Pillow Jaw
Is/Was Brewing

Served from the bottle in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Is that when you wake up to find your jaw covered in drool? Just wondering. Anyway, this stuff pours a partly cloudy sunrise brass topped by a healthy pile of light cream foam. The nose comprises lemongrass, light wheat, gooseberry, light white grape must, and flowers. The taste holds notes of wet grass, mild saison funk, old lemon pith, dank vegetation, and a generally vague loamy-ness. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a liquid feel. Overall, this saison did little positive for me. The flavors just came across as dusty and off, and the mouthfeel was kinda flaccid. Not my bag.

Bought at The Beer Temple. I like how Is/Was often makes a saison and then makes a Brett rendition of it. Since I'm Brett adverse, I like having the original recipe.

My seventh from Is/Was, I remember lots of originality and that seems to be so with Pillow Jaw. I do not remember ever having soursop, so I looked it up and can pretty accurately taste its composition: like pineapple with apples combined with strawberries and a creamy mouth like bananas. Tropical. This is a tropical saison. Certainly Smells and Tastes that way. Inventive. (Soursop also is medicinal... so will this be like the Fountain of Youth?) Pillow Jaw also has a lovely foam that sticks around.

Had with summer fare, Pillow Jaw paired well with pesto and pasta followed by salad. The saison cut through the olive oil and complemented the herbs and vinegar. Pretty much a maestro performance at the table. I hope I can find this again.

Pours a hazy, cloudy, opaque golden-yellow color. Pillow-y white velvety head forms on the beer, then settles in and partially dissipates, but leaves a good half inch of foam remaining on the beer. Aroma has notes of lightly funky yeast, lemon, orange zest, peppercorn, grain and oats with a light hint of honey.

Taste has notes of grain, a slightly funky yeast with notes of lemons, earthy bitter hops, honeydew, lemon, oats, and this light bubblegum note. That bubblegum note kind of threw me a bit - its like what you can occasionally get in some hefeweizens. Not my favorite profile for a saison, but its solid. Feel is light to medium bodied. Bright carbonation. Very dry finish.

Overall this is a solid saison - well crafted, but the bubblegum notes are not something I personally like, but its still a good beer.