Farmhouse Saison
Cellar West Artisan Ales

 

A new style I might call front range saison. Very high altitude brew, considering the style.

Immaculate. A new classic. Frothy and delicious. Massively complex. An actual exhilarating tasting experience. Canned and cellar-able.

Clean, rich, quaffable, such a complex caramel herbacous blossom at mid to back. Funk town. Perfect 6.3 flourish of booze.

Lilac, rich rye to sourdough malt bill notes.. deep biscuit.. rich toffee off the back.. toasted oat.. back to snappy cracker.


So good! New style!

this is a cool little beer, although i was expecting it to be more bretty like an orval, the unique bottle shape playing that trick on me perhaps, but this is clean, rustic as it is, and of very impressive overall quality like all of the cellar west stuff, surprised they dont have more hype around them now after being around awhile. this is frothy headed and thick and rich and fluffy looking in the glass, holding a tall white belgian style head on a brassy orange tinted base with just a little haze to it when i pour the whole bottle in, epic carbonation, this must have been bottle conditioned. the nose and taste run parallel, showing some sweetness early, i expected this to be bone dry but it isnt, which makes it drink a little fuller and longer. it has nice grain complexity, a little spicy rye malt and some protein to it, oats likely, maybe some unmalted wheat as well, i like the bigger, creamy body, and i like the nuance as it comes up to temperature, earthy and rustic, sort of grisette-like with the mixed grains. the yeast is cool too, white wine, dried apricot, and golden raisin notes to me from it, a little herbal character too, plays well with the sweetness in here, and even almost exhibits a new oak tone. faint honey, dried grass from what must be noble hops, a little dried lemon peel, faintly soapy at the end, cooked white sugar, white pepper, minerals. really different, and different from what i was expecting, and i cant help thinking how cool this would be with some brett brux or something, but there is still come cool and uncommon yeast complexity to this which is nice. the overall quality is off the charts, the texture is awesome, and i am again impressed with cellar west. cool packaging, rock solid beer. im not generally a clean saison guy, i like them funky, but this is different enough on the ferment to be amazing. bravo!