The Art Of Holding Space
Keeping Together Brewery and Beverage Garden

 

 

 

 

love the beer, love the name, love the concept, a mixed grain funky saison at a table beer abv, really smart, another cool expression of their wild and funky yeast mix, and insanely drinkable, i am loving keeping together right now, it was amazing to get to drink a bunch of their beers and get a sense of what they are all about, so stoked! this is real pale, whitewashed yellow hued with a churned and frothing white head an inch high, nice retention and obvious carbonation, looks well conditioned. aroma of clean fresh sliced citrus, mostly lemon but it hints at key lime too, not quite oily and zesty, lighter than that, but radiant and brand new. there is a great funk to this too, newer brett than in some of their others, but definitely a mixed fermentation sort of vibe with a little lactic pucker in there too. its cool to have oats and spelt in here but also be this light, seems all so subtle, handful of this and a handful of that, seems like belgian pils malt to me more than anything else, but its tidy too, earthy and old worldy from the other malts, but not heavy from them in the least. lightly spicy end to this, could be noble hops in the mix, but modest at the same time. fresh and tangy, refined and nuanced, refreshing but worthy of drinking slowly too, smart and intentional in every way. there is a common thread running through these in my experience, all of them so clever and dialed in, so fermentation forward, and so modern despite the old world tip of the cap, in love with this brewery right now! for a beer so low in alcohol, it wants for nothing, love the dryness, lightness, and carbonation pop. elite.

Too many saisons, too little time.
That is my revelation on Saison Day 2022. For its second rendition organized by Allagash, it was participated in (big-time) by my favorite saison brewer, Off Color.

As someone who ferrets-out saisons (they are 10.4% of what I review on BA and 28% of what I note on UnTappd), I somehow never tasted Keeping Together; but did so today at Off Color's Mousetrap. Happy Spring! My major explanation for missing Keeping Together for so long is that I never get out anymore (except possibly Saison Day)... and Keeping Together doesn't bottle/can enough for me to find them in stores.

To review The Art of Holding Space... I'd rather drink it while eating summer fare to get a sense of how well it works as a table saison. In the meantime, Big Overall Hugs to Keeping Together and if you don't can/bottle soon... I may have to get out to Half Acre's taproom.

I received a bottle of this Saison from @fbarber in the NBS BIF #14. Poured into a tulip glass. It pours a cloudy, pale, golden-straw color with a thin, ecru-colored head that fizzled away quickly. It's highly effervescent. The nose is fragrant and classic funky farmhouse with notes of lemon, berry, coriander, and earthy tobacco. It's far more try and grassy than the smell indicates The prevailing taste is tart - almost bitter - lemon peel along with the Belgian spicing and pepper. It's also strongly earthy. The mouth feel is extremely crisp and lite with lively carbonation, and the 3% ABV is barely noticeable. Overall, The Art of Holding Space serves its purpose well: as a table Saison it would pair well with almost any cuisine. I enjoyed it with sharp cheese and rye crackers.

 

Pours a very bright, light yellow color with a small amount of effervescent, short-lived head. Semi-translucent. Aroma was a bit deceiving. At first sniff, it was rather 'meh', but then when I took the time to really smell it, there were multiple layers that I didn't notice at first. Initial aroma is a generic farmhouse funk, but then the fruitiness makes itself known in a subtle, yet inviting way. Taste largely follows the nose. Lightly tart, a nice blend of citrus and grass like notes. Feel is more lively than the pour would have led me to believe. Really well done table beer.

750 mL bottle. Pale clear and yellow. Smells of grain, light basement funk, faint lemon. Tastes quite tart. Grain and a little yeastiness. Extremely light, well carbonated. Drinks very easily, but it's mostly tartness.

 

 

Wow this might be the best table beer to date, might have to have back to back with afterthought's table someday to compare! Bubbly pale gold body with an active white head. Bretty and slight barnyard funk shape elegantly the pear, lemon, apricot, and hay with slight pineapple, peach and grass in the nose. Almost vinous in aromatic finish. Taste adds some minerality, white grape, and white pepper while the pineapple and grass are cut out, the lemon is zesty now, fruit are generally soft but not subtle. Finishes dry and clean with a yeasty and lighthearted funk kiss. Elevated, highly carbonated but appropriately so, a delicate beauty of a beer. My debut beer for KT, will be trying more!

 

Pours a very light straw golden color. Lightly cloudy. Pillowy white head appears then dissipates leaving just a thin film on top of the beer with a ring along the outside of the beer.

Aroma has notes of light funk, lemon, lemon grass, grain, yeast, and light, gentle spicy hops. Lovely citrusy table beer.

Taste follows the nose with notes of lemon, lime, lemon grass, yeast, white peppercorn, a bit of citrusy funk and some light bitter, spicy hops on the back end. For a 3% beer, its amazing how much flavor this beer packs.

Feel is light, vibrant, spritzy. Smooth carbonation. Semi-dry on the finish.

An amazing table beer - I hope that this is a regular in the Keeping Together lineup.

Pale gold, uniformly but lightly hazy, with a short white head that fizzles out to a thin chain.

The light body has just enough effervescence to achieve a softly satisfying crisp mouthfeel, exhibiting notes of lemony straw with a fine accent of brett spice and a touch of toasted biscuit. Notes of funky wild honey quietly emerge as it warms.

This is a crusher of a saison, commendably so as that is what Averie set out to do here. The finish is cleanly semi-dry, and exhales further hints of lime and orange zest. Again there are mild farmhouse qualities that are ever delicate and quaintly refreshing.

poured into a HF wine stem.

Appearance: very pale yellow body with 2 fingers of bone white head that quickly downs down to minimal head.

Smell: light lemon tartness and straw.

Taste: very light flavor. very light tartness. no much complexity. Fairly basic beer lightly tart table beer. Hint of lacto.

Mouthfeel: Very light body. medium carbonation levels. Kinda watery to be honest.

Overall: Still a decent beer, but was definitely left desiring something more. Avril from Saison Dupont is miles and mile ahead of this beer. Honestly this is the first miss from Keeping together and I have really been blown away by every other beer that Avery has done with the Keeping together label.

From the brewer who brought us Jester King’s gin BA Petit Prince, Soul Conduit, this is a loose riff in that direction.

Pale pastel yellow, ample foam, drippy halo of lacing. Aroma of lemon zest, wet straw, and stonefruit. Tart and crisp with a lemony tang, and light grassy hop note. Dry, light and effervescent, well carbed and palate scrubbing.

Endlessly drinkable, and a versatile pairing with just about any food. Pair it with charcuterie or a funky washed rind cheese and see what it can really do. An excellent example of a mixed-fermentation table beer/tafelbier, which is an understated style by design. Simplicity is criminally underrated and misunderstood these days, and probably will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Innovation in a glass.