Prairie Standard
Prairie Artisan Ales

Pours a cloudy dark straw yellow with a chartreuse cast, and a finger of loose white head that settles quickly to a dancing spot in the middle and a soapy collar.

Nose: Saison yeast is hard to miss. Unripe fruit skins, white grape, clove, and a minty note. Definitely a grainy backbone. Certainly lots of wheat, and considerable dry-hop notes. Digging further, I find more mint, lime, cinnamon, black pepper, and laurel. It has this really interesting note I can also attribute to laurel (West Coast people know what I'm talking about).

Palate: Saisons are difficult to give tasting notes on. There's just so much going on. Grains, yes. A mouthful of wheat, rye, and various other grass grains. Spicy, but in a phenol/ester way. Unripe banana and clove esters, and sharper, more pungent phenolic notes of black pepper, tree sap, and musty fruit. I suspect there's brett in here as well. Overripe peach, plum, and mango that have begun to ferment. Dried oramge peel. There's a citrus note that leans more towards lime than anything else. Lots of floral notes. A whole bouquet of plants, flowers, blossoms, grasses, etc... That laurel note still shows up. Almost camphoraceous. The finish builds quickly with hop oils, bringing a quick touch of pine resin bitterness, and then immediately drops, leaving fresh cut grass, dried orange peel, baking spice, and lingering graininess.

Mouthfeel/Body: The body is crisp and drinkable, but has a surprising presence, and almost creaminess for its 5.6% weight. Wheat tends to lend a creamy feel, but this is quite full bodied for sub-6% ABV. Restrained effervescence. Ultimately dry.

Overall: This is actually my first offering from Prairie thus far (I have three ready to review). I hear they specialize in saisons and farmhouse ales, so I had some high hopes. It's good, yes, but it's also very wheat-heavy, and quite hopped - two things that I always associate with American saisons. Less wheat, less grainy flavour, and less hopping, and if prefer this a little more. Nevertheless. It's bold, it's rough, it's raw, and it's very rustic - everything a good, true saison should be.

Soooo... Where'd you go? Must I travel to your taproom? Must I consume unhealthy amounts of citrus to satisfy my need for aged beer. Oh Prairie, you've gone astray. Forget the lime and the 10$ stouts. Break out the funk (again).

 

 

Poured a hazy light straw color from a 12 oz. can into a 10 oz. Bangkok Beer fluted glass. A big frothy foam head proceeded to take over more than half the glass and had to wait about 5 min to complete the pour, leavening tons of fine lacing behind. Aroma is grassy and earthy with hints of lemon, pine and spicy yeast & light malts. Flavor is lightly citrus up front with the spiciness of the yeast present and a nice clean semi dry finish. Light to medium in body with medium carbonation, and a good balance between the hops, grains & yeast, not overpowering in any category. First brew I'vd seen from Prairie & Oklahoma; will make sure to be on the lookout for their future offerings.

 

Small sample from 355 ml bottle, at a 4th of July tasting. Promising and nice farmhouse kitchen / brett aroma, but the flavour was too thin, bland and not very interesting. The Motueka hops did not come through as much as I’d like. Might sample again, but not if I have to pay for the bottle myself.

 

 

Standard has go-to possibilities when I want a sweet saison at the table.
It is my mistake to miss having the Standard during its first nine years since its release.

The Standard Looks very inviting; a full foamy head and leaves a droopy lace all around. Smells are fruity, but close to a lower standard (average.) Tastes are in home-run territory; they really race my heart and elevate my buds; sweet and salivating, but also balanced with modest hops. Totally refreshing. And while medium-mouthed, the finish continues finely balanced. I didn't have the Standard at the table yet, but will report back then. I am not to be disappointed.

Only my third from Prairie Artisan, they certainly are accomplished and come out of a place I would not suspect as a haven of craft brewing. But, Prairie has lots of passion... and it probably helps financially to have figured out barrel-aging of imperial stouts early on... before the trend grew so big. As for Prairie's saisons, that's all I've had. And I want more.

5/3/21 I could not wait and had to have the second of the 4-pack with dinner. It was a mash-up of Greek Easter dinner leftovers and a Boca Burger with three different sauces. The Standard went reasonably well with the mash-up; so it is on its way to being in my go-to saison stable. I'm now keeping count over at UnTappd.

 

 

Had this in late May 2018 around the pool.

Pour is golden yellow, 1/4" white head. True to the commercial label tug job, this does smell hoppy, especially for style. Lighter hay and grass yeast notes underneath the hops. There is also a little bit of a clove yeast component that doesn't need to be there.

Taste, really does come across like a mish mash of hoppy pale ale and saison. In most of the aspects, it works. The levity, the waves of grain, farmland, grassiness, carbonation, they're all dialed in nicely. Motueka hops work better than they do on paper here giving a light citrus and pineapple feel. The mouth feel has an effervescent yet dry finish that is style appropriate either direction you look at this beer. Surprised there are reviews talking about funk, this was really clean.

At the end of the day, it truly is a hoppy saison with just as much hop notes as it has anything else. The wheat is crisp and light.

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a hazy orange amber color with a one finger head of puffy white foam. The head has a great level of retention, slowly fading over time to leave a bit of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is odd for a farmhouse. It is strongest of almost caramel cookie like smell mixed with aromas of some breadiness and a decent showing of lemon. Along with these smells comes a touch of a funky aroma as well as some smells of hay.
Taste – The taste begins with a sweeter bready taste that is mixed with flavors of sweet caramel and a decent bit of orange and lemon. Upfront there is a bit of funk which grows stronger as the taste moves forward. All the while some light spice of coriander and clove also come to the tongue all while there is a slight increase in the fruit flavors. Toward the end the funk amps up and is joined by a bit of hay, leaving one with not so complimenting, sweet, and lightly spiced and funked taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness with a carbonation level that is average. Overall the feel is decent for the mix of odd flavors, and makes it a bit easier drinker.
Overall – Not really a balanced brew or all that representative of the style. Not really one to go out of your way for.

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz can. Decided to try another variety of beer from Prairie since all I have had are some of their stouts.

Pours a light orange-y pale yellow. Head is a thick foam but doesn’t retain much. No lacing.

Smell is mainly citrus (maybe some pineapple) and floral notes. Something sweet is there too, but subtlety (I think it is banana but I cannot be sure). Not bad but not special.

Taste is follows the nose. At first it is sweet and citrusy, followed by a strong showing of hops, then the finish is long, hoppy and floral, and I would say somewhere between semi-dry and dry. Spices show themselves throughout, mainly clove and pepper. The floral characteristic lingers longer than anything else.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and highly carbonated. Very easy to drink, which is what I suppose one would want in a saison.

Overall, it’s nowhere near the level of their stouts for me, but a good showing from Prairie here too.