Garden Shed
Blackberry Farm Brewery

 

 

they are calling this one an ipa, but for me, its caught somewhere in between a traditional ipa and a saison. like all the blackberry farm stuff, this is very rustic in both grain and yeast composition, and really creates the saison aspect of this. its a little cloudy from the tap, but really bright, pale golden colored, and with a head pure white and nearly two inches tall. it has a yeast aroma and taste to it, not quite as belgian or farmy as their series of saisons, but its also no flavorless, sort of crackery and peppery, very drying, lots of character. the beer is malty but isnt sweet or rich, it just has a lot of cool cereal layers, all very dry, hearty though for an ipa, and not the classic crystal malt thing happening, some wheat is likely. the hops are almost secondary to how interesting the base is. ome pine and some spice from them too, northwestern, high alpha, and tasting very fresh. i think they are awesome in combination with the yeast, and in the finish, this beer almost reminds me of their noble hop saison, with a more earthy grassy hop vibe, still super fresh, but with that neat yeast to finish as well. great rush of carbonation before the swallow, nice round body from the grains, and lots and lots of flavor. i like this more and more as i drink on it, it really is an excellent and very rustic take on an ipa. these guys are absolutely killing it!