Meager
Cellar West Artisan Ales

 

i love a nice wild table saison like this, one of the first beers i have had from these guys, good to finally see what all the chatter is about. this is tasty stuff, simple but solid, and i really like what is apparently their house culture, more bretty than bacterial, and quick but subtle here in this dry and drinkable harvesty brew. its mostly clear from the bottle until the bottom inch or so, heady and belgian looking, nice retention. funky bretty aroma with light peach and honey notes to it, white wine, and new oak, light vanilla and green apple to it. the flavor is nice, wheat in the mash for sure, a pils type crackery bready profile, and the funky yeast, which hasnt had too much time to go wild, but adding a cool wild farmhouse aspect. simple beer but rustic and well done, oak fermented or only aged very briefly, with good carbonation but not much body to it. i like the low alcohol and sessionable nature of it, and i like the mild but interesting yeast complexion. maybe the best of the three beers i just had from these guys...

edit: this continues to age really well, developing a ton in the bottle even in just a few months. its now even drier with a more evolved brett funkiness. most importantly though, the carbonation has really come up, this is effervescent and super bright now. the spiciness of the saaz hops seems to be more prominent in this context now too. seriously impressive beer, raising a few scores to reflect its improvement in the bottle over time!