La Ruche (Blend 1)
Side Project Brewing

750ml capped bottle into a Side Project snifter. Shared with schen9303.

Pours a clear goldenrod. Sparse white head, thin filmy legs. Nose is super funky. I get notes of citrus, straw, barnyard, peppercorn, and flower. Prickly, aromatic. Beer opens soft honey, peppercorn, lime, and citrus. A nice barnyard and cheesy funkiness appears in the middle. Some straw and peppercorn as well. Stonefruit, oak, and more funk near the end. Lightly tart finish. This is well balanced, delicious. Body is light with ample carbonation. Prickly and lively on the palate and goes down aggressive, sparkling. Quenching going down. Lightly lingering aftertaste.

Each saison I have from this brewery is better than the next. This is real impressive.

 

Poured from a bottle (#4) into a Belgian glass

L: Completely clear golden yellow, with consistent lighter carbonation. Big, fluffy white head that fades after a minute or so but a nice layer of foam remains, fed by that carb. Nice lacing left with each sip - attractive pour for sure

S: slightly earthy note to a solid standard saison aroma. Lemon flesh and zest, bit of vinegar, sharp Granny Smith, some white grape as well. Slightly more acidic on the nose than I expected, not off putting though. An almost lactic/aged hop funk to it which I wasn’t expecting

T: swallow is decent, nothing too exciting. Would say it opens like a complex Welches white grape juice, if that makes sense. A bit more earthy depth toward the middle, slightly sweetness from the honey (pick it up more as it warms in the glass). That vinegar note from the nose (to be clear it’s quite mild, but there) comes out toward/through the finish, but it’s not a deal breaker. Finished my glass while eating a salad heavy on the balsamic vinegar - found the fruit notes shined more, got a more malty/biscuit character in the finish that I was not picking up earlier

F: medium body, medium+ carbonation. Acidity may be a bit elevated toward the back vs. desired, not quite that target refreshing character. I also get an almost viscous feeling to the swallow - not like real thick mind you, just not the lighter swallow I expected

O: solid saison that has a bit of a vinegar/acidity thing that brings it down from that outstanding level for me. Nose is good, swallow has a slightly off middle and finish/lacks a bit of complexity. IMO! Am sure others disagree, as you can see here

Pours a near clear orange-copper with two fingers of fluffy white foam. Aroma is stone, green apples, green grapes, lemon zest, and biscuity, bready malts. It has a twangy mix in the middle, but is otherwise smooth. Oak adds some smoothness at the end. Flavor profile is green apple, green grapes, lemon zest, yeast sweetness, and biscuity, bready, earthy, and nutty malts. It has a very tart start, but balances out at the end with oak soaking up the tartness for a smooth, crisp finish. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a crushed, bubbly velvety texture. Overall, comforting and funky. This saison develops a lovely funkiness while retaining a refreshing presence.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegelau tulip from a 750mL bottle. Blend #4.

Blend #2, 750 ml bottle, poured into a tall New Glarus glass at ~40 degrees F.

L: Pours a hazy spring clover honey burnished gold, and forms a finger or so of white head with decent retention.

S: Honey and grasses abound in the nose, with some cracked white pepper and a smidge of orange citrus.

T: Sour orange with a jot of unripe peach, lemon zest, and cracked white pepper. Some faint honey notes in the backdrop, alongside a crackery malt base. The ghost of a whisper of a rumor of the suggestion of oak is detectable by the finish.

F: Light, fairly lively, and crushable if one doesn't enjoy savoring their sours slowly.

O: Not quite as complex as the other Side Project saisons I've had, but delightful nonetheless.

Blend #4. Meadowfoam Honey for this batch, not Orange Blossom.

Transparent golden pour. Nice frothy head of white foam that settles quickly at 50 degrees.

Bright, citrusy nose, undertones of yeasty funk. Notes of black pepper and malted grain contrasted by grapefruit juice and underripe peach.

The palate is tart yet approachable, with little acidic and a finish that is bursting with lightly puckering citrus. It is balanced with flavors of restrained honey, grain, new Oak, and a touch of dry, yeasty funk on the tail.

Mouthfeel is light-to-medium, fairly dry with a bright, tart, juicy predominance. Finishes soft and effervescent, and continues to soften with temperature.

Bottle. Blend 4. White head that fades. Lightly cloudy golden yellow.

Tart, but balanced. Green apples. Saison yeast, white wine/Chardonnay, champagne notes. Dry. Bubbly. Crisp red apples in the finish. Fruity.

 

 

Gold in color with with a fingernail of off white around the rim and covering a quarter of the top. The aroma is of malted barley and peppery saison yeast. I’m tasting malted barley and peppery and earthy saison yeast. The mouth is moderately carbonated but otherwise smooth.

 

750 mL bottle. Blend #3. Clear golden. Smells of honey, grain, lemon acidity. Tastes of bright lemon tartness, honey, oak, light grainy malt. Light body. Simple and very drinkable.

 

 

Sooooo good

Blend 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

From bottle. Pours a bright yellow, clear with small amount of foam. It's a really pleasant yellow color. The flavors are bright, floral and funk melding together. The sweetness that comes from the honey isn't noticed so much in flavor, but certainly in some sweetness. That definitely helps dull some of the tartness and acidity. It is a lighter mouthfeel, which makes it an easy drinker and especially in the summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blend #1

 

 

A delicately beautiful sour saison. No obnoxious or overwhelming flavors, rather subtle pieces make a wonderful whole. The taste has sour oak, sweet honey and citrus, funky yeast and floral overtones. Smell is more sour forward than funky, has a oatmeal element in the background with the oak. Well craft in feel, smooth, medium to full bodied sweet spot, slightly chewy and easy drinking.