Pêche
Alesong Brewing & Blending

 

 

 

Alesong's Peche is one of the best fruit beers I've ever had, right up there in the same class as New Glarus's magical concoctions.

Peche is a golden yellow with a lovely white head. The smell is peachy and yeasty. The taste is tart, a bit lemony, plenty of farmhouse ale character, and then those peaches kick in. And boy, do they kick in. This beer is the essence of super fresh peaches. I love peach season, and make peach syrup and peach jam from flats of ripe peaches every August, so I have a demanding idea of what a good fresh peach should be like. Alesong appears to have made their beer with nothing but the finest peaches.

But this beer isn't just alcoholic peach juice. It's a real ale, and would stand on its own as a fine saison/farmhouse ale, even without the addition of the peaches. The peaches put it over the top.

 

amazing beer here, one of the best i have had from alesong, and thats really saying something, i like everything the do, really and truly. i like that you never really know what to expect, like some of them are bacterial and sour, others are mature and wild, and still others are fairly clean as saison types go, its always an adventure. this one smells more sour than it is, wine barrels come to mind right away, not sure what its in, but definitely some high character oak. when i smell it, i expect it to taste bacterial and high acid, but it doesnt, its lightly tart, lemony and funky, rustic and bretty as much as it is sour, a nice mix of fermenting agents for sure, and extremely dry, even with all this peach, a really brilliant beer even before the fruit. the peaches are at the apex of ripeness, as natural as i have ever tasted them in a beer, and well accentuated by the wood and the vinous tannic thing happening here, yellow and fleshy and juicy and summery, the essence of august to me, its like im drinking sunshine, just amazing. skins and fuzz and everything, the whole fruit is evident, and its delicious. i love the wild aspect too, subtle and not abrasive or demanding, but unique to me, lightly floral, and perfect with the peach. im glad its not any more sour than it is, or it would lose its softness and easiness. amazing expression of peaches in beer, as good as it gets on that front really, but the fermentation profile is equally impressive. dry, fluffy, fizzy, delicate, it almost makes me emotional. this is special beer, and these guys continue to rise up the ranks of my favorites. unforgettably good. side note, its in one of the heaviest glass bottles i have ever felt, it still feels like its full even when its empty, serious weight to it, wow! im going to buy another one of these...