Rustic Saison
Apostelbräu

From the bottle, it pours a hazy amber color with a modest, lasting, off=white head. The nose gets the sweet malts, with a touch of fruit. The taste is pleasant, with a light sweetness with a touch of fruit coming through.

Purchased at the German Store in Northern Virginia for $6.95/approximately a pint. Poured into a small stemmed tulip.

More English dark beer than a saison. Not even a good German brew and certainly not a saison. When rating to style this beer suffers. 3.25

A - Pours a clear dark orange amber with very little head but lots of carbonation. 4.0 (just for the color, which is beautiful).

S - Malty, bread, faint sweetness and even fainter (possibly imaginary) funk. No spiciness or hoppiness. A little dark fruit in the nose as well. 3.5

T - Munich malts, low hoppiness (herbal), with some medicinal bitterness and a faint sourness. 3.25

MF - Medium bodied with faintly sweet finish but a sharpness from the carbonation that counters any sweetness gives this beer a dry finish.

 

 

Almost clear, a deep amber (SRM 10- 13) with explosive carbonation that never fades. The one-and-a-half inch almond head is foamy and loose, leaving no appreciable lace after a few minutes.

The aroma is similar to autumn woods, with sweet plum and apricot. There is a light herbal quality against a floral, almost honeysuckle, background.

Very sweet, with a mix of caramel and pear. Some rye and caraway seeds give way to light ginger with warmth. The finish is mild, sweet and lingering.

A full body with no hint of alcohol. Energetic carbonation accentuates the nylon texture.

This is a fine drinking beer, even though I feel it is off style. The sweetness holds it back, as does the over carbonation. Regardless, it will pair well as an afternoon beer with friends and lively conversation.

i have never seen a german made saison i dont think, and if i have, it didnt leave much of an impression on me, i feel like i would remember such a geographic and style crossover. i had to buy this when i saw it, had to see what a german brewer would do with a saison, and the word rustic in front of it turned me on even more. they use a bunch of interesting wheat malts in here, things we dont see real often, and some spelt and rye too, a neat multigrain brew that already has my attention before i ever pop the cap. its surprisingly dark to me, deep hazy amber color with a really dull look about it, decent tan head settling quickly and a lot of sediment, although i crashed pretty hard on my skateboard with this beer in hand, thankfully it didnt break, but i obviously disturbed the yeast at the bottom, maybe it would have been more clear and bright if i stayed upright. in any event, the color isnt what i thought it would be, and it immediately smells german and oxidized, not much saison about it. the flavor though starts to incorporate some of that, the dense, nutrient rich, ancient grain sort of malt bill presents itself in a cool way, lots of body and earthy cereal character, some of it toasted up to be a little sweet, unique for sure here. it still has a german maltiness too though, it could never pass as belgian or french. the yeast is maybe why, not as estery or driving as it often is in these styles, thats kind of the missing link of this one, but there are still cool flavors to enjoy here. definitely a unique brew, peppery, wet, and full of minerals. carbonation is a little light for the style, but this already seemed more german malty beer than saison before this. i love that this exists, and its definitely not what anyone would expect from a saison. cool use of different malts, but still decidedly german to me. a fun one to sip on and nurse my skateboard injuries with...

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium to dark brownish copper with a one finger light khaki head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of biscuit and mixed grain malt, dates, hints of citrus and dark dried fruit. Flavor is grainy and dry biscuit malt, rye tartness, dry summer herbs, a hint of lemon (that may be just the grain tartness), light saison yeast character. Medium bodied with sharp carbonation. An example of an interesting beer that breaks the style system; this really tastes exactly like its name: A Bavarian Rustic Farmhouse Saison. Unlike its Belgian and French brethren, it has little of the classic saison yeast funk, although the tart, very mixed grain character is quite rustic. This really does taste like a farmhouse beer production. Instead of the drier grainy malt in typical saisons, this one is very German; the dry biscuit hints would be at home in a bock (although this is definitely drier) and the other mixed grains give some rye-like and interesting grain notes. I generally don't enjoy tart saisons as much as dry grainy ones, but this has such interesting flavors, and it is likely some of the more ancient grains add some of the tart notes, that I found this quite satisfying. I'm really glad this unusual rustic ale is available. Very interesting.

 

 

The cap releases with a soft hiss. The glass fills with a brilliant copper amber liquid filled with streams of rapidly rising bubbles. A 1/2" white frothy head quickly collapses to a thin film. Musty yeast aromas are detectable from 3 feet away. Closer up reveals plum, ripe fruit and light spice. Malt aromas are low to medium low. The palate first notices yeasty fruit flavors, especially plum and berry, and them a complex layered array of grain flavors comes forward. There is a mildly funky Belgian Saison yeast character in the background. Apostelbräu Bavarian Farmhouse Rustic Saison's grain bill includes Emmer malt, barley malt, wheat malt, spelt malt, rye malt and Einkorn malt. The grain character and flavor are unexpected and easy to overlook. Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt wheat are among the earliest cultivated grains and have a rustic quality. With such a melange of grains you would expect a muddy palate but several distinct, spicy grain flavors come through. The rye comes on early with both flavor and texture. The Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt grow distinct in the aftertaste and provide a bit of non-barley malt tartness. Hop flavors and bitterness are medium low. The grain flavors and yeast character provide balance to the sweet plum and other fruit flavors. The body is medium to medium light and the carbonation is above average with a very fine bead giving the beer a little wild yeast texture. This is an interesting, flavorful, yet light, refreshing beer

Draft pour from super fresh keg poured at Max's Germanfest.

$ 5.31 (Including tax)/16.9 oz bottle ($ 0.314/oz) at Fairgrounds Wine & Spirits, Danbury, CT
Bottle labeled 0/0916 at 42 degrees into hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma – wet grain
Head average (Maximum 3.8 cm, semi-aggressive pour), off white, fizzy/frothy, rapidly diminishing to an irregular two to four mm ring and thin partial layer
Lacing - none
Body – orange/amber, clear, slight effervescence, sediment in bottom of bottle
Flavor – a little sweeter than a lager, grainy, no trace of yeast; no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate – light to medium, watery, lively carbonation

Not bad. Not your typical saison.

Appearance 4, Aroma 3.5, Flavor 3.75, Palate 4, Overall 3.75