Helsar
Fair Isle Brewing

the most creative of the fair isle beers i have had so far, this is really splendid. a slightly maltier farmhouse base, just a little bit tart and slightly less belgian estery than some of their others, but jazzed up with cascara, a gorgeous morning beer, especially on a hangover, and really something quite unique, this place really impressed me. lightly rusty orange in color, not quite clear, and short white headed from the tap, a treat to be able to drink this among the oak vessels at their brewery. i can immediately smell the cascara, which always is like a mix of golden raisins and cherries to me, fruity and sweet, concentrated and slow dried, rich and earthy, sort of a leather element too, maybe a hint of tart tamarind or something to it, a little sweet orange citrus character, and of course a hint of coffee, trace smoke, and then all the goodness of this yeast, french saison-esque and vinous to me. the flavor is all of this, not too heavy on the cascara but enough that it definitely flavors this beer, raisin and fig notes, cranberry tang, sweet slow brewed coffee, hints of dry cocoa powder, earthy wheat, and tannic white wine. i love the light coffee character, the fruitiness, and the yeast all together. its light and drinkable too, not real acidic or anything, and surprisingly dry and fast finishing for being as flavorful as it is. really cool recipe, a neat ingredient to bring into this style, and props for keeping it all so delicate and approachable. a touch more carbonation would be nice, but that is nitpicking unnecessarily. impressive quality here, this was a delight!

edit: had a small bottle from batch one, three or so years later, and it seems a bit faded, under carbonated on the pour, sharper overall than i remember it being, some green glass character coming in which clashes slightly with the nutty cascara, and just kind of tired seeming to me, although still incredibly unique, delicate for what it is, and definitely different on the fermentation side than a lot of their others, this one really has its own personality, but it was better newer, and i wish i opened this one a little sooner. still, nothing quite like this, a great use of the cascara. leaving original scores as they are. i adore this brewery, one of my favorites anywhere now!