Farm Haus
Powderhaus Brewing Company

picked this up at the brewery a few months back, big bottle, black wax, super fairly priced. i am not generally a huge fan of the overly belgian and homogeneous clean saisons a lot of the upstart american brewers produce, but the port barrel treatment and the reasonable price sold be on this. i hope they have more when i go back, this might be their best beer to date in my experience, absolutely fantastic stuff, incredibly unique, and anything but generic on the fermentation profile, i loved it, and drank the whole thing to myself happily. its got a little amber color to it, a little flaky sediment towards the bottom, but a tall foaming off white head rising high and leaving delicate lace as i drink on it. aroma is slightly tangy, some immediate raspberry and red wine grape character from the port barrels, some neat esters, light bretty funk to me, lemony citrus, and a vinous element as well, quite dymanic, impressive. its mouthwatering to me, slightly sweet and very woody in the nose too, lovely. the flavor is killer too, i am immediately stoked on the curious ferment, some brett setting in i think intentional or not, dries this out a lot even though there is still some malt sugar from the wheat and a berry sweetness from the port, its dry overall. the wood is old and wet in here and adds a real maturity to this, as well as black cherry and raspberry notes from the port wine it held. its got a light peppery note, white wine yeast character as well, an almost french saison ester, subtle pear and orange, really awesome, and ever so slightly funky and farmy, rustic even, i love that, and would take this raw uniqueness over a more polished form for sure. this beer doesnt have great reviews from others, so i am thinking the months in the cellar may have done it some favors, although i never had it fresh. i could not imagine any saison fan not enjoying this. the port barrels make it extra special, but the base beer is very solid here too. great stuff, hoping to find more and test out a little extended ageing! a new high water mark for these guys!

Draft at brewery. Murky orange amber, small soapy head, streaky lacing. Muted Saison aroma, yeast, floral, cheese, some if the wine barrel. Flavors pick up at first taste, more of the wine notes come forward, grains, yeast. Falls off again at the finish.