Hyperborea
Right Proper Brewing Company - Shaw Brewpub

 

This beer defies a style, to a degree. It's a smoked farmhouse ale; the smoke is prevalent enough in my pour that it could go in the style smoked beer easily as well.

On tap:
Pour is a deep amber to brown, clear and looking like a smoked topaz gen. Head is a very light beige and covers the surface thinly for a short period, and lingers at the rim much longer.

Nose was mildly shocking given the description, as the smoke was more powerful than "a touch," which I enjoyed. Light smoked meat, ashes, slight acrid tartness (the nice kind), and a general light fruity note that is shrouded by the smoke.

Taste starts with a decently robust caramel malt and dark sweet cherry. Then the smoke comes in, lighter than in the nose, but does distract from what could become a cloying sweetness. Dry grass to peppery spice hop notes help as well, though a sweet apple taste stays underneath this. Mildly aggressive carbonation is felt, and a bitter drying ending keeps the dark fruit note at bay. Late in he taste I get the lightest hint of strawberry/banana.

A lovely beer that I can see the saison base, but the front belongs a little more in the smoked beer range. It's a little sweet up front for a saison to me, though it tries to catch up. I really enjoyed the beer, independent of style.