Form Extra
Fermentery Form

 

Fermentery Form "Form Extra"
750 ML green glass bottle, simply capped, "Batch: #001"
$20-some at Bryn Mawr Beverage

This was outstanding aged 4.5 years after bottling.

L- Pours a hazy orange with tall, lacy foam.
S- Earthy with flashes of strawberries (?). This beer and this brewery now have my interest.
T- Faintly lemony with a light, drying finish. There's a subtle amount of funk that keeps it interesting. Sour, but not bracingly sour. It would be all-day-drinkable if not for the deceptive 7% abv. The "hoppy" part in the title has receded greatly in the 4.5 years since this was bottled. It mellowed and aged beautifully. I would absolutely buy this again and buy up any remaining bottles at the store.

Halfway through the bottle. Oh, okay, *there's* that 7% abv.

 

 

 

Poured out as a vibrant golden yellow color with a long lasting foamy white head on top. Lots of lacing on the glass that sticks to the glass. The smell of the beer is bright and herbal with a subtle funk to it. The taste of the beer is bright and citrusy with a subtle tart finish. The feel of the beer is light and dry, with a very clean finish. Overall this beer is is very good, it's definitely a good representation of the style and worth checking out.

 

Fermentery Form "Form Extra"
750 ML green glass bottle, simply capped, "Batch: #001"
$16 at the fermentery

Notes via stream of consciousness: Labeled "ALC. 7% BY VOL.". Well I've got a live one here. As soon as I popped the cap it started to rise up at me. It wasn't a gusher, and I was able to "drink" off the foam that was coming out and then pour it without incident but this one's got some carbonation to it. It's poured a hazy golden body beneath a finger-thick head of creamy bright white foam. Streams of tiny bubbles can be seen rising throughout the glass. Very nice looking. In this case I couldn't have done anything to pour it clearer, but keep in mind there are more lees at the base of the bottle so the next pour should be at least a little bit more cloudy. Make sure to let it sit cold for at least a day or so to let it sediment. This isn't that old either, or at least I thought it wasn't, I've only had it for a month or so, but in checking their website I see it was released on October 20, 2017 which makes it over 5 months old right now. I bought it in January and I've had it in the fridge for about a month. Anyway, the aroma is fantastic. It's lemony, earthy, grainy, and herbal with an indication of some acidity and tartness... maybe a little bit of leather and something "metallic". I keep looking for more but I'm not finding anything. On to the flavor... all of the above apply except for the metallic note, I'm not really getting that. It's definitely more citrusy than just lemon though, but at the same time I wouldn't call it a citrusy beer, there's just more to it... some grapefruit, and maybe some orange. I wonder if they used some citrusy hops? Mostly it's a Brettanomyces beer though, although that's kept in check as well. The grainy malt base is well balanced by a solid bitterness and it finishes dry and bitter and acidic with residual tartness and earthy, leathery, and herbal notes lingering. Looking back there's a solid wall of lacing where the beer itself used to be. That's easily a 4.25 for appearance in my book although I still have to weigh the clarity. I guess that's OK though, no one really expects it to be clear, so I might go 4.5. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently effervescent. It's lightly crisp and then smooth as it warms in the mouth. I'm really liking this one. My initial thought was "Orval" but it's really nothing like that except for the Brett and the bitterness. It's unique. And it's really well done.

Review # 5,913 4.5/4.25/4.5/4.25/4.25 = 4.37