Chardonnay Saison
Hilliard's Beer

2016-07-04
750ml corked/caged bottled split between a pair of large snifters. Bottle is labeled 2015, bottle 647 of 995. I remember having this beer a couple years ago on tap at the brewery and being really impressed.

Pours a mostly clear straw yellow with a moderate head that faded almost instantaneously. Smell is gorgeous, rich and winey, maybe some apple. Exudes chardonnay.

Taste is tart, very tart, again with maybe a little apple flavor. If you blindfolded me and put this under my nose, I would guess chardonnay before beer, but if you gave me a sample, I'd think sour beer with chardonnay. Some kind of sweetness I can't pin down.

Mouthfeel is smooth but flat. Overall, it's a tasty, interesting beer. Could use some lasting carbonation and some head retention to make it more beer-like and attractive-looking.

On-tap at the Dray in Seattle. Tasted 4 June 2016.

Pours clear pale golden, one finger of fairly dense white head. Okay retention and lacing. Nice, nothing special here.

Smell brings light bright chardonnay notes to the nose with some underlying sweetness. The saison character isn't potent here, but it's enough that I know I'm smelling beer, not wine, which can be an issue with chardonnay-aged beers.

Taste is all variety of goodness. Definitely tart, with a crisp dry white wine sharpness. But it also has a sort of candy (smarties?) sweetness, an unidentifiable peppy fruit. Reminds me, in fact, of one of my favorite beverages, which I haven't had in a long time: Lift Plus.

Feel is excellent. The one word that comes to mind is sparkly. It's light, airy even, with crackling carbonation. Yum.

Excellent beer, and a big step up from their standard saison. Best beer I've had from Hilliard's, I think.