Fuggle
Plan Bee Farm Brewery

 

 

Lightly foggy amber-orange with a persistently fuzzy thick off-white blanket.

An airy, dusty nutty funk is cut by tart grapefruit. Scratching the surface a little further, it becomes wildly herbal and slightly honey sweetened, while the funk develops more into a cashew note, but slightly vegetal. Its fine but filling carbonation comes to a semi-dry to powder dry finish.

Judging from the description, this is not dark or malty like you might expect. It's really more wild ale/farmhouse than anything, if only slightly more assertive.

 

Growler filled at brewery on 6/13/20

Pours a lightly hazed golden burnt orange body topped with a half-finger of fluffy eggshell white foam; solid head retention yields a spotty cap, persistent, frothy collar, and stripes of chunky lacing strewn around the glass.

Aroma shows burnt brown sugar against a soft minerality, fading into toffee and touches of caramel as a charry, oaky malt and acidic hop combination comes together; floral tones abound beneath candied tangerine, juicy orange, and barnyard funk evolve across the bouquet.

Taste opens with oaky, bitter malts and toasted hops atop overtones of tropical fruit rinds, with fleeting hints of peach and stone fruit edging into deep grassy funk along the mid-palate; juicy orange, lemon, and hints of horse blanket burst forth on the finish.

Mouthfeel brings a wet, zesty medium-light body with subtle, moderate carbonation; a punchy acidity remains full across the palate, and a stiff bitterness melts away against a rounded puckering past the mid-palate; a dry, funky texture is soft but impactful on the back end, and excellently contrasted in a slick, quenching, and pleasantly boozy finish.

Opening indications of a puckering old ale/barleywine quickly gave in to consumptive funkiness to highlight the namesake Fuggle hops and present this brew as a sort of farmhouse Extra Special Bitter; the sour profile is pleasing and balanced against a wavering yet ever-present hoppiness imparting a subdued bittersweetness and general oaky character to an overall satisfying, burlier, and largely successful hybrid ale.