Frontera Saison
Wilderness Brewery

a barrel aged saison with sherry flor, complex and interesting, especially served on cask at a somewhat warmer temperature as it was when i enjoyed it, already opened up and dynamic. a not particularly lively brassy pour, insane aroma of light tartness, musty basement and wet farm animal, bright white wine and sherry, and a sweet vanilla note from the oak, this was apparently aged for a year. the base beer seems somewhat simple in terms of grain and hops, a little raw earthiness to the wheat, maybe some pils malt, not quite dry in the fermentation, and very little from the hops, so it really is all about the yeasts and the wood treatment, and i like that in the style. the sherry element is obvious, as there is a cool vinous richness to this, an almost decadent boozy aspect even though this is quite low in abv, and subtle notes of dried apricot and mango, golden raisin, and cooked sugar. the oak is mellowing and nice, and the little bit of pucker and funk thats here gives it a very rustic and rural sort of agricultural vibe, a sort of french saison or biere de garde complexion, mature but not overly wild to me. neat dried fruitiness to this, and a pretty complex barrel layer, lots packed into this little saison. i wish it had more bubbles, cask might not have been the best format for the texture, so ill give it a pass there, but the flavors are really well developed and this was quite unique and enjoyable on the whole. i will look for more beers from these guys to try, seems like they have a pretty cool thing going on. this is funky and different.