Here And There - Pennsylvania Empress Plum
Tired Hands Brewing Company

 

Poured from a corked bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Cloudy golden burgundy pour with 2 fingers of fluffy white head. Nice ring of lacing.

S: Tart and funky... fruit/plum and lemon citrus.

T.F: Complex. Lemon rind and citrus mixed with plum and stone fruit. Green apple skins, red wine, and oak. Tangy... tart without being sour. Some definite funk and culture. Medium bodied... a wisp of fruity sweetness and dry finish. Well carbonated.

O: Another outstanding Tired Hands saison. They nailed the plum on this one.... great flavor and drinkability. Similar to the 'Here and There' series while remaining distinct. Beautiful brew.

 

 

 

this is astounding! a beer of the year candidate for me this year for sure, and my favorite of the three beers in this series we had in succession (also the base and the peach). the color here is splendid, a rich pink to violet color, hazy enough but soft and mellow looking too, with a high rising white head and a real radiant glow, so pretty. plum is such a tricky fruit in beer, like when the beer is dry the plum is all gone, and when its sweet its generic fruitiness most of the time, not plum specific, so i am immediately impressed that i can smell honest plum here, and tons of it, tangy from the skins, sweet and summery from the flesh, even that little tart bit of fruit right around the pit, i smell that too. i still also get everything i liked about the unfruited version, the buckwheat in the grain base, the funkiness of the yeast in front of the sourness, and all the woody maturity. the flavor is just as good as the smell, its the most true to the fruit i have ever known in a plum beer, famous lambic makers of belgium included! there is this moment in the flavor, about midway through, where everything almost hits pause except for the plum, and its like chewing a bite of the ripest, most perfect piece of fruit, just for a second, and then all the rest of the awesome beer elements flood back in. super funky, to me even more than the base, maybe some funky wild elements from the plums took hold a little bit. the wood mellows it nicely, and there is some red wine fruitiness at the end, highly compatible. this is effervescent in feel, brighter than the base, and still has that grounded rustic element from the buckwheat. world class beer, the best ive ever had with plums. thankful for my brother who shared this. a beer highlight of a very beery summer!

 

750 ml bottle poured into an Ourison glass

A- A clear light ruby red with a three finger off white head.

S- Plums, sour, oak, nice funk, plum skins.

T- Sour, plums, oak, some tannins, nice funk.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- A nice plum sour, very easy to drink.

 

 

Pours a hazy raspberry color with a fat finger of rocky, raspberry-tinted head. Decent lacing.

Nice, lightly sour aroma with a slight floral element and some clear plum.

The taste follows the nose. Light, floral, slightly-soapy saison flavors up front with a touch of soggy white bread toast mid-palate and a tart, sour, almost juicy plum component, contributing to a puckering, semi-dry finish. There’s a mineral element in the finish as well.

Very soft feeling at first with strong carbonation that punches up the tartness if left sitting on the tongue.

My only complaint is that this relatively fresh bottle was a gusher. The fruit flavor here is very complementary and the beer dances nicely along the border between a soft saison and a fruited wild ale.