Happy Little Trees
Sand City Brewing Co. - North

-cloudy, amber bottle pour, a pretty color with suspended yeast. Within seconds of pouring there is no discernible carbonation. The aroma is mildly tart with lemon and cherry notes.
The flavors are subtle and nuanced, tart apples, stone-fruit, saison yeast notes and a bit of Brett. There is a light vinous line too.
All aspects combine to produce a flavorful saison that many non-beer drinkers would appreciate.

 

 

Looks like an unfiltered apple cider with minimal head that left no lacing. Smells of tart cherries, apples, peach, chardonnay and a bit of barnyard funk. Tastes of tart cherries, peaches, apples, pear, chardonnay, oak, pepper and a bit of funk. Light bodied and carbonated, thin mouth feel.

Decanted from a 16 oz (473 ml) bottle into a custom taster pint; bottled on 10/26/18.
A: Pours a hazy caramel color with robust, wheat colored head formation, which is very short lived and leaves no evidence of retention, legs, or lacing. Much cloudier after the back half of the pour, leaving caramel colored yeasty bits (dare I say goodness) at the bottom of the glass.
S: Tangy (tart) with apple, caramel, peach, and pear predominating. I don't pick up the pinot, but could swear to a touch of chardonnay. No funk, but maybe a tiny whiff of lactic acid.
T: Sweet and tart. Flavors of caramel (like a Werther's), green, but also delicious apple, cherry, and ripe, ripe peaches. Again a chardonnay, perhaps, and definitely a tobacco note. No bitterness noted and alcohol barely registers.
M: Light bodied with persistent, persistent tiny bubbles.
O: This was a delicious beer. Was it a Saison? Perhaps, but it seemed to encompass (oddly) some of the more drinkable elements of straight up Lambic or Berliner Weiss vs American Wilds with an easy drinking Saison. I will acknowledge regret for not picking up a case of these: I could drink them all day. Note to Sand City: Make a lot of them and market them -- this is an excellent, celebratory beer.

Mid sized bottle from the brewery a few days ago...bottled 10-28-18

Pours fully hazed, peach juice in color...next to no head

Dunked up nose, with barnyard, wet dog and semi sour fruits coming to mind.

Complex, interesting and tasty with more funky notes, sour peaches, plums, leafy earth, nutty yeast components and some more barnyard....well worth a try

 

Bottled 10/26/18, it pours cloudy peach color with a 2 finger thick off white head that was full of tiny bubbles, fading in average to fast time leaving minimal spotty lacing along with yeast residue along the glass. Smells of barnyard funk, peach, a musty basement, white wine, wet leather, grains, fruity notes and light peppery spices. Not that much oaky presence but the funky and sweet aspects work well together for a nice complex nose.

I like how the flavor starts off fruity with peaches, cherry and tart grapefruit but rapidly shifts to barnyard funk with the brett, yeast, peppery spices, wet grass and musty grapes bringing out balance and a variety of flavors. Accents of orange juice like a mimosa trail the first wave of earthy flavors and finish dry with a chalky feel. This body feels very thin and watery, especially considering how much particle residue is left on the glass, but overall it was an enjoyable brew.