Dakota Skipper
Fair State Brewing Cooperative

a saison brewed with prairie grasses apparently, meant to benefit a butterfly charity or something, pretty neat idea for a beer, and a very distinctive result. its a pale straw colored beer, delicate looking, and heady in the glass from the tap. the aroma is really earthy, super cool, and in a new way. obviously wheat and pils malt based, simple and light on the grain side, minimal but kind of setting a rustic and old world tone. the grasses are the part that intrigues me, probably added post fermentation, and tastes dried not fresh and vegetal, with a hay-like harvest vibe, a dry spiced herbaceous quality, almost standing in for the hops it seems, tea notes, floral too, and with a curious pencil led high carbon minerality to it, complex for sure, and new to me. its cool the base beer is so light, it lets the contribution of the grasses be quite obvious in here, and while it finishes a little bitter in its dryness, i think this is really unique beer, and the contribution of the grasses is pretty cool. simple but clean and organic tasting beer, with a belgian more than funky yeast vibe, but a really easy drinking, captivating beer for a good cause. i fall in love with these guys more and more each time i go to minnesota!

 

I had this a couple days ago so my memory is a little rusty, but the scores are accurate.

This is a light, refreshing and dry Saison with serious funk. It has so much barnyard flavor that it seems to have Brett, but I believe it does not.