Pear Hug
Cellar West Artisan Ales

a belgian golden strong ale with pears and brett, on tap at the brewery. i was at first a little let down by this one, the brett is really young and minimal in it, and i expected a much drier and more funky brew, akin to what i am used to from these guys, but i came to appreciate its belgian aspects a little more as it warmed up, and the pear is well dosed and natural, a really hard thing to do in my experience. i get the fragrant ripe green skins in the nose, a vinous and estery belgian yeast, with a little saison funk, a sweet belgian tripel sort of malt base, and the delicate flesh of the fruit all in both aroma and flavor, not too much pear at all. more brett might take over the pear, so perhaps its subtlety is intentional. it seems weird to have both fruit and yeast be mild in a beer that is so strong, but that is precisely the case here. carbonation is a little low, but i found this almost refreshing oddly enough for what it is. overall an interesting brew that i am sure will evolve well over time. so much of the cellar west beer is a little better when it has some age on it, but i thought this was clever and good!