Lydia
Fair Isle Brewing

 

Open this one with care, it gushed on me a good bit! Clear maroon with khaki frothy head. Oak backs the nose where darker rustic grains abound with gentle dry earth, wet hay, and general oxidation. Taste follow suit but has odd citrus zest in the middle that is out of place and a medicinal aftertaste. Medium bodied, very lightly tart, funk textures too, little harsh with grains and booze leakage though

750 mL bottle. Bottled June 2020. Pours cloudy deep amber with an ample off-white head. Smells of oak, light earthy acidity, fruity, toasted malts, and oxidation? That's why I noted the bottling date. May just be part of the beer profile, but it was my first thought. Tastes of a little citrus, toasted malts, light fruitiness, and oak. Those oxidation notes are present when it's cold, but pass as it warms. Lightly tart, though the lemony tang persists throughout. Medium body. Takes a while to open up. I ended up enjoying it.

gorgeous packaging on this bottle, a fall inspired saison in oak, definitely the woodiest of their beers i have had so far, the most mature, maybe the only one that has seen any wood contact, its nice for the fall, feels fancy, and almost drinks more like a biere de garde, which i love. a richer amber color to this, a high just off white bottle conditioned looking head on it with nice retention, so sediment until the very bottom of the bottle. cool nose on this, tarter than the others i have had, tannic and vinous too, maybe red wine barrels were used, plenty of oak on it, their house yeast a little more developed with some acidity now, and a nice toasted but dry, earthy grain base that seems rather substantial. notes of raisin and date too. the flavor is all of this, yeast driven but with quite a lot from the grain and the wood both, all very cohesive. maybe it smells a little more sour than it actually is, but it does have some mild astringency through it. lots of dried fruits, maybe a little yeast spiciness, warming oak, high effervescence, and a lot of fall vibes. i could have easily saved this for the thanksgiving table, it would fit there well. i continue to be impressed with fair isle, they are doing it right with these farmhouse styles. i am excited for more of their wood aged stuff, this was really good!