Native Series Tennessee Cream Ale
Blackberry Farm Brewery

 

From a bomber into a Perfect Pint glass, it’s a clear golden color with a towering head of tight white foam and tons of carbonation. Later in the pour, a swirl reveals lees, giving the brew a cloudy golden appearance with visible sediment. On the nose there is a definitely a citrus/fruity sour scent reminiscent of some Belgian Strong Pale Ales. I was a bit surprised to find that this was an American Wild as it definitely is reminiscent of traditional Belgian light/white ales. Nice crisp mouth, refreshing and quenching. Flavor is a bit musty/sour but not overpoweringly so; overall it’s refreshing. Some citrus and mild piney hops bite against a semi-sweet malt background. Overall quite tasty. Would try again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

375 mL bottle. Hazy orange with a big fluffy head that lasts and lasts. Smells of sweet corn and cereal malt. Yeasty "funk" or "barnyard" or whatever you want to call it. A little floral, too. Tastes grassy and even a little herbal up front. Bitter and yeast immediately. Some of the corn sweetness comes through, but it has an earthy and, seemingly, bretty finish. I had no clue what to expect from the label. This was a pleasant surprise.

Mildly cloudy, golden body topped with a frothy white head. Dull, ripened fruity aroma; peach and apricot; mildly funky; phenolic. Grainy with a light sweetness; wild yeast character throughout. Medium body; fizzy yet with a deft softness; dry and crisp with a light astringency.

This ain't no cream ale other having a distinct corn sweetness and lightness to the body. Overall, the wild yeast character overtakes things (not necessarily in a negative fashion) and delivers a more farmhouse or saison quality to things instead of a traditional cream ale profile. If the marketing angle wasn't "shouting" cream ale and instead focused more on the dominant wild yeast angle of this beer (e.g., "Tennessee Wild Cream Ale" certainly would be more descriptive of what is in the bottle), I'd rate this beer higher in taste and overall scores. As it is, this is a decent farmhouse or saison beer, but just doesn't cut it with the "cream ale" moniker.

 

Very unique and refreshing.... Definitely more of a saison than cream ale in my opinion. Funky and quite good... Drinks terrific.. A little steep at 9 bucks but I enjoyed this... Its nice that it's locally made... If not for the price, I would drink this quite often...

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a hazy medium golden amber, very fizzy and carbonated on the pour, but surprisingly left a lingering half finger white head with good lacing. Aroma of grainy, saison style malt, saison yeast, light citrus and pepper; nice, but not much corn or sweetness expected from a cream ale. Flavor is grainy, farmhouse malt with an odd sweet corn malt element (the latter as advertised), bretty wild yeast, light bright funk, slight lemon citrus and herbal farmhouse style bitterness, like chamomile. Finishes with the same unexpected combination of bretty farmhouse and mild sweet corn malt. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp, peppery carbonation. Well! Not what I expected from the label, but in retrospect, pretty much what I should have expected: a farmhouse style ale with cream ale tendencies. The brett is just at my limit of interest; I'm not a big brett fan, but like a touch of it. The light citrus flavors that are not too tart and the mild sweetness of the corn really appealed to me. This is the kind of ale that really impresses me: not quite a style that I usually like, but leaving me very satisfied and wanting more. This is a very odd idea (I had a laugh when I read the label and bought it … seriously? a farmhouse cream ale?), but got it anyway because of the quality of the other ales I've had from this brewery. I'm glad I did. This is unusual and quite good.

 

 

these guys are total champions right now, maybe the brewery i am the most excited about overall right now. they just kill it across the board. this is a delicate wild beer brewed with corn and grits. first time i have seen grits in a beer for sure, very interesting, although like with a lot of their stuff, the impact of the special ingredients is very subtle, and its so much more about the whole than any of its constituent parts. pale soft yellow in color, very gentle looking, but with an effervescent pure white head. it smells a touch starchy, very earthy, slightly sweet like floral honey, and with a grassy hop complexion. the wild yeast seems to be bretty more than bacterial, no tang or pucker here, just a clean funk. the flavor is awesome here, the interesting grains give it some cool nuance, sweetness from the corn for sure, this seems very agricultural, rustic, and calculated. the grits are less obvious to me, but there is a cool body to this thats both hearty and delicate at the same time. light lemon notes too, but there is almost no acidity. musty funk, floral polleny blossoming type yeast notes, subtle spice as well. the whole thing is bone dry and carbonated like dynamite on the palate, so alive and fresh. im not sure there is another brewery in the country doing beer like this right now, these guys are blowing me away beer after beer. one of my favorites of theirs to date. dont expect something aggressive and sharp, this is an exercise in patient and mellow, absolutely loved it!

L: hazy yellow, lots of carbonation, big billowing head
S: fruity, saison yeast, funk
T: tart, funky
F: lots of upfront mouthfeel, dry finish
O: this is a funky saison, not a cream ale