Transit Of Venus
Modern Times Beer

12 oz can into tulip

Super foamy, cloudy yellow brew. Dry and yeasty bouquet, not as funky as I was expecting. Flavors are along the same lines, more citrusy than earthy. Lemon pepper, some oak and biscuits. Drinkable but nothing memorable.

12 oz. slim can poured into a snifter glass. (5.0 abv, foeder aged variant). Pour is a hazed maple with a touch of green wheat highlights. Pretty much popped with foam though not quite a gusher. Inch of porous white foam collapses pretty quickly.

Aroma is of funky/barnyard notes, touch of lemon and faint oak notes. Taste of. lemon and wheat, spritzy carbonation helps the finish for a light (grisette) version of the style. Light in body and easy drinking, yet soft and somewhat forgettable but just what they were shooting for... Canned 8/3/21

 

 

 

 

Poured into a snifter. A slightly hazy golden yellow color with a medium white head. Aromas of oak, lemons, pepper, and dough. The taste followed. Moderately tart with a lemony flavor mixed with grass, hay, and some funk. Floral and citrusy hops with medium bitterness. A somewhat dry, clean finish. Overall a fun beer but I prefer a bit more estery character.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the Belmont Fermentorium.

Red with thin white head. Rich, jammy raspberry with some peach. Red wine barrel and funk are present, wiping out base beer. Tart, funky and with plenty of jammy raspberry up front, minimal seed tannins. The grainy depth of base beer is apparent on palate, lending a pleasant heft to the fruit. Bright and tart on finish, just a hair watery. Quite excellent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

a rye based grisette, i thought this was an excellent beer. i think the rye is really light in it, all the malt here is very delicate in feel, but its peculiarly delicate in flavor too, and while i do get a little of that dusty spice from the pale rye, i think it could be ramped up quite a bit in here to make a more interesting base. that said, the beer is pretty darn interesting already, even without heavy rye in it. its got a very old world flavor to me, hay and straw, french type saison yeast, some bretty funk, some light white wine type acidity too, its really good. some hops in here too, which i think give it a needed spike of freshness, make it springy and light. good bitterness there at the end too, dry with the saison type yeast and the farmy brett coming together, and a bit of citrusy acidity here too. clean and dry in the finish, well carbonated, and kind of fluffy feeling to me, a little bit of rye malt flavor lingers after the swallow with the bitterness, and overall this was a very enjoyable example of the style, well layered with flavor and easy drinking. old worldy and well built. quality stuff here from modern times!

edit: i do not recall having this for the first time years ago, but was delighted with a large bottle of it on thanksgiving, surprisingly delicate and clean for what it is, but also tart and funky, vinous, nuanced, and gorgeously well refined. if i had it from the bottle before, i dont remember it being quite so dry and bright, i think the bottle conditioning really adds a lot. the fermentation profile is unique, a saison and brett and bacterial element all together it seems, but not overdeveloped. i love how drinkable this is, crushed the whole thing, so not at all too acidic, and it was fun to have this side by side with the gin barrel aged edition! they have a winner with this one, both on its own and as a base for barrels, fruits, whatever. raising a few scores here based on 2020 bottle experience.