Spirit Spring (2016 Harvest)
Transient Artisan Ales

Heavily carbonated bright yellow body with a thin white cap. Get the apple cider and brandy right away in the smell, with lemon, peach, pear, hay, grass, and yeast with deep character. Taste is apple laden, supporting flavors are very thin, yeast and grains stand out a little more though, could take it or leave it. Feel is paper thin, no funk in the apple sweetness or barrel. Want more complexity here.

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2016 harvest vintage. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy pale golden straw color with a small foamy and fluffy white head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. No lacing on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Good appearance. Aromas of big tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, melon, apricot, brandy, red/green apple cider, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, peppercorn, leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, apple cider, brandy barrels, and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, melon, apricot, brandy, red/green apple cider, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, peppercorn, leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate peppery yeast spiciness, lactic/apple tartness, and Brett/brandy/apple tang on the finish. Lingering notes of tart lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, melon, apricot, brandy, red/green apple cider, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, oaken vanilla, peppercorn, leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, apple cider, brandy barrels, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with a great malt/tartness, tangy fruit, and yeast/oak spiciness balance; with no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering tartness, tangy fruit, and yeast/oak spiciness. Medium-plus carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy, and acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7%. Overall this is an incredible barrel aged wild/sour saison. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, apple cider, brandy barrels, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/clean to drink with the modestly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish; not overly lactic. Amazingly well balanced Brett/Bacteria/saison yeast complexity, apple cider, and brandy barrel presence/integration; with a nice pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Zero residual sweetness with crisp dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on wild/sour style style example as expected.

Pours a pale yellow with modest bubbling and perfect clarity and translucence. This is a non-traditional blending experiment of farmhouse ale with cider, so I'm expecting something different, and it delivers on that front. The nose is primarily cider, helped along by the apple brandy barrels the product was aged in. The cider also heavily influences the flavor profile, with a nice boozy quality from the brandy and touches of straw and mild funk from the base ale. Very bright.