Falkor
Fair Isle Brewing

been saving this bottle a little while, gorgeous packaging on it, even for these guys, whose beer always looks fantastic. this is a stronger saison base done with blackberries and tarragon, a real interesting combination, impressively unique, and no surprise the execution is killer, i love everything fair isle does! a muted reddish purple color to this, some sediment in suspension but not messy looking, a short peaky white head on top. the nose is amazing, tart and jammy blackberries, the spicy tarragon, notes of licorice, grass, herbal tea, and citrus too, black pepper, port wine, and minerals as well, exceedingly complex. the flavor is great, seems like a lot of their fruit sugar has been fermented out, this is dry and vinous, spicy and acidic at the same time, oddly light on grain for how strong it is, some body, wheaty is seems, but the flavor there is mild. the tarragon is surprisingly impactful, as forward to me as the berries are, really cool flavor in a beer, and i think it brings out the best of their yeast, some peppery notes, white florals, even a gin thing. i taste some plum, heavy red wine, and a cool freshness uncommon in the style. its only slightly alcoholic, more so at temperature. the feel is a little fuller and slightly saggy in terms of carbonation compared to their most lively bottles, but its so flavorful i dont mind the slower pace, more time to appreciate all the layers. another cool expression of their yeast, and i love the tarragon in this. fair isle continue to impress me every time i am lucky enough to drink one of their beers, im a huge fan!