Farmer Armor
Frey's Brewing Company

Pours a darker straw color. The head is two fingers high and white in shade. It initially seems like it has poor retention, but when it gets down to half a finger tall, it actually lasts for a good duration. A thick ring of lacing sticks to the glass.

The aroma offers a lot of lacto. Unfortunately, I don't get much in the way of nuanced lemon or lime characteristics - instead it offers general funk, general sourness, and a touch of Greek yogurt. Even worse, there isn't much else to this offering. It's just one-note lacto with almost nothing in the way of palpable farmhouse yeast or malt backbone.

I first taste subtle lacto - it doesn't express itself as intensely as the aroma suggested (perhaps to the benefit of this brew). Touches of lemon and Greek yogurt show up pretty nicely. And then after that...nothing. This beer, for lack of a better term, is intensely watery. I have to concentrate with insane fury to even pick up the faintest wisp of black pepper and grass. It actually starts to taste rather good after a while (with everything I described becoming bolder yet balanced) but that's more due to the carbonation levels calming down - more on that later. Even then, the flavor profile never becomes a gestalt, cohesive whole, with a slight marinara note spoiling that from happening.

I'll give it this: it's light in body and refreshing. But it's also very fizzy, with big bubbles to boot. Here's the thing: the carbonation is so intense, it conceals the flavor. It goes down easily, mainly due to drinking like club soda when the fizz is at its strongest.

At first, I really didn't like this at all. It just seemed so damn watery. But once the intense carbonation subsided, it became okay. Even then, it didn't quite accomplish what I wanted from a slightly tart grisette. A mildly disappointing first beer from a new-to-me MD brewery.

2.94/5: The armor seems rather dinky to me