Bay And Pepper Your Bretts
Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse

 

What a very, very interesting beer. Amazing and unique nose ... A very unusual yet pleasing taste....it's hard (I imagine) to get "spicy" into a good tasting beer, but these folks have done it ... I like!

 

 

 

"Josh Lehman (Holy Grale Chef) is the quintessential beer focused chef. Jerry Gnagy (ATG Brewmaster) is the quintessential strange brewer. So it only made sense they would work together on this bright, savory and spicy saison. What didn't and doesn't make sense is the name Bay and Pepper Your Bretts. But if it's good, does it have to make sense?" Brewed in the style of a Saison Ale with Herbs and Spices added. Available in 750ml. bottles and on limited draft.

Poured from a 750ml. bottle to a tulip glass.

(Appearance) Pours a snow white head of a foamy smooth consistency over a densely hazy medium amber body with light streaming carbonation and moderate speckled sediment in tow. Retention is average and lacing is light and patchy. 3.75

(Smell) Lightly toasted bread malts, fruit sugars and soft acidity and creeping funk of brettanomyces, effervescent pepperiness, with no discernible herbal notes to the aroma. An appealing aroma overall, very accessible with an aromatically rich yeast, malt and brett profile. 4

(Taste) The flavor largely follows the nose, with toasted bread crusts and mildly sweetened pale malt body, a residual fruity sweetness, a gentle peppery and spicy yeast backbone, and a soft note of acidity and funk on the backbone. Some soft herbal characteristics are detected on the finish and don't serve as a distraction from the traditional qualities of the style. Overall tasty for a saison, although the Brett character and adjuncts don't come through quite as boldly as they did in the aroma, and the resulting impression is slightly more ordinary than anticipated. 3.75

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, smooth, lightly chewy, moderately dry. Carbonation is modest, generating a medium frothiness and a modestly crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, shy of medium overall. Balance is nearly even sweet to peppery, earthy bitter, tangy and acidic. Alcohol presence is mild and there are no off characters overall. 4

(Overall) This is a saison that seems to fall between acceptable and enjoyable. A peppery and herbal-infused saison could be an outstanding beer if the adjuncts are not overdone, but a wasted effort if they don't come through as evident. My overall impressions for this beer are good, although the herbs and spices don't really rise up above my expectations for the style, the fruitiness and malt body leave enough residual sweetness for there to be a bit more wiggle room for extremities, although I don't get that this beer takes those liberties. Overall, it's an enjoyable saison, but not one that ventures too wildly off the beaten path, significantly overpriced otherwise, considering all the quality comparable saison ales out there. 3.75

Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse's
Bay and Pepper your Bretts
3.84/5.00

 

 

 

Clear amber color. Poured with nice head that dissipated to thin veil and then nothing. Saison-brett nose with a hint of spice - cloying. Taste is somewhat saison but spice is noticeable and, for my taste, distracts from the base. A bit sweetish mouthfeel and thin.

 

 

 

 

 

Pour: Bomber bottle into a tulip glass. Appearance: Hazy pale straw in color. Thin white head present. Aroma: Huge lemony citrus. Notes of funk and yeasty earth. Spice and pepper aromas as well. Taste: Surprisingly falls flat on the sip. Very contradictory to the nose. Pepper, spice, and lemony citrus come through but is minimal. Aftertaste: Not much on the back end. Earthy and funky notes linger but recede quickly. Overall: Expected more with this one. Okay. 2.89 out of 5.

Too overpowering for me.

 

Poured into a snifter.

3.25 A: Murky bright straw yellow color. One finger of short lived white head that leaves about half of itself behind as irregular lacing.

1.25 S: When the cap came off, the worry began. My first though was: acetone. The taste nearly confirms my suspicions, but I'm still not fully sure. It could just be the bay leaves meshing poorly with the brett and saison funkiness. In any case, it smells terrible. Acetone astringency blocks out any attempt to find something better underneath, but I'll contradict myself and say I can pick up some lemon and brett funkiness.

1.25 T: I gave the nose a 1.25 so I could have some wiggle room to give a worse score for the taste, but alas, it is just as bad as the nose - no better and no worse. Again I'm getting acetone as the main flavor. Brett funk, lemon, and pepper follow but as above, it's difficult to want to get past the bad to see what's underneath.

3.5 M: The mouthfeel is actually pretty good though. Light and spritzy and dances on the tongue.

1.5 D: I really hope I'm right and this is the beginnings of an infection. If it isn't, then the brewer consciously released one of the worst beers ever made. Based on the other reviews here and on RB, I'd say it's the former. In any case, I tried to contact the brewer, but instead of being a normal company and putting an contact email on their website, all they offer is a hundred ways to use social media to follow their antics. If I was 10 years younger and much stupider I'd have a twitter account, but I don't today.

BEWARE! It sucks wasting $12 on a single bottle.

750 ml bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but likely from 2015. Pours hazy deep golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, orange peel, apricot, pineapple, pear, apple, peppercorn, herbal bay leaf, wheat, cracker, hay, straw, grass, light leather, musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great complexity and balance of fruity/funky/spicy brett, spices, and light-moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, orange peel, apricot, pineapple, pear, apple, peppercorn, herbal bay leaf, wheat, cracker, hay, straw, grass, light leather, musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Good amount of earthy yeast spiciness and slight tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, orange peel, apricot, pineapple, pear, apple, peppercorn, herbal bay leaf, hay, straw, grass, light leather, and musty funk on the finish for a short bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy brett, spices, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/spiciness/tartness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness after the finish from carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth, crisp, and lightly acidic/sticky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent spiced brett saison. All around great robustness, complexity, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy brett, spices, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering.

 

750 ml bottle. Hazy straw yellow body, thin white retention ring. Very minor splotchy lacing. Big herbal aroma, slight pepper, lemongrass, and spice. Flavor is a bit cleaner than the nose, but not great. Bay leaves, yeast, herbs, slight pepper. Dry finish. Strange beer...

 

Appearance: Hazy orangeish, small white cap with splotchy lacing.

Aroma/Flavor: Lemon, herbal and pineapple notes on the nose. Palate follows.

Mouthfeel: Medium light.

 

 

750 ml bottle into a tulip glass.

Bright orange/yellow pour with a medium head that dissapates rather quickly. Smell starts with the Belgian yeast, strong black pepper, lesser aroma of malts, Brett and bay leaves. Taste continues the yeast, some pepper, a little Brett funk. Also a citrusy tartness, a little bay leaf. Smooth, great feel, pretty dry.

Well worth a purchase. Flavors are well blended. Fairly refreshing beer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had from large bomber bottle into tulip glass, poured a bright pale gold with good initial head and nice lacing.

S - aromas of bay leaf, lemongrass, citrus, with a hefty load of pepper, ontop of a bretty horsey base. Quite fragrant and interesting, the brett and typical saison notes are a bit buried by the pungent spice, but the brett notes are still visible. Punch of bay leaf.

T - sweetish start, with some pale malt leading to a very confusing cacophony of flavours! Lemon notes, apricot, with a dose of bay then peppery spice, getting more asrigently herbal and spicy. Brett notes again provide some mild underpinning with some fruity tropical notes and hay. Thankfully the bay leaf is a bit more reigned in here, allowing some lemony and spice notes to come through. Sits with a bit of bretty tartness developing. Eventually this bombardment of flavours gets in order.

M - moderate body, light before the oily spice notes hit, fairly light carbonation, a bit more would probably help this beer. Sits well on the palate with a touch of tartness developing.

Initial perceptions have improved as the sipping went on, but not enough to firmly recommend this. This beer is out there and I think in trying to offer a culinary compliment, this would more likely try to steal the spotlight. Spices are strong and overall this is an enjoyable beer, unfortunately the typical saison notes are nowhere to be found, this is all spices with a hint of brett.

Blind Review

Appearance: Bright, clear gold-tinged orange. Head is bright-white and slightly creamy. Head retention is minimal. Small collar and the tiniest wisp of a cap remain. No lacing. Moderate carbonation on the pour.

Smell: Funky. Sweet cherry skin and pit. Something like peach as well. Vague sweet almost cinnamon that I always get with cherry, which may or may not be misleading my head. Peppery yeast. Slightly spicy. Cherry skin. Very slight tart edge layered through the back. Slightly lactic. Some vague notions of oak running through as well. A touch of alcohol on the back. Vague notions of stone fruit. Lots of odd spices. Almost like the bundle of spices you throw in chicken soup.

Taste: The soft peppery spice from the nose lingers. Touches of cherry skin. Cherry pit. Some slight tropical fruit elements. A slight lactic tartness runs through the initial sip. Soemthing akin to sweet sweet cinnamon as well. Malts offer a slight caramelized sweetness. Pear and apricot. Herbal. Crazy herbal. Yeasty spice. Very minimal hop influence. Some earthy and grassy elements.

Mouthfeel: Medium pushing to light body. Moderate carbonation.

Overall: Hit that yeast spice hard.

 

 

The bay leaf works for me, and I think it wouldn't with most other styles. There is a fair amount of candyish sweetness in the taste and aroma to go with the bay and a touch of spiciness to finish.