Cypress Saison
Cellar West Artisan Ales

a brilliant and unique saison here from these guys, my favorite beer we had when we visited their new location, and one of their best ever maybe, fresh from their new cyrpress wood tank, and with some corn in the grain bill. its simple and rustic beer at its base, earthy and nuanced enough to be attention holding, very old worldy to me, farmy, they always are with these guys, wheat and pils type malt with the corn, and with notes of lime and funk, some brett here, a belgian ester as well, white wine, even passion fruit and light vinegar notes there too, and a unique profile to the wood. the flavor is as layered as the nose, i get some fresh lime character up front, then all the earthy grain, dry and fluffy but anything but flavorless, super fresh to me too, and then the wood, which instead of a familiar oaken vanilla thing, we get like a funky cider and pear fruitiness, almost wet and barky, like the layer under the harder bark that just smells like forest and fresh lumber, this has taken on a ton of character from the wood, and its very unique as a result. there is a nice light noble type hop grassy bitterness at the end too thats also really fresh to me, more fruity white wine on the swallow, and some light brett setting in, musty and drying at the same time. overall this is special, a cool base beer and a perfect vehicle to showcase this wood. looking forward to seeing what they put in here next. cellar west remains one of the undiscovered brewery treasures of colorado!