Marion
5 Stones Artisan Brewery

a sexy looking almost purple colored brew, a barrel aged and funky marionberry saison. i actually think i like the fruited wild ones better here in stainless than in oak, the fruit just popped more, but its hard to be critical at all of this, as the quality us fantastic and the flavor is killer. just following the hanging scarlet the fruit seemed a little muted, a little tamer, maybe fermented out a bit more. it must be in wine barrels, as i get as much other berry and cherry as i do oak or marionberry specifically, jammy and sweet up front, hardly there in the slightly sour finish. i love the yeast profile this has, mostly bretty but with the right amount of acidity to make the beer pop. really farmy and wild, whatever culture they use its been done well here. blackberry and black cherry fruitiness before the finish, even an overripe strawberry complexion too, then the oak tannins and its gone. impressive little beer here, all of their fruited saison types were really good. if this place isnt on your radar yet, it should be, great beers across the board and even better people!