The Arborist
Storm Peak Brewing Co.

Bought this huge 32 ounce (!) can from Beer Drop. Such a large can for me can only be brought to a dinner party... and there is too little of that in the Covid Era. So Beer Drop, please don't only put your producers in this position. For I can only finish this saison tomorrow night... and that is not fair to anyone who loves this sprightly table ale.

The Arborist Looks nice in dining room light (and, presumably, in a bar, too) ... sporting an orange and, initially, a big bubble foam. As that goes away, the less lively nature of this saison emerges in the Smell... good, but no fruit yearning to be free... just average. Tastes improve as the spruce tips lend character to a saison with an otherwise lazy yeast. With medium mouth and enough bubbles and fruitiness to make a good table saison, I will have The Arborist again if Beer Drop starts selling it in 12 ounce cans.

As for my micro-review.... Storm Peak is alive after seven years of being kinda nowhere except near a ski resort. Steamboat is midway between I-70 and I-80 and seems mostly accessible by air. Which is good for skiers, I suppose, but limits the mass market of ale drinkers. At any rate, Storm Peak seems accomplished for a seven year old; best in the American crafters interpretation of the English tradition, but also able to brew well in the Belgian tradition. So, Cheers and A Sante' !

No date on the can.

It pours a clearish gold with a great long lasting head of foam.

I smell coriander, cloves, little bit of pine, mostly like what a Saison should smell like.

Good tastes of coriander and cloves, a bit hoppy...pine/spruce, earthy, fairly dry. Gluten reduced, eh?

Medium body with medium carbonation.

Nice.

Bright, spicy and botanical, the brewers at Storm Peak take advantage of the pine forest and bring a taste of that sprucy herbal tips to a saison that simmers on the palate with fruit, spice and a firm whack of hops.

The Arborist pours a pale straw color and veiled with a matte finish of yeast. Its bright scent hits the nose with dried citrus, orchard and berry fruits along with a tingle of peppery spice and an overall candle-like scent of winter greens. Light bready sweetness carries a raw grain character of whole wheat, oat and rye.

Sweetness slowly retreats from the middle palate as the fruit flavors of orange, lemon and pear mingle on the tastebuds. a rebuttal from white pepper, cumin and fresh peppercorn balance the fruit and offset the lingering sweetness while the hop bitterness is grassy, hay-like and spicy as well. Spruce brings an herbal spice that gives the beer a holiday taste that finishes gin and red berry-like.

The late palate turns decidedly bitter, herbal and spicy as the sweetness turns the taste over to dryness and alcohol warmth. In true farmhouse style, the finish is sharp with hay, pepper and now with muddled pine needles for an extended aftertaste of juniper and gin.

the idea here is far better than the execution unfortunately, and the label is better than both. awesome packaging and price point, totally sold on both. nice look to the beer too, cloudy and yellow, pale and hazy thick, heady but patient, nice and relaxed. it smells like french saison yeast and wheat malt, relatively hoppy too, but the spruce element just isnt there. i can smell a faint hint of pine, but its not the robust intense christmas vibe i am after. as a saison though, its quite good, lots going for it. fuller bodied but soft, well carbonated and drier, with lots of nuance from the hops and spruce, but i want it to jump out at me and it doesnt. so many of these are overdosed, so its odd to see one so reserved, definitely to a fault. well made brew though, and without expecting the spruce, its a well done saison. i like these guys, this is the first thing i have seen packaged from them, and the label is gorgeous. i would love for this to be a little more assertive, but its tasty beer, well worth picking up, especially for six or seven bucks a bottle. wanting now to try more of their stuff...