Yonder Cities
Union Craft Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a lightly hazy amber color. The head is a finger high and white in shade. Actually, I doubt it's even a finger - nor is the retention impressive. A small ring of lacing manages to cling to the glass, though.

Does this have brett? *checks Union's website* Don't think so. However, the farmhouse yeast here is used nicely. Notes of light funk, black pepper, grass, and citrus salad show up. Citrus (namely orange and tangerine) comes from both the yeast and the hops, seemingly. The latter also gives some mango, papaya, and passionfruit qualities. No doubt, this offers an alluring blend of saison yeast and new-school hops. Rye malts aren't noted, but touches of caramel and table sugar are.

It's more balanced than the nose suggested. The saison yeast is really well utilized here, giving a midtaste of flowers, black pepper, grass, and a little citrus. Oddly enough, I'd suggest the hops play second fiddle here, though pleasant tropical fruits are offered around the start and finish. Touches of rye, caramel, and table sugar pop near the back end. The complexity offered is quite impressive, with the farmhouse yeast adding nicely to the pleasant (if standard) IPA.

It's not as carbonated as the typical saison, though light bubbles do scrub things nicely. Also helping cleanse the palate is a coarse rye texture right before the swallow. Oats manage to detract, however. They don't really make it smoother, yet make it feel a touch heavy anyways. Ah well, it's still easy to drink.

I dig it. The saison element wasn't half-assed, neither was the hoppiness. To be fair, neither aspect are nailed perfectly, but it strikes a good medium between the two. I wonder if the DC Brau version will be any different? I'm quite pleased with what's in my glass, and I'll buy it again.

3.73/5: Yummy saison with hops/farmhouse IPA/whatever it is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from the can into a tulip glass. Flip the Face April 3rd 2017 canning date. Boy am I happy to see this again, as I so enjoyed it at DC Brau years ago. This from what I think I can see is the Union brewed? Version? Maybe? (Pink Yonder lettering as opposed to Green?) So lets see how this goes.

Deep dark orange amber with chestnut and lemon faint edges. Creamy topped off white and bowled center with excellent rings of lace. Fairly opaque but with a real nice gem glowing quality. Good looking brew.

Yup that aroma is gangbusters. Sharp pepper brett and excellent balanced thick juiced tropical bitter hop. Large amounts of mango and exotic fruit, with excellent punchy balancing funk. Hints of faint cream, but the sharpness is so well slicing and balanced it just makes for a fantastic unique contrast. This aroma is very memorable and makes me pretty darn happy.

Palate is perhaps not as gangbusters but is certainly dam impressive. Juiced and funk body but with some more caramel sweetness but nicely played in the mid palate. Tropical and excellent funk with matching herbal and spicy hop tangy flavors, it feels like wood being picked out of your teeth. Juicy fruit tones, but a slightly wetter body possibly? But really splitting hairs. Some of the hop angles though seem a bit more bitter this time and there's a faint almost medicinal quality, sort of baby aspirin this time around.

Memory and notes are a great thing. It's definitely the aroma I fell in love with, the palate just seems a bit different, but this is still great stuff like I remembered.