åldrad gammelgädd - Gin Barrel-Aged Nordic Farmhouse
Solemn Oath Brewery

 

amazing stuff right here, a gin barrel aged saison, super robust and interesting, a standout in a really killer session of beer drinking for me. pale and hazy straw colored with a tall white belgian looking head, no visible sign of its strength or intensity, looks almost delicate in the glass, real bubbly and sort of classic to me. the aroma is shocking though, as much gin as beer it seems, heavy juniper and spruce notes, like menthol intensity as i breathe it in, lesser on the oak, but i get the sturdy wheat malt for sure, fresh and earthy and necessarily grounding, along with a curious strain that is nice with the botanical gin but sort of new to me in this context, a warming waft of booze is draped over the whole thing. the flavor is killer too, really pretty gin driven, things like cucumber peel and lemon flesh and some noble hop character pop up, but its the juniper that leads, just short of medicinal here. there is definitely some vanilla and white wine notes from the barrels too, oaky and definitely with a nordic vibe. the yeast is fragrant too, floral and lightly belgian, nice with the complex other flavors in here, and its bold enough to hold its own. increasingly alcoholic as it warms up, but because of such high carbonation, it never gets heavy. a great beer overall, these guys always seem to push the boundaries in interesting ways!