Genetic Drift - Batches 1-3
Speciation Artisan Ales

Batch 2

Appearance: Pours with a slightly hazy goldenstraw color and a two-finger head that leaves some spotty lacing

Smell: Grainy and grassy, with coriander tones; yeasty phenols, too

Taste: Rustic hay on the front palate, with grassy flavors building; after the swallow, the coriander comes through along with the grainy and phenolic flavors

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A nice Saison - the Mosaic has faded but the Saaz continue to make their presence felt

Thanks, daniels79, for the opportunity

 

 

750ml bottle, cork and caged, blend 3. Served in a snifter glass. Pours a slightly cloudy golden yellow body, one finger white head, good retention, lots of lacing. Smell is a strong funky hay, with a fair bit of straw and light oak, a fair bit of mineral as well as touch of lemon and citrus. Flavour follows, clean funky straw, pepper, pineapple, light citrus, trace oak. Mouthfeel is medium lighter bodied, a bit more crisp than I'm used to, but follows the traditional saison path fairly well.

 

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass; batch 3, bottled on 3/22/2017. Pours lightly hazy pale golden/yellow color with a 1-2 finger foamy and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lightly tart lemon, lime, orange zest, peach, pear, apricot, mango, melon, red apple, white grape, peppercorn, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, rye, lightly toasted bread, light leathery/musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lightly tart lemon, lime, orange zest, peach, pear, apricot, mango, melon, red apple, white grape, peppercorn, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, rye, lightly toasted bread, light leathery/musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Moderate yeast spiciness and slight tartness/herbal bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, lime, orange zest, peach, pear, apricot, mango, melon, red apple, white grape, peppercorn, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, rye, lightly toasted bread, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/spiciness balance, and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness from yeast spiciness and carbonation, increasing through the glass. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately crisp, bready/grainy, and lightly sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 7.2%. Overall this is an excellent wild saison. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, and bready malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, clean, and refreshing to drink. Well rounded Brett complexity with perfectly balanced saison yeast, hop, and malt flavors. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: Batch 3


Smell: funky wet hay dark grape skin a hint of lemon peach toasted malt.

Taste: pretty straight forward a little bit of peach and lemon upfront that turns into toasted malt a hint of dark grape skin the beer finishes with a little funk wet hay you also get some biterness from the hops. That biterness lingers in the aftertaste and is a little off puttting.

Feel: medium body really high carbonation which adds to the mouthfeel.

Overall: this is just whatever not bad but nothing really special just a straight forward saison.

 

First beer I had from speciation. Great work, very well made, no weaknesses. The mouthfeel has great tones of funk, yeast, sour, acid, and smoothness. The taste and smell are very similar, lots of earthy and leathery funk, good wood, hay and yeast for the fruit to build on. The fruit is more subtle, pear, apricot, kiwi, apple, melon, and lemon. Very rustic. Doesn't have that element to push it over the top, but an excellently made saison