La Griseta
Oxbow Brewing Company

Bottle from 2016.

It pours quite clear. I suspect any suspended stuff sits in a hard lump at the bottom of the bottle by now. Yellow straw color. About a half inch of dense white foam that falls to about a quarter inch and hangs. Plenty of replenishing bubbles rise from the bottom.

I'm gonna guess this has lost a little pop, but there's no sign of oxidation and we'll see about the rest.

Smell - wheat, grain, Belgian yeast, earthy. Citrus lemon and mild spice. Very faint, and quite possibly imaginary, Oxbow funk.

The taste is slightly sweet, a more biscuity malt, some wheat tang, yeast. There's a fairly assertive lemon taste that rides high and persists. I get peppery spice as the lemon fades, but the lemon doesn't quite surrender and lingers well after the swallow. It's quite tasty. If I look hard enough I can convince myself there's a slight funk, but it's barely there and maybe subjectivelt driven by the expectation that an Oxbow saison usually has some funk.

Light and effervescent, but not overdone on the bubbly bit. Starts a tad sweet, finishes dry. Minimal kiss of bitterness. The citrus and peppery notes linger pleasantly. As usual for Oxbow, this could sit on any dinner table with just about any cuisine.

Sooo...it obviously hasn't suffered much if at all after wandering around the house since 2016, but I wonder if it has actually gotten...better? If there was any wild funk, it's certainly melded into the overall flavor. I can't find intel that says this beer was hit with Brett or Lacto (well, it isn't even close to sour), but Oxbow does spontaneous and mixed fermentations so it must be there, right? Well, it's very good, maybe a little strong on the lemon but thats really nitpicking.

Over carbed pop upon opening, kinda made a mess. Semi-hazy straw yellow pour, big bubbled head. Brett funk aroma, lemon zest, peel, and slight orange. A little tart taste, with a refreshing citrus burst. A little Belgian-like yeastiness, more citrus in the back end. Pretty heavily carbonated, finishes sweet and dry.

This beer had sat in the fridge for a month but was a gusher when opened. Lost about an eight to quarter of the bottle. Poured into stemmed tulip. Purchased at Arrow Wine for $16.99/500 ml. Pricey but I love to try new beers in the saison and grisette styles.

And this one is definitely more grisette than saison. 3.75

A - Pours an opaque pale dirty yellow, almost a tan color with a white head. 2.75

S - Primarily lactic notes but with some background citrus notes and even some pear and kiwi. 4

T - Slightly tart. A low intensity kumquat without the sweet outer peel. 3.75

MF - Light body with a crisp dry finish slightly acidic finish. 3.75

 

 

 

 

 

After a slight gusher it gently pours a 3/4 inch head that recedes to a film with a ring after a couple minutes with a a hazy body. Nose of slate, citrus, and slight wheat. Upon warming it is mostly doughy wheat and citrus. Taste follows pleasantly enough with a crisp, dry finish. Nice coating mouth feel. Overall, this would be a nice accompaniment to just about any meal.

April 2016 bottling

A: Bottle explodes open and gushes everywhere upon uncapping. Luckily caught most of it. A very pale cloudy straw pour with a small fizzy white head. Head disappears immediately with no lacing.

S: Light wheatiness and some crisp citrus (lemons mainly it seems). A touch of honey-like sweetness.

T: Very wheaty now with a lightly tart lemony overtone. Huge wheatiness everywhere, initially a tiny bit sweet but turning extremely dry on the back end after the tartness has run its course. So dry it practically tastes dusty. Hints of white pepper as well.

M: Lighter bodied, extremely dry.

O: Pretty simple brew but well executed. Wheaty (or spelty?) with the perfect amount of citrus tartness to balance it. Extremely dry makes for a super clean and crisp brew.

 

 

Another standard Oxbow beer: high in price and low in beer quality.

I do not think that any of the beers from this brewery are worth buying, given the plentiful options available in New England.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pour is lightly hazed pale yellow with lots of tight white head. Nose is huge dusty brett, cellar funk, hint of lemon, light spice. Flavor is a bit more lemon forward, a lot less dusty brett, peppery spice, hints of farmhouse yeast, delicate and light, well carbonated.