Ambrée
Cyclic Beer Farm

amber saison, their take on biere de garde, same house yeast but fermented cooler it seems, nice and rich and malty, but also dry and a little spicy, i think their yeasts lend well to this style and contribute at least as much as the grain does, just as it should be in this style. almost clear bronze pour with high shine and a great head on it from the tap. nutty in the nose, way less sweet than expected, with almond and toffee notes to it, a toasted depth, warming and autumnal, hints of chestnut and hazelnut too, neat with the peppery spiciness of the yeast, lightly herbal too, and almost crisp like a lager for a second, before a more drawn out back end of dried fruit and white wine. the flavor is unique but not quite as poppy as the nose, the grain is a little more centered, abbey type malts with some honey richness and deep earthy harvest flavors, even like squash and smoke and dark bread. the yeast is lower key here than it is in many of their saisons, but is neat in this context too, less estery, more rustic and mineral forward, some slight stringency too as it warms, not an issue. some mild old world hoppy bitterness to end this, but i wouldnt call this hoppy. its effervescent and lively to drink on, has only a medium body, and is drier than it seems being malt forward. i wouldnt rank this among my favorites in their repertoire, well made as it is, its less distinctive to them then their best beers, partially because the yeast is a touch less expressive and partially because on tap it didnt have the bottle conditioned texture i love so much in their others, even though it feels right for the style. maybe also partially because they have set the bar so darn high for themselves. i could see this ageing well too, picking up some oxidation and maybe a little funk, its neat in a fall beer context, and executed at a real high level.