Pierre
Fair Isle Brewing

gorgeous spelt saison with saaz hops here. fair to say these guys are one of the premier operations in the northwest now, and its always a treat to drink their beer, i was stoked to find this one, never heard of it or seen it before. lovely clarity to it, looks almost pils-esque, golden and shiny and very refined, with a high belgian looking head that most be developed in part during bottle conditioning, long retention and sexy lace as it drinks. a real fresh nose to me, their house yeast familiar to me right away but less mature, maybe not oak on this, and any funk seems new and emergent, has that sort of fast and warm stainless vibe to me, but thats in part because of how fresh the hops seem. the yeast ester and the grassy peppy hops go well together, i get light white wine, faint gin, and even some lemonade from concentrate, light and summery but still clearly european in terms of malt and hops, awesome! the flavor is even more vibrant than the nose, impressively fresh for the style. the yeast is somewhat subdued here, vinous and a little limey with the saaz, a great combination. herbal for sure, some banana, and more bitter than i think is common in these, european ingredients, american dosage i reckon. i like it though, helps it finish fast although its already dry, and there is faint tang to this, seemingly coming out more in the absence of much wild funk, but there is likely some young brett here too chiming in. the spelt is earthy, slightly nutty, and obviously supplemented by a pils type malt as well. mineral forward, slightly fuller feeling, but also super effervescent and drinkable, just crackling dry too. these guys have developed a house flavor range, and this is a cool expression of it, somewhat subtle, expertly refined as always. tastes like spring is right around the corner. i could drink this every single day, and would be proud to have produced a beer like this myself, immaculate from a quality standpoint!

edit: even more impressive the second time around, just a work of art here, simple in the best possible way. rustic old world saison at its finest!