Cultural Divide: Elderberry and Flower
Haw River Farmhouse Ales

 

sampled without shtia. beautiful whitish purple look. berry aroma. smooth integration.

 

 

Pours a reddish/purple with medium carbonation. Aroma is a little estery/peppery but mostly smells of berries and tart fruit. Taste is much the same with little malt evident. Very easy to drink, not super sour but just enough to make it a little refreshing with the fruit infusion. Between the taste and appearance it was like the mountain dew code red of beer.

A: Pours an opaque medium to dark pinkish purple in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and moderate ruby red + magenta + deep purple colored highlights. The beer has a two finger tall fizzy sudsy foamy pink head that quickly reduces to a large patch of very thin film covering approximately 90% of the surface of the beer and a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of rustic grainy malts with minimal amounts of sweetness and moderate aromas of lacto sourness. Light to moderate aromas of elderberries and flowers.

T: Upfront there is a light to moderate flavor of rustic grainy malts with minimal amounts of sweetness. That is followed by a light flavor of slightly spicy saison yeast and moderate flavors of lacto sourness. Moderate flavors of flowers and elderberries. Light amount of lingering sourness/tartness and elderberry flavors.

M: Light to moderate bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Soft with a light amount of acidic prickliness.

O: Definitely an interesting brew - I could tell it was yogurt soured because it had a bit of that twang I associate with some yogurts/frozen yogurts. Elderberries and flowers are really pleasant but overall I wanted a little more from the base spelt saison.