Bonne Année
Woodland Empire Ale Craft

2018 vintage, my bottle says 10% abv, and it has been staring me in the face from the cellar for a couple of new years celebrations now, this year was finally the year. got it cold, cracked it for the midnight toast, and i have to say, it was not quite as delicate as i expected. dont get me wrong, the effervescence is there, its gloriously carbonated and bottle conditioned by now, the champagne yeast has done its thing, thats why i bought it, thats why a saved it for this night, and that aspect delivers as promised, but the rest of the beer seemed malty and cumbersome to me, even before i factor in the over aged oxidation, which is on me. its deeper brass in color, i was expecting yellow. its got good clarity still, and a gloriously fast rising white head just like champagne, no critique there. its fuller bodied when i expected less here, thought it would be more like the wine but they went pretty heavy on the malt here, and this is one of the few instances where i might advocate for dextrose or something over crystal malt to get to the desired abv, the grain weight is unflattering to the rest of the texture, unique and it keeps it beery, but i think its somewhat of a mismatch. even a little white grape juice would be cool in a joint fermentation. anyway, its cereal and sturdy, and with the oxidation that carries i am not in love with the taste. some vinous notes from the yeast which are cool, a floral grassy even almost clover type herbal thing, in part from the yeast and maybe in part from some bittering hops too, a honey sort of sweetness still present and not at all unpleasant, and all of the alcohol on full display still, even kind of fusel to me, i dont mind it in this context but its striking nevertheless. kind of a weird beer overall, well put together, i would have loved to try it fresh assuming the carbonation would still be this bright, but its cool now too. a hard bottle to finish already drunk late at night, but this was the right time to open this. do they still put this one out? i would buy it again. happy new year everyone!

Bottle from Rich. 2016 release. Cracked at midnight on New Years Eve 2016. Saison for sure, big grassy aroma, some yeast. Hazy pale golden pour, small, soft bubbly head. Taste is more of the yeasty, meadow flavors. A bit more oomph than your normal saison.

RB

750 picked up at the brewery for the New Year Celebration, but I spent that in Phoenix... Finally getting around to reviewing the gem tonight. Pours with a voluminous persistent white head.... Nice lacing as it drops.. the brew is a hazed amber.. This would be much lighter if it was filtered. Tons of fruit, apricot and green apple combine with a light citrus component... hints of Belgian yeasty notes make me think of white peppercorn and perhaps some much lesser clove. A little too much residual maltiness for a saison IMO. Despite the huge carbonation, this has a decent body to it... The fizziness doesn't really distract in my mind. Surprisingly proper saison. Wish I had another couple bottles.

4/3.75/3.75/3.5/3.75

 

I absolutely love Woodland Empire, but this was a rare miss, unfortunately. All three of my tasting companions completely agreed.