Matri
Fair Isle Brewing

 

 

easygoing and nuanced saison, aged in oak, and brewed with chamomile and lemon verbena, the slender cans are cool for this, a spendy four pack, but its well worth it, and fair isle continues to deliver. real pale yellow color, looks can conditioned and they felt a little tight, holds an inch of belgian looking airy white head, some haze to this, sort of whitewashed looking, popping carbonation. the nose is amazing, the chamomile and lemon verbena are both super fresh and identifiable and forward in the mix, citrus, white tea, lemongrass, and lime leaf all come to mind, cherry blossom, green grass, and pear as well, light vanilla, and some subtle rustic wildness and tang from the ferment, not familiar across a range of fair isle beers, i could pick it out of a lineup at this point, some vinous character from the tartness and the subtle oak. the flavor wows as well, striking even more than the nose, the herbal aspect is brilliant, compatible with the beer for sure but also rising up through it to really stride out in front, lemon verbena and chamomile together is a great choice for this, and the grain supports this well, wheat driven, could even have some raw wheat, its super organic to me. love how floral and springy this is, a neat honey note in the center but then exceedingly dry later, more white wine and tartness at the end, pretty much gone on the swallow aided by racing carbonation. i absolutely love this one, stoked to still have two cans in the fridge, and cannot say enough about fair isle at this point, i love them all. i wonder if this will become a series, the way the can calls out the botanicals seems to suggest there could be other versions on the way, im here for it!