Farmhouse Classic - Brett Lambicus
Bellwoods Brewery

 

 

 

500ml bottle, my first Bellwoods offering, kudos to hoppypocket for sending it my way.

This beer pours a hazy, medium muted golden straw colour, with a veritable teeming tower of fizzy, tightly foamy off-white head, which leaves some chunky swaths of low-lying cloud lace around the glass as it quite slowly abates.

It smells of lightly roasted pale, grainy malt, ephemeral yeast, aged lemon peel, a musty, dusty barnyard funk, a clove/coriander mixed spiciness, and further earthy, weedy, and leafy hop notes. The taste is much more malty up front - bready, somewhat caramelized pale malt, but in a strangely dry manner - hardly tongue scrape-worthy, but not nearly as sweet as one might expect - sweet coriander, tame black pepper aerosol, meaty Belgian yeast, a well-understated farmhouse funk, lemon zest, and laid-back earthy, weedy hops.

The carbonation is obviously quite ludicrous, what with the overwrought effervescence making pouring and drinking both initially a chore unto themselves, but once done, the bubbles, they be quite fine, the body a near medium weight, and actually rather smooth, nothing else here up for a pointless fight. It finishes off-dry, the semi-sweet pale malt, spices, and don't ask, don't tell alcohol calling the shots.

A pretty enjoyable, and well-rendered saison, even with the Brett - like all else, the funk is just another element, one to be swiftly integrated. Tasty, and a pleasant intro for me to this apparently venerable Ontario brewery.

 

Bottled March 12, 2013. Let this one sit for a few months to see if the brett would develop more strongly.

Beer is clear golden, and the pour results in large white head. Good retention, some nice lace.

Nose contains apple, yeast, some spice and, yes, some brett. The brett is not heavy but it is there.

Flavour is like the scent. Yeast, light fruit and very light spicing. The brett is pretty restrained, but there is an earthy flavour that gives it away, particularly in the finish. Finish is quite dry.

Medium bodied and moderately carbonated. Soft and a bit creamy. The carbonation level is just right, avoids the heavy bubbles of many saisons.

Overall, really quite tasty. I think this is a slight improvement over their regular saison, and expect it would improve a bit more with some more time.

 

Bottle shared by Adrial. Served in a taster glass.

A - Generous white foam settles to a thick cap, leaving behind specks of lacing. Lightly hazed, pale straw body.

S - Very dry, with toasted grains, peppery yeast, light lemon, and a touch of dirty brett. As it warms a mild medicinal note and perhaps a hint of plastic sneaks in. Highly attenuated and low in sweetness, which I appreciate.

T - The taste is a tiny bit sweeter, with some stone fruit malts, and more of a tropical funkiness to it. Still, it's heavy on toasted grains and peppery Belgian yeast. I had the regular version a few days earlier and this seemed a bit less sweet, but it's not particularly wild at this stage.

M - Dry, medium body. Pleasant carbonation, soft texture, and no discernible alcohol. On-point for the style.

D - A solid American saison, but perhaps it needs a bit of age to become more divergent from the base beer. I think this was brett bruxellensis, and think that perhaps clausenii might have worked better. Still, we had no problems finishing the bottle.

Bottled on 3/12/12. Poured in to tulip.

A - Cloudy golden yellow with two big fingers of bright white head.

S - Belgian yeast, clove, peppery spice and a lemony tartness with light fruit esters in the background.

T - Extremely dry. Bready malt sweetness, clove, yeast esters, pepper and some lemon zest. The brett is very restrained with only the slightest bit of funk coming through.

M - Very dry. Light body with moderate carbonation.