Farmageddon - Dry-Hopped
Bellwoods Brewery

 

 

On-tap at Bellwoods. Farmageddon dry-hopped with Galaxy.

A - White foam settles to a thin cap, thicker collar and plenty of splotchy lacework. Looks darker than regular Farmageddon; hazy golden. Could be the lighting though.

S - The dry-hopping really makes a huge difference. Big juicy, tropical Galaxy hops mingle with musty brett, lemon, and bready malts. Not a ton of farmhouse yeast character; brett dominates. A tinge of vinous oak and hints of fruity white wine, but a fairly mild contribution.

T - The taste doesn't retain much of the Galaxy hop character. Nearly identical to the base beer. Taste starts with underripe stone fruit and bready malts, but becomes dominated with medicinal brett and a bit of oak in the finish. Again, the barrel contribution is restrained; pretty heavy on yeast and bread and missing the depth of the aroma. Still, it's pretty nice on the whole.

M - Pleasant medium-light body. Carbonation is a bit zestier on-tap than the conditioned bottles. Smooth, creamy texture, with a some lingering oak dryness. Still quite nice in this regard.

D - This is the best version of this beer that I've had (Batch #7 with Galaxy hops, if you're curious). Definitely give it a try if you see it on-tap at Bellwoods or elsewhere in the city. Still, the flavor of the beer is lacking something to push this into 'great' territory.

Draught-only, this is a version of Farmageddon dry-hopped with Galaxy hops. The result is wonderful. I am a big fan of Farmageddon (the last several batches have been terrific), and this is another step-up in my view. The brett funk is there, but there is a big tropical fruit flavour blended in with it. Reminiscent of Motley Cru 2014 given the blend of brett and hops. This is not quite on the same level as Motley 2014 (maybe my favourite Bellwoods beer), but it is excellent. I hope that this becomes more regular, but my guess is that it is not to be seen again.