Circle Of Fifths
Grimm Artisanal Ales

Copenhagen 24/2 2020. 67 cl bottle from Mikkeller Web-shop. Drawing of colorful geometric forms centered around a wheel of red, green, blue and yellow.

A bit gushy upon opening. Pours hazy, pale yellow with a very big white head. Settles as thin, flimsy layer of foam barely covering the surface of the beer. No lacing to speak of.

Aroma is intense, sourish, yeasty and a little bit spicy. Citrus, basement odor with a touch of funk. Black pepper. Solid malty backbone provides a little sweetness.

Medium strong carbonation. Slightly thick, watery, lively texture.

Flavor is intense. Dominated by a sharp and strong sourness. Only moderately strong sweetness rummaging in the background. Aftertaste is sour and acerbic. Lingers for a while. Dry finish.

Fine take on a Saison with a touch of funk and musty basement and a solid sourness. Good one.

Read the Notes and that is pretty much what you get. You can taste the spelt and the farmhouse character. So it’s a sparkling saison spelt brew and it’s pretty good in an absolute sense and well done as an example of that style.

Appearance: Yellow, like the color of a ripe banana. Whispy foam with minimal head retention. Surprising with addition of spelt.

Aroma: Salinity, hay, wheat-a-bix

Taste: Lemon, white grape, apricot. The flavors are lovely and great for this style of beer.

Mouthfeel- Thin to medium body. The spelt gives it a little more heft. Carbonation is high. Always worried that these beers are going to gush. Had it sit out for about 45-50 minutes. A lot of carbonation expelled initially, but did not gush.

Overall- There are a lot of areas that I really like about this beer. It is nice and light without being overly sour. This is a great beer to have on a warm day. It would pair great with some light fish like tilapia or maybe sushi.

APP- Bright, brilliant, pale straw, loud, loose white head that fades fast with minimal lace and minimal retntion.
AROMA - Bright lemon, clover, fresh wheat, wet hey, pear, baby's breath, moderate acetylaldehyde but it blends well

FLAVOR - Assertive lemon juice flavor leads, with light grainy and herbal elements with a clean lactic and faintly phenolic finish. Thats really about it.

MOUTHFEEL - Bracing but pleasant acidity is medium-high. Carbonation High. Light body.

OVERALL - This is an acceptable beer to scratch the lambic itch, but at $11 for a 300, might as well spring for the real deal. Forgettable beer, doubt it will age well.

this is absolutely sensational beer, exactly what i get most excited to drink these days, and a real highlight from grimm, so stoked to have found this on sale in idaho. its a mixed grain, mixed fermentation low alcohol saison, my cup of tea! super pale yellow in color, a jeweled brightness to it even though it isnt perfectly clear under the high rising white foam head. the nose smells lightly tart, wildly funky and bretty, but not overly sour, with some clean citrus to it and a juicy type dry hopping that makes it seem fresh at the same time that the yeast makes it seem so mature, my mouth waters to try it! i get the rye spiciness right away in the grain bill when i taste it, earthy and kind of raw, nice as a backdrop for these fruity hops, which dance on the tongue with all the carbonation and suggestions of grapefruit, passion fruit, and white wine grapes. there is a wheaty or oaty fluffy feel to it, effervescent carbonation that never quits, and a dryness that has this gone from the palate even before the swallow. light lemongrass, white tea, and lemon verbena herbal notes to finish, a touch of drying bitterness and just a splash of bacterial acidity. funky brett, drippy fruity hops in tasteful proportion, and a highly refreshing texture. this is gorgeous beer, i had it side by side with the de garde and block 15 spring amusement and if i could drink only one of them again, i would choose this. we all knew grimm was killing it, but this elevates them to that highest possible level in this saison and funky beer category, as good as it gets!

Active gaseous goldenrod with a huge white head that settles into a white cap and lacing. The spelt billows off the nose, with both orchard and basement funk, lemon zest, brett, hops, rye, with slight watermelon, white pepper and oak. Taste hits you with the funk, brett, and spelt right away, but then the oak brings in a posse of lemon, apricot, watermelon, dragonfruit, and lacto, before finishing surprisingly juicy within the funkiness, brett, white pepper, and some very, very light hop bitters. A lot going on, but not super cohesive. Feel for the nose, I know not a thing, would be funky, grainy, and earthy, where the actual mouthfeel starts that way, before gets juicy, thinner, and airy before returning to the beginning a little bit. Interesting but want more consistency. Otherwise great beer

Pours a hazy yellow wth fine, soft head.

Smell is tart and funky with notes of citrus, apricots and some white pepper.

Taste is crisp and tart with a bit of brettiness and notes of apricots, lemon and a hint of bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium and spritzy.

Overall, a very nice, refreshing farmhouse ale.

 

32 oz. Crowler from draft tap at Saisonnier, Kinderhook, NY 8/26
Look: small white head that dissipates, tiny bubbles, hazy
Nose: earthy, yeasty, a little funky
Taste: sour, light hops, orange, lightly barnyard, pleasantly lingering aftertaste
Feel: light, bright

 

A: The beer is slightly hazy light yellow in color and has a high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a two finger high bright white head that has excellent retention properties and took a long time to settle down.
S: Light to moderate aromas of lemon, funk, and spelt are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell but there is less funk and additional hints of oak.
M: It feels light-bodied and slightly dry on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I found this beer very easy to drink and the aromas and flavors of lemon lend some refreshing qualities and also serve to "brighten" up the beer a bit.

Serving type: bottle

Poured from a bottle.

A good blend of wild yeast character, a little tartness, an little dry. Light but complex grain character. Dark earthy hops and fruity qualities.

Very nice! Rustic and wild, yet refined. Definitely glad I picked it up!

 

On tap at Bronx Draft house, NY.
Pours a hazy golden/beige color with a big frothy head and good retention.
The nose opens funky and rustic. A lime and lemon aroma predict the tartness to come. There are hints of pear, melon, dry cracker malt and coriander.
Tart and sour taste with a very dry finish. Oaky, rustic and earthy with flavors of lemon, lime, lactobacillus, coriander and peppery spices.
Medium bodied, crisp and refreshing.
More of a sour but with some Saison characteristics. Interesting blend.