Misère Au Borinage
Holy Mountain Brewing Company

Misère Au BorinageMisère Au Borinage
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From:
Holy Mountain Brewing Company
 
Washington, United States
Style:
Saison
ABV:
4.8%
Score:
97
Avg:
4.42 | pDev: 5.2%
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
74
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 11, 2021
Added:
Dec 15, 2015
Wants:
  17
Gots:
  7
Foudre-aged grisette, brewed with a large quantity of both raw and malted wheat, and aged for many months with a mixed culture of Brett and Lacto in one of our foudres. Misère (mee-zair) was then refermented in the bottle with Brett and allowed to condition for three months. This grisette is nicely tart, dry, and funky. Definitely our best batch of grisette to date
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Roguer:
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

4.52/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Beautiful large, frothy, snow white head. Decent retention, and very nice lacing. Body is a light, lemon-yellow hue, very lively, and slightly hazy.

Musty nose at first, rustic, dusty, and full of Brett. Then, the oak comes through, along with a noticeable sourness. Light lemon, straw, honey, dust, earth, oak, flowers; it's a fantastically deep and complex nose, really ranking up there with some of the best funky saisons out there.

Flavor is similar; incredible depth for the low ABV. Light honey, must, lemon, light vinegar, oak, nuts, wheat, oak, vanilla, and a touch of dark bread.

Almost creamy on the palate; soft, yet very lively. Absolutely a delectable brew.
Apr 20, 2020
More User Ratings:
Photo of Zythophile
Reviewed by Zythophile from Washington

4.49/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle Date: June 2019
Palate Contaminants: other beer

Medium-light orange-yellow color. Mostly cloudy, although it is possible to see a silhouette behind the liquid. Lots and lots of very fine head, although there could be more lacing.

On the nose, there's rice and corn sweetness. The funk has a little skunk, but it's actually not that bad. The sweet corn sometimes tilts more toward regular old popcorn. Along that line, there's a toasted white bread thing going on. It's interesting (in a good way).

There's astringency right away, then all the other tastes pull level really quickly, and it's surprisingly complex surprisingly quickly. There's still grain and funk, but there's also a good, clean citrus punch... that's sorta like a citrus punch. (I'm not trying to be clever by doubling my words. btw.) The grain plays well with the citrus, as it's as though it's a white toast with a lightly sour orange marmalade on it. Isolating things more, the citrus is orange with lemon and kumquat. Light herbal element, like cilantro. Sweetness is moderate, although sneaky. Bitterness is present but minimal.

Aftertaste sees a savory grain flavor push citrus down. Very well integrated carbonation. What's weird is that the weight is medium-heavy for the type, although I could almost chug it. It's not heavy on ABV, yet alcohol is difficult to pick out.

Easily one of the better farmhouse ales I've run across.
Jul 11, 2021
Photo of hops_for_thought
Reviewed by hops_for_thought from New York

4.54/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a bottle (June 2019) into a Belgian glass

L: perfectly clear straw gold, with a very thick white head. Effervescent, good white lacing

S: very crisp, clean farmhouse nose. Expected funk led by lemon, slightly floral, small amount of pepper. Herbal, some hay, flour

T: follows the nose beautifully, led by a flavorful lemon note that delivers a great balance of tart without skewing acidic. Some honey lending a nice sweetness, flour/white bread toward the medium/long finish, really nice

F: like the nose and taste, very crisp and refreshing. Medium/high carbonation, light mouthfeel, slightly drying

O: phenomenal beer. Delivers on all fronts, simply gorgeous and incredibly flavorful. Easily surpassed high expectations, need to get back to Seattle and grab more
May 15, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Apr 21, 2020
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

4.36/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured from 750mL bottle into a tulip.

Appearance: nice golden hue with a moderate haze and two fingers of frothy white foam atop. It looks pretty!

Smell: quite tart and nicely funky, there's also a touch of sweetness which balances out the tart. I like it, although the sourness does bury any characteristic grisette aroma.

Taste: lots of funk and sourness, but that sweetness comes in to make everything delicate and balanced. There's a candylike quality to this beer, and I really like it.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a big fizziness. Not creamy, per se, but fizzy and light; it complements the tartness well.

Overall: I really like this beer. Like I said, the mixed culture ends up burying the grisette character, but it's still a wonderful beer.
Mar 11, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by Hopsohard from California

Jan 04, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by eddiefl from New York

Jan 26, 2019
 
Rated: 4.31 by rbrefbeerman from California

Dec 24, 2018
 
Rated: 4.35 by fthegiants from California

Oct 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by NWer from Washington

Sep 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.74 by Ajlvt from Washington

Aug 01, 2018
 
Rated: 4.43 by Uconnelmo from Connecticut

Jul 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.66 by grilledsquid from California

Jun 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by petermethot from New Jersey

Jun 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.15 by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

May 27, 2018
Photo of augustgarage
Reviewed by augustgarage from California

4.44/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 750mL bottle into my Brasseurs De Garde tulip.

Chartreuse liquid of moderate clarity suffused by a furious swarm of micro-bubbles which fuels and sustains three fingers of magnolia soft peaks. Thick tendrils of lace form crenellations toward the lip of the glass; superior retention.

Bright, tart, and funk aromas vie for attention, suggesting Meyer lemon, champagne vinegar, and river stones. Drosophila materialize at once.

Bracingly sour palate entry, concentrated and truly puckering on first taste, but then expanding outward across the taste buds with wonderful diversity from the mixed culture. Lacto and Brett are well balanced, with neither dominating at this point. Some dough-like sweetness from the Sacch yeast, but finishes dry, with the wheat lending a nice crackery/lemon note. Low bitterness, but some faint grassy/earthy hop notes. Superbly refreshing with wildflower and herbal notes as well.

High, but not excessive carbonation combined with the wheat lend body to this fairly low ABV table beer.

Outstanding farmhouse ale, nearly as complex as the best Belgian examples, but with superior freshness and expert handling (and perhaps some luck?) of the mixed culture and foudre aging.
May 05, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by oline73 from Maryland

May 05, 2018
 
Rated: 4.49 by Montanabeerz from Montana

Apr 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.08 by WesMantooth from Ohio

Apr 24, 2018
Photo of alextastic
Reviewed by alextastic from California

4.83/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Had this on tap at Monkish. Pleasant surprise, as it wasn't listed on their online tap list that day. Truly a delicious beer. Complex and perfectly balanced, both in aroma and in flavor. Everything you'd hope for in a grisette. Hope to have more someday.
Apr 22, 2018
Misère Au Borinage from Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Beer rating: 97 out of 100 with 74 ratings