Individuation: Ilis
Tired Hands Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

Poured from a bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Nearly clear light golden pour. Thin fizzy white head... thin rim of lacing.

S: Tart and funky... oak and white wine.

T/F: Tart with a mild pucker. Light grains... great funk and barrel character. Chardonnay and oak... honey flavor and mild honey/fruit sweetness but only after the tartness fades. Tea and green apple... very mild citrus. Light bodied... zesty carbonation. The finish is green fruit and mild tartness.

O: A super saison... tending towards the sour end of 'tart' but still drinkable.. not as balanced as expected with the listed addition of honey. Still a fantastic beer... top quality!

 

 

 

Pours lightly hazy yellow-orange with a short-lived head.

The nose is clementine, apricot, lemon iced tea, and band-aid.

The taste is medium-tart pineapple, white wine, and green apple. Big apple skin flavors rounded out by oak. A subtle lemon square/lemon dessert character, and spring water-like minerality. The mouthfeel is medium minus with adequate carbonation. The honey's maybe not doing as much to round out the beer as it could. Nice fresh pineapple mid-palate, almost approaching pineapple dipped in whipped cream from the oak character. Funky, lively lemon throughout.

Overall, very good.

Tired Hands Brewing Co. "Individuation: Ilis"
750 ml green glass bottle, capped, without freshness dating
$18 @ the Tired Hands General Store

Notes via stream of consciousness: I had to give it a bit of a rough pour to bring up a head, which is interesting for a saison. It's just slightly hazy and golden beneath a short head of bright white that's unfortunately faded by the time I got around to typing it, which is quick. Maybe there will be some lacing, perhaps not. It smells like sour apple juice. Ah, and as I bring it closer to my nose I find Brettanomyces. It's very much like a cider, and there's a distinct barnyard note to it, but beyond that not much in the way of Brett characteristics. It's a little spicy in a generic way, but I don't find any oak. Perhaps it will open up a little as it warms. On to the flavor... pretty much exactly as the aroma suggested with the exception that the barnyard isn't as strong as the aroma suggests. It's cidery, apple-y, and gently tart which is interesting because it's beer and not fruit. Is there fruit added to this? No, it's spelt with honey and tea added. I don't find the honey. Ahh, maybe a little bit in the residual sweetness that wards off the tartness. And I don't particularly get the tea, but now knowing that it's there I can see that as well. Maybe if I pour some of the lees I'll get more, but before I do that let me take a look at the head and lacing: the head has long gone to a thin collar and there's very little lacing left behind. That's not unusual for a sour beer though. It forma a little with each sip but then it either slides back down into the liquid of just simply disappears. OK, let me get some yeast into this... well I didn't get any with that pour but I am finding more of the tea. There's a fruity Rooibos character, and some earthy/leafy/spiciness that I think is also from the tea. It remains cidery with apple, but also some pear, and a light touch of citrus (lemon, orange). And I am finding a hint of honey in the finish, and some light oak. Ahhh, before the next pour I should cover the mouthfeel. It's tart, so there's that acidity, and I didn't mention it earlier but there's very little bitterness if any. It's light bodied and softly carbonated. It just gently caresses the tongue, but that's OK because the acidity is there to give it a little bit of bite as well. So kudos on that, any more carbonation would have made it too harsh. I'm getting a much more floral character out of the aroma now, which I'm guessing is from the tea. I'm not sure how to describe it, there's nothing in my memory that I can directly relate it to, but it did make me think of picking honeysuckle as a kid. There's a touch more mineral character as well, which I'm assuming is yeast, and now I'm finding more pear than apple, although golden apple remains. So even with my last pour and a swirl I didn't get much yeast into it. There is yeast in the bottle though, I just didn't swirl it enough. I got some though and now it's much more hazy. Ahhh, maybe I got more than I thought as I'm getting yeast in the aroma now. And it's softened up the flavor a bit as well. Too bad, I preferred it without the yeast, just a little bit sharper. Oddly I'm finding the oak in the finish now though, tannic at the back of the throat, although I don't know if that has to do with the added yeast or just warming up. And I think it's a little more spicy and woody as well, I'm getting a kind of cedar note. So... conclusion... world class. It's nicely balanced and rounded, and completely interesting throughout. It's also enticingly drinkable, and then compulsively drinkable except that it holds you back with its acidity and delicate nature (only a beast would plow through such a delicate and wonderful thing).

 

750 ml bottle poured into an Ourison glass

A- A slightly hazy golden straw color with a two finger white head

S- Tart, citrus, herbal tea, barnyard funk, oak, some honey.

T- Tart lemons, oak, some tea, slightly floral, touch of honey, nice mild barnyard funk.

M- Smooth, light, crisp, dry.

O- Another solid tart saison from Tired Hands. Tea and honey are a nice touch to this beer. Worth picking up.