Jean-Michel
Fair Isle Brewing

750 mL bottle. Clear pale yellow. Smells of strong hops. Berries and herbals with a lightly earthy backdrop. Tastes a little tart with light bready malt. Strong berry hops and earthiness. Light and crisp. Simple and very nice.

Pours very blonde with a thin head. On the nose getting lemon, barnyard funk, cilantro, and white wine. Taste-wise I'm picking up citrus notes, some funkiness, white grape (resiling), lemongrass, and a splash of honey-sweetness. Not too tart and finishes smooth. Overall not bad, but not at all what I expected based on the description on the bottle - very little berry taste. Just fine overall but wouldn't go out of my way for it at the price point.

 

 

 

 

Batch No. 2. Released 3/16/22; drank 12/23/22 @ Pokemon Communion.

Cloudy yellow/orange appearance.

Nice bright white head; frothy lace.

Tart lemon, oak & lemongrass notes in the nose.

Soft medium mouthfeel.

Lemon, lemongrass & soft oak flavors.

Pleasant & delicious; I hope to come across this again!

 

another lovely saison from these guys, this one blended from different vintages and oak aged, its dry hopped with barbe rouge, the most berry forward hop of all, at least so far, and this is packed with strawberry, raspberry, and currant notes, its funky, grassy, dry, bretty, estery, clean, and radiant, unique in both flavor and quality, and i am again taken aback by something from this epic brewery that still nobody seems to be talking about. its clear and honey colored, super heady from the little green bottle, and fizzy. smells like flattering green glass oxidation, new brett, old saison yeast like a fantome or de glazen toren strain or something, a high compliment, and some cool botanical hops, tea and red fruit. the flavor is the same, saison yeast and brett both, some sturdy oak, white wine vibes, apricot, strawberry, peach jelly, rustic grain, and a bready pils foundation, simple and good, layered and nuanced and interesting, immaculately well refined, seems bottle conditioned too, soft in texture but really active, mature beer with a fresh hop profile, just amazing. the bottle is way too small for how much of this i want to drink, and its price prohibitive, but the quality is next level and i am again stoked as can be on something from fair isle. these guys slay and should be on the map by now...

Bright golden body with two fingers of off-white foam. Rustic grain like spelt in nose, lightly sour big oak, vinous notes, flowers, hints of barrel funk and currant linger. Taste as much the same with decent brett and dark red fruit like wine poached cherries. Feel is shaped obviously by the oak, but subtly by the grains and brett. One of the more artful and intentional offerings from fair isle, hoping for more like it