Tove
Fair Isle Brewing

12.7 oz. bottle poured into vertical tulip
Batch No. Six, 6.3% ABV
(no born-on or best-by dating on label or bottle)

L: murky amber/raspberry/dark raspberry with a slight copper/brown color in the middle of the glass and lighter red/pink highlights around the edges; nearly 100% opaque; 1/8- to 1/4-inch head of soapy, flimsy white/offwhite foam; no lacing or sticking with minimal activity in the glass pushing up a super thin collar

S: almost 50/50 sweet/sour with a funky barnyard tartness offset with blackberries and blackberry jam ... glorious stuff with the sweetness level being exactly what you'd hope for from a well-made farmhouse or wild ale — it's not a syrupy, sugary mess and most definitely not a seltzer but beer in the Belgian tradition; as I start drinking and get into the glass, the aroma loses a bit of its sweetness, but it's still near perfect

T: tart, lemons, lemon peel, lemon-lime and mildly funky, wet hay, old musty barn and a hint of something lactic

F: light, almost watery but filled out by the light-but-present crispness from the carbonation; a little more body and/or a little more carbonation might be nice, but honestly I wouldn't want to mess with it ... I prefer this style during the summer, and this is in that prefect summer sipping range

O: if this beer just had a hint of blackberry sweetness in the flavor, I'd be seriously tempted to score it 5s across the board and run back to the store to get more; it's a fantastic version of the American style of wild ale with the tartness and funky flavors and a simple but effective mouthfeel leading the way; the early aroma is tantalizing with its more pronounced sweetness from the blackberries, alas they never really show up in the flavor — my guess is freshness is playing a part, for these wild ales refermented on fruit always taste better fresh IMO; still, it's a very good beer and good enough that I will seek out more from Fair Isle Brewing

375ml bottle from Village Market. Amber/violet pour, small frothy white head. Aroma is raspberries, tart. Taste follows with more of the tart berry flavors and a little yeasty funk with minor astringency.

Pours a pale orange with just a hint of purple hue to it, small white head that falls to a ring.

Aroma is is light malt, tart, light berry notes, oak, light funk.

Taste is light malt, berries, hay, light barnyard funk, oak notes. Dry but not acidic or overly tart. Saison with berry notes and a touch more funk not overly done as some wild ales.

Mouthfeel lighter under medium, carbonation only touch more then medium.

Overall nice well done brew, enjoyable couple have more then 1 of theses much more mellow then some wild ales.

 

batch four, large bottle, green glass. these guys have become a favorite of mine, i froth every time i encounter a new one, and this is right in my wheelhouse, a blackberry saison with a nice mature funk to it, really good stuff once again, worth the price. a fairly deep purple tone to this, murky though much of the bottle and quite sedimented towards the bottom, but its real fruit for sure, its bottle conditioned, and its got some head, maybe not as refined looking as their standard has been, but still pretty, just in a more rustic or rugged way. the nose is vibrant real blackberries at peak ripeness, serious intensity too, real bold, juicy and tannic and acidic and only a touch sweet, some funk and bacterial tang highlighting them beautifully, vinous oak, and lighter to me on the grain than expected, not much there, true in the taste too, more wheaty body to this than malt taste overall, not a bad thing with how cool the fruit is and how nuanced the ferment is. the funk ramps up as it warms in the flavor, a neat mineral profile emerges too, an almost lambic wild character exists, with some lemony tartness and the piquant berries. long fruit linger in a beer thats drying on the palate. good carbonation, richer feel but not a lot of fruit sugar which is wild, sturdy and inky and interesting. im sure this will do well in the cellar too. hard not to be blown away by the body of work fair isle has put out so far in just a few years, they are masters of yeast, wood, and fruit already, and i love it all! this is a great expression of blackberries in funky beer.

 

Vintage 2020; batch 2

Nice blackberry fruit notes; sweet tarts with lactobacillus funk / yogurt like funk. Soft creamy body; not acidic.

 

 

2021-08-07
750ml bottle served in a snulip. Batch number 2, bottled October 2020.

Pours a clear purplish color with a medium sized pale creamy head. Smell is a little spicy, a little funky, and fairly jammy, berries and tartness.

Taste is funky / yeasty, hay and oak. Spiciness I got from the aroma is unfortunately lacking or muted in the flavor. Tartness is very dry, not overwhelming at all.

Mouthfeel is dry and light. Overall, very nice beer.