Ancient Bole
TRVE Brewing Co.

Look: Piss yellow, little head

Smell: Metal, all I smell

Taste: Kinda like apple juice with a hint of orange. It isn’t bad

Feel: Lingers a bit too long

Overall: Not terrible but certainly not the best

 

375ml bottle

Pours a semi-translucent cloudy foggy pale yellow gold with a creamy white foam head that eventually dissipates. Smells real interesting, hoppy, fruity floral, farmhousey, a little wild and funky, oaky. Starts off with fruity hop notes of watermelon rind, musty pineapple, tart lemon, citrus peel, some acetic acid, white wine, yeasty esters like apple, pear, apricot, banana, hay, straw, farmhouse funk, hints of barnyard, pale malt, floral spice, oak foeder, slight vanilla, dill, and dusty earthy herbal hop notes. Tastes a bit tart, acetic, sour lemon candy, citrus peel, musty pineapple, passionfruit, watermelon rind, mild lychee, hints of apple, pear, apricot, banana, toasty hay, straw, barnyardy farmhouse funk, a touch of horse blanket, woody oak foeder, fruity white wine, slight vanilla, dill, pale bready crackery malts, floral peppercorn spice, finishing fairly dry with dusty earthy herbal hop notes. Feels medium plus bodied, almost thick and snappy with a smooth moderately low carbonation. Overall a real nice foeder fermented saison dry hopped with El Dorado.

 

I think this was my favorite beer from this brewery on one of my trips out to Denver this year (at the end of May for this one).

Hazy pale yellow color, big almost full inch frothy head that quickly dissipates as soon as its done pouring. The aroma was full of all kinds of stuff, citrus, hay, aspirin, lemon, fruited yogurt, oak, earthiness, even a mild hint of tobacco. Then you get one of the hoppiest noses for a saison ever. Well done.

Taste was so much simpler than the nose, nice lemon sour, nice hay, nice oak. Easy drinker. Good dry effect in the mouthfeel at the end, when you smell that earthiness type of flanders brune stuff, you don't think its gonna be dry, but it was. Hops give it a bit of greenness. Thought it was carbonated big time but not problematic. Drinks very similar to their sour pale ale (cursed) but with greater complexity and worthiness all in all at the end of the glass. Think we picked up a 4 pack of it, but leftpaw kept my 2 beers yet to give 'em to me, better get 'em this Thanksgiving from him.

Presentation: 16 oz. can with the canning date printed on the bottom. Served in a Rastal Craft Master Grand.

Appearance: The bubbly, bright white, one finger head disappears almost immediately and leaves behind a thing foam layer that stays until the end a lot of lacing all over the glass in sheets and webs. It's a slightly hazy, pale yellow color.

Smell: It starts off fruity with hints of citrus peel, then moves towards mustier aromas of humid earth, green herbs and oak.

Taste: Its tart, fruity herbal and earthy with with notes of lemon, parsley, yogurt, damp oak and even some coconut.

Mouthfeel: It's light, crisp and refreshing with medium-high carbonation. It starts getting noticeably cloying towards the end.

Overall: The taste and aromas are wonderfully rich and complex so it never gets boring. It's light and very refreshing but unfortunately it gets a tad cloying after a while so it's not exactly a beer for drinking in large amounts. It's still an awesome beer though.

 

On tap:
I seem to have a slightly different beer than other reviews. This beer does not come across as tart at all, more of a dry, wood-cut peppery saison overall. I might go as high as a light tang with a quick burst of tart citrus up front, but that’s as “tart” as it gets for me. And I’m fine with that, as o quite enjoyed what I tasted.

A Belgian wit look, pale yellow with a slight haze. It’s lacking a prominent head and lacing, however.

Nose is hay, dust, light funk, wood, sweeter orchard fruit with a tropical lean, and a light peppery aspect. Generally a farmhouse nose, with a new world fruit accent.

Dry beer sticks more heavily to the farmhouse, with the wood notes coming through nicely. Muted fruity hops/yeast notes are replaced by slightly less muted peppery notes. Low carbonation smooths this out more than other saison.

 

 

 

Serving: Bottle
No date (Consumed Aug-27-2018)


A:
Pours a cloudy white gold with a finger of white head that disappears. No retention; no lacing. (3.5)

S:
Fresh springy smell. Sour apple, cinnamon and sawdust. (4)

T:
Granny smiths, watermelon rind, some earthiness. (4)

M:
Light+ body with active carbonation and a twinge-on-the-back-of-the-tongue finish. (4)

O:
Very nice sour.
This is a straightforward tart beer that has some sweetness and a little spice mixed in with the tartness from the wild yeast. More complex than some, less than others. Nice on the whole, if a little pricey. (4.25)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incredibly pale and nearly transparent; a lighter-than-lemon yellow brew, topped with a modest off-white head with short legs.

Aroma carries tons of funk, oak, and hops. Bright, vegetal, slightly sharp. Really inviting nose.

Sharply tart, nearly sour, up front, carrying lots of funk through the first two thirds of the sip. Honey and cracker from the pale malts, although you'll have to battle through the citric acid and dirty, earthy, barnyard funk first. Really incredible on the palate - up there with some of the better funky saisons in the world. The El Dorado dry hopping adds depth and fruit tones, but it isn't over the top by any means - it's the icing on the cake.

Lively and active on the palate. Not as dry as you might want from a saison - it's actually quite wet. However, it's easy and smooth.

Really impressed by this one - and absolutely world class saison.

From a 375 ml (undated) bottle to a tulip.

A-The beer is light-golden-straw color and quite clear. Not a hint of haze, but I did not pour the dregs into the glass, so there may be some floaties if you empty it out. Head is almost non-existent; a short white foam lasts for about ten seconds before fading to nothing.

S-The aroma is a great showcase of the El Dorado dry hopping. I sniff fruity, juicy lemon-lime, some tropical floral notes, and maybe some pineapple. A light lactic funk is earthy rather than pungent and is balanced by a clean lemony acidity that provides a bit of pull on my glands. A bit of cereal grain carries the whole package together. Really nicely done.

T-The taste mostly tracks the smell. Lovely lemon-lime notes, a little bit of lactic earthy funk, some light grain and restrained, clean acidity mix nicely together. The finish is puckering and lightly oaked.

M-The beer is pretty dry and body is on the light side of things. Carbonation is mild, but the bubbles do enough to liven the beer on the palate. It drinks pretty clean.

O-This may be my favorite beer from TRVE. They call it a saison, but I found it hoppy enough to pass for a "sour IPA" style beer. I may have to pick up another bottle or two for summertime consumption.