish with a lingering spice aftertaste.
A very nice brew,I would buy this often if I could get it locally.

Single from the Davis Co-Op. Pours an orange brown with a wispy white covering of bubbles on top. Oranges and peaches on the nose with a little tart wheat and alcohol as well. Flavor is more reminiscent of a wit than a farmhouse, but it has some saison-like qualities. Tastes of oranges, peaches, a hint of hops. Yeasty and vaguely spiced. Alcohol taste on the finish reminds me of an abbey ale. Despite its inability to fall into any particular category of style though, its not too bad and easy to drink and enjoy.

This was served form a 12 oz beer bottle. Based on the picture and description, I believe it was a saison style. The label on all the Jack Russel beers says it was 'Made in the English Tradition'.

Upon pouring, the beer is a cloudy golden yellow color and the aroma is reminiscent of a saison. The head was light white with little lacing down the glass.

It was very drinkable and went well withthe sandwich I was eating. While not as complex as a true saisin, I would order tihis beer again.

Service Temperature, 35 degrees. Service Glassware, 12 ounce globe glass.

Appearance, is reddish yellow & cloudy with some fringe of clarity. Foamy head is white & with no lace evident.
Aroma, waves of honey, some peach, a little bit of cloves. A swallow later and I can recall; some peach & apricot, slight cloying, some honey, a little bit of vanilla, and some spice.
Mouthfeel is mild.
Overall a drinkable "farmhouse"

Cheers

Tangerine sections in honey with a crown of foam that is some combination of ivory, beige and pale lemon. Nothing but a few lazy bubble streams can see disturbing the interior of the beer. I don't think that yeast is too much to ask for in a saison, do you? In the end, very little lace makes its way to the glass.

The nose has an appealing 'vanilla bean mixed with bananas' quality. Unfortunately, there are no spices and no funkiness that I can detect. I'm still not sold on the fact that JFA is a saison, but we'll see what my taste buds have to say.

Jack's Farmhouse Ale is different enough and interesting enough to be considered good. Saison might be pushing it. I think it tastes like a bananarific hefe weizen mixed with a cream ale, with a dash of Band-Aid phenols and a sprinking of ground clove. I'm sure that I've never described any other beer in quite that same way, but it fits.

The underlying pale malt sweetness and the vanilla notes are what earn the cream ale comparison. There's plenty of ripe banana to go around, which is almost certainly due an offbeat yeast strain. Finally, the medicinal phenols stop just short of being overdone and should be tolerated by most people. Like I said... this is interesting beer.

I love the full creaminess of the mouthfeel. We aren't talking about anything that would put a scare into your typical world-class Belgian ale, but this characteristic tells me that Jack Russell can brew well-constructed beer when they want to.

My only previous experience with these guys was Dukes Big Ass Beer (Hefeweizen) To spare you from reading any of the reviews, it tastes like its name. I'm having a good time trying to get to the bottom of the flavor profile, but this bottle will be my last. Saison? No. Worth a look? Yes. Worth a repeat purchase? I'll leave that up to you.

Special thanks to Warren for procuring this one for the FUNKY beer tasting event. Cheers.

This beer just simply did not seem like a Saison to me. Not that I could possibly condemn someone for not brewing "to style." But really, was this even a resemblance of a Saison?

I don't care if its a true "farmhouse" style ale, but I at least look for some interesting spice and herb notes. On the contrary, this beer I found to be clean and no spice.

Perhaps it was fermented with the classic 1056 - California Ale strain?

The only dominating flavor was a honey flavor from the malt - otherwise, this baby was straightforward American Ale, IMO.

A new beer in Oregon with "Certified Organic Ingredients" and "Brewed in the British Tradition"; poured a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass. Label displays a "Gold Medal" seal, courtesy of the California State Fair. I've had this beer on-draught twice before here in Portland (Oregon Brewers Fest '06, Spring Beer & Wine Fest '07)...first time from the bottle.

A: Hazy, thick-looking golden, with a little floating yeast. Virtually no head, minimal lazy carbonation. Color is pretty...

S: Mmm...yeasty. Lots of Belgian yeast & spice (coriander, clove) and a grassy floralness. Apples & honey - a sweet, malty & inviting aroma.

T: Flavor is much more grassy and herbal with a pleasant medicinally bitter finish. Fresh & effervescent spice, a little tea-like (chamomile, mint?). I was a little disappointed by the overly grainy quality at first, but at some point it seemed to smooth out and the dry spiciness really shone.

M: Has a nice dry finish, but seems a little under-carbonated. I'm really comparing this to the draught version I've had of this beer, I just think that, although nice and with a slight fusel warmth, the mouthfeel of this beer was better with more carbonation.

D: Certainly good enough to get again, a very nice spring/summer brew. This made a strong impression on me when I first sampled it last July, so I'm glad to see bottles showing up on the shelves. Recommended.

Poured from the 12oz bottle into a Duvel tulip glass, being careful to leave the yeast in the bottom of the bottle. Body is a deep, slightly cloudy golden color, topped by a modest stark white head that quickly retreats to a thin ring. Mildly sweet aroma of light malt, coriander, fresh Belgian yeast, and a touch of candy sugar.
The palate is nice and refreshing. Golden malt starts off sweet before developing a rather intense bitterness on the finish. Notes of coriander, allspice, and light citrus come through mid-palate, along with some mildly spicy hops. The body is a tad heavy for a farmhouse ale, but does not really detract from the refreshing character of the beer. A tasty offering from a brewery that is new to the Oregon market. I'm optimistic that their entire line will be quite tasty.

Aroma is very fruity...berry influenced..with cereal grains. A little Boo-berryish. Orange body with a fluffy thumb thick, lasting, white head. Fore is extremely fruity with apple, pear, mild blueberry and some bready/malty notes. Not your typical saison, but it has some of that reserved flavor feel a saison will exhibit. The fruitiness is large and quite a departure from the Saisons I’ve tried, but as a beer it is not at all bad.

Poured from bottle(room temp) a cloudy light gold with a very small head of foam that dissipated quickly leaving just a sporadic layer with a bit of lacing.

The smell has a fruity earthiness to it and I could also sense some spiciness as in clove tones.

The taste is quite complex. I note an earthy sweetness offset by citrusy tartness and there's spiciness from cloves and they all work really well together. I haven't had that much experience with Saisons but if this one is a "typical" example, I need to investigate further. ;^)

Bottom line: I bought a sixpack of this(along with 3 other JR brews)
and had it shipped directly from the brewery. I'm *glad* I did. This is a really drinkeable, true to form(?) tasting saison that I can easily recommend.

The last remnants of BIF 16...

Appearance: Dirty, hazy straw colored pour. Bone white carbonated cap that quickly disappears.

Smell: Belgian tripel yeast funk. This is going to be rough on me. A slight fruitiness that gets beat down like a red-headed step child by the Belgian funk.

Taste: Follows smell. Yeasty funk all the way. Slight fruity and pepper notes with just a brush of alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium with lively carbonation.

Drinkability: I've come to appreciate these kinds of styles but I can't say that I really like them. This is a solid beer. Kind of annoying that the label makes a big deal about this beer being certified organic (how can water, hops, malt, and yeast NOT be organic???). Worth a shot if you're in to Saisons. A nice American version.

This beer pours a hazy gold-orange color and is topped by a wispy pale head that when roused creates a frothy pale tan head. The aroma is spicy with herbal notes of lemon grass, soft grainy malt, orange peel and ginger. The taste is lightly sweet up front with a sort of herbal spicy hop note to it as well. It finishes with a spritzy note of carbonation, hints of orange zest, and a bright though subtle bitterness. This beer has a fair amount of yeast character to it as well, it has a certain herbal-astringency to it that reminds me a bit of Duvel. There is a certain soft creamy quality to this beer that makes me think of vanilla, and it actually sticks to the palate a bit despite being fairly light. It is fairly sweet, though not overly so, for a "Farmhouse" type beer. This is pretty tasty, though I might like to see it be a bit drier, though the sweetness does accentuate the citrus component of this beer.

Pours an exceptionally pale and slightly hazy straw with one finger of short-lived head. The beer itself is gorgeous, but without the pilar of whipped egg whites I've come to expect from saisons, I can't help but dock the appearance...

First on the aroma are big phenols and then some tart fruit esters and a note of barnyard.

Tastes light and slightly tart, big on the fruit esters and light on the funk. Overall, big lemon flavors, with a hint of pepper. There's some husky dry grain in the middle, and a bit of earthiness. At the end there's some almost-cloying sweetness.

The body is light and crisp, with dry funky bits rounding out the experience. *Exceedingly* drinkable. I'd have no idea this is a 6.7% beer...

A damn fine beer, and one I must say I am very excited to find. Just as I start falling into a saison obsession, I discover an affordable, locally-made saison.

This is an insanely gorgeous looking beer. Pale golden, brilliantly clear, yet certified organic. Pearly white delicate bubbled head could be a little bigger but i'm just nitpicking. Wonderful aroma of pineapple and spice and that Belgian funk, for lack of a better word. Brisk yet delicate carbonation. Smooth. Clean malt, Belgian yeastiness and powerful fruitiness. Mild bitterness and a sweet but clean finish. Medium to light body. Alcohol subtle. Wow.

Overall: I've had 3 saisons now, and I've been lucky that 2 of 3 have blown my mind, including this one. This brewery is fantastic. This is a gorgeous looking brew with tons of character and yet it's so drinkable!