Transcendence
Enlightenment Ales

Batch #2 from a 750ml bottle blessedly free of that pretentious cork 'n cage nonsense.

The first glassy poured as a hazy golden honey color with a long lasting 3 finger head.

I found a nice fruity bouquet in the nose; apricot mostly along with some peach, apple, and light citrus. Very nice. Yeasty notes were balanced between peppery brett and some traditional barnyard funk. Plenty of spice character as well, clove especially.

The flavors in the first glass was a wonderful combination of tart stone fruit, grassy hops, and lightly funky brett character. The finish was a nice, lingering clove and potpourri fruitiness. The second glass was more muddled because of the sediment. Heavy on the cloves and wet grain. I need a 27 ounce snifter.

This felt a bit heavy for a saison, but bretty saisons often come across that way to me. Overall I really dug this one. I usually prefer my saisons to be bone dry (DuPont) or fruity and estery (Hennepin). So while bretted saisons generally aren't my thing, this one tickled me just right.

 

 

 

 

Pours a rich golden hue with an opulent off white hair. There is a ton of bready brett in the aroma. Some peach, some white wine. The flavor and mouthfeel is where this beer shines. It's incredible dry, but there is plenty of tropical fruit funk. It's very soft. This is a tremendous farmhouse ale.

 

 

The beer hits of huge fruity notes for a farmhouse ale with stone fruit, citrus, oranges. There's an underlying light hay funk along with a wheaty base and some chewy bready malts. The finish is dry. A really well done beer with wonderful fruit notes and a really dry finish without being overly spicy or bready.

From 11/28/15 notes.

Really nice saison. Lots of brett for sure which I love, oranges, citrus, tropical fruits, light funk, spices, and pepper. Medium body and high carbonation.

Really good...wish they weren't shutting down as this is the first thing I had from them and I dug it.

 

 

 

750ml bottle poured into a chalice.

A: Even a gentle pour produces a slightly hazy golden liquid with a massive rocky head. Retention is excellent. Lacing sticks in thick gobs.

S: Yeasty with an even level of funk. Lots of pithy tropical fruits. Mandarin orange. Banana and bubblegum taffy. Banana bread. Cinnamon and pepper and light phenolic smoke. Dose of earthy hops. Stale bread and crackers. Deep and complex.

T: Bursts of tropical fruit. Pineapple and mandarin orange. Tart. Green apple. Peppery and smokey phenols play more roughly than the nose suggested, but fit well as this is a rougher sort of beer. Flash of citrus and earthy hops. Yeasty and musty. Mature bretty funk. Stale bread. Medium dry overall. Old and musty finish.

M: Medium bodied. Silky and easy in the mouth as it glides over the tongue. Low prickling carbonation.

O: There's a lot of unique character coming from the aged part of the blend and the wild yeasts. It's deep and complex, but in a wild, rough, and old sort of way. A good friend to some moderately funky washed rind cheeses. Taleggio would be a perfect pair I think.

 

 

Pours dark gold with a ton of white foam. Foam releases the funk, grass, lemon, big orange, slight wheat, and slight oak aromas. Taste doesn't have same intensity, but has more of a sour yeast finish. Delicate, slightly grainy, bright and crisp. Very enjoyable for autumn

An solid but unremarkable saison / farmhouse ale. The nose has some good earthy / dankness to it but the taste comes off harsh and hearty. If you are in the right mood, it would be a good choice but taking down a bomber on a random day may not be the right idea.