Use #118
Atwood Farm Brewery

Beautiful clear orange brew with abundant foam in the Orval chalice. Frothy mouthfeel that settles to a light body. Flavor is not really spicy, it's more of a dirty hop bitterness. Oh, it's Belgian yeast. There is some yam taste, but that's not really sweet. So it's definitely more in the Farmhouse vein than a yam/pumpkin brew.

There is a little of the back of the throat dirty spice taste, but it's quite drinkable. Aftertaste is quite dry. I don't think the flavors add much to the Saison style. But the odd fragrance lingers as you sip. From the 750 ml bottle purchased at Elizabeth Station.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium to dark bronze amber with a fine two finger off-white head with great retention and thick lacing; looks nice. Aroma of grainy malt, saison yeast, and sweet potato (although honestly I would have thought squash or pumpkin if I hadn't known from the label). The mildly sweet vegetable component gives the classic saison base smell even more appeal. Flavor is lightly husky, mixed grain malt, saison yeast, distinct sweet potato, apple and pear. Finishes moderately bitter and semi-dry with pleasant light grain and sweet potato lingering. Medium bodied with active, peppery carbonation. This starts out with a classic saison flavor of grain with a little husk bitterness and mild saison yeast funk, but the light yammy flavor slowly develops and really melds well with the base saison. The finish is slightly stark in its dry bitterness, but once again redeemed by the sweet potato in the background. I've liked all the farmhouse ales from Atwood, but this could well be my favorite. The label mentions spices, but they must mix in with the grain and yeast; I'm not getting any distinct spice taste like I would in a pumpkin ale. This is just nicely integrated.