Arctic Villein
Elder Pine Brewing & Blending Co.

 

Can:
Pours a hazy pale straw colored - almost like some really pale NE IPAs. The head is fluffy falling to creamy, ending at tightly foamy. I did notice a little bit of red wine as I poured, which definitely comes out as I closer inspect the nose. It tends to overpower the other aromas, initially, hiding the lemons, hay, and grainy notes that also present themselves.

First sip, and this one is nicely complex with a light, with pin-prick carbonation that is so prevalent, it acts like a good bed of nails - never applying enough bite to damage the palate. The start involves lemons and I believe a mix of oat and rice. There's a saison-like earthy hay in the mix before the oak more distinctly gets involved. I feel the barrel treatment is what helps drive a quite dry finish.

In between, there is a fruity component which my mind distinguishes as the wine grape, but it's not nearly as obvious as it was on the nose. In the very end, there is a little bit watered down lemon that has a pithy aspect when it joins the remaining oak tannin bitterness. As it warms, the lemons, oak, and tannins do sort of meld to give an impression of dried pine wood.

Interesting dry beer that spans several "styles" in subtle, constrained ways.

Good saison base but didn’t like Pinot Noir notes.