Whitfield Road
Arrowood Farms

 

Of the 334 Saisons I've had, it would surprise me if a handful of them were grisettes. So in this ever-expanding style we have embellished on from the Belgians and French, what is a grisette ? For the true answer, I wanted to go to the source, my "Oxford Companion To Beer"; but alas, I had lent it out. (Adage from the aged: never lend your favorite book to a beer geek.) So instead, I took the easy route and went to Wikipedia. Here is how it concluded its entry on the grisette: "As of 2016, only one Belgian brewery was still making the style in the traditional manner, though the American craft brewing industry has started producing several varieties, often working from historically researched recipes."

So, here we are with Arrowood Farm's rendition. Most noticeable to me, it has a strong lime in the nose that continues through the finish. This makes Whitfield Road uniquely suited to summer fare. Unfortunately, I had it with autumn soup; so I hope to get this again next June. I bought this can from Half Time and I hope they carry it again.

Whitfield is balanced, refreshing and, I'll bet, has a flavorful yeast driving it into its natural tart.

Arrowood has this whole Hudson Valley terroir thing figured out exceptionally well for a two year old. Their website may well be the most sophisticated of any two year old. Not only do they have a brewery, but a distillery, a farm, a farm network to get their other ingredients, a gastropub and, in downtown New Paltz, their taproom. I am awed.

I hope to visit Arrowood when I check-off Ommegang in Cooperstown from my Bucket List. (I'm at least two decades behind on my List.) A Votre Sante '

 

 

A: The beer is rather hazy yellow in color. It poured with a finger high white head that gradually died down, leaving a short dense head covering the surface.
S: Moderate to strong aromas of Belgian yeast are present in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste is very much dominated by flavors of yeast with some associated hints of peppery spiciness and underlying notes of grainy malts.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and quite dry on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer tasted like a hybrid between a traditional and a rustic saison - it had the traditional yeasty aromas, flavors and dryness and rustic flavors of grainy malts.

Serving type: can