Permanent Midnight
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

 

A-Deep, dark brownish black with a thin tan head that retained well and left spotty lace.

S-Light toffee, roasted malt, licorice, a bit of dark fruit and an ending hint of oak dryness.

T-Much in the taste as in the aroma but more prominent. Nice semi-sweet licorice finish. Dark fruit notes remind me of prunes and sweet fig.

M-Medium-light body with a sharp, spicy bite. Good lingering combination of flavours with licorice, toffee and dark roasted malt dominating.

D-A well done dark saison. Nice blending of flavours with a very pleasant sharp spicy bite.

Poured on-tap at the Lancaster brewery. Dark brown/almost black in color with a thin mocha head. You can really smell the alcohol on this one, but behind the alcohol is a lovely complex scent, including malts, licorice, fruits. The taste is really layered, the yeast dominates, but you sense bisquits and fruits as you explore a little more. I do think there is a bit too much heat on the beer from the alcohol, this could use more mellowing out. I enjoyed it for it's complexity, but I wouldn't have wanted another one. They could be sitting on a winner with this one, I just think it's a bit raw and burly at this stage. I'd love to sit some of this to the side for a little and see what develops.

On tap at the brewpub on 12/20/08. Served in an oversized mug.

Pours a deep, dark, brown (looks quite nearly black at times) with a thin layer of light mocha colored head. Retains around the edges with some wisps in the center, leaving back some decent lacing. The aroma is quite vibrant smelling and chock full of chocolate and caramel sweetness, roasted malts, spices, dark fruit tang, tell tale Belgian yeast, and emerging warmth.

The taste is dark malts, chocolate, and caramel up front that then blend into a more vinous feel of yeast, spice, and dark fruits (plums and raisins really stood out to me). The mouthfeel is fuller bodied with a carbonation that's on the sharper side but an overall heavier feel that's weighed down by a good bit of alcohol beef.

I liked what was going on with this a lot but the overall warmth of this kept the drinkibility down some. I'd definitely be up for revisiting this again after it's be allowed to mellow a bit.

I had this on tap 12/6 served ice cold in a goblet-taken from notes

A -Almost midnight, the color is a shade of very dark brown close to the surface. A head of pale brown appears for a hot minute

S - A mild yeast aroma when cold w/ spicy toasted malt notes and a subtle belgian funk/fruit element

M - Prickly carbonation, clean finish and a nice nutty texture all the way through w/ mild acidity. Slightly soapy(hope it was the glass) w/ a slightly phenolic(band-aid) character.

T - A nicely blended(3 yeast strains) Saison -the dark chocolate notes and peppery floral elements are delicate and appetizing. The beer has warming elements which go under mouthfeel(or do they?) w/ slight bitter note like morning glory seeds w/ chalky pasty malt. "Sex on Fire" is heard playing on satellite radio in the background ...horseblanket comes out as it warms in the flavor/aroma and the warmth of alcohol and taste increases as well as dark fruit and grain flavor. The yeast is the dominant flavor w/ tangy but not qwuite sour w/ a nice biscuit tinge late in the taste. This ale tastes like a darker Biere de Garde which is great.

D - A great beer but suffers a bit in score as it is very easy to drink and get a quick buzz. I consider it very good for drinkability only the mf was lacking and it is slightly strong for a saison. I think it is a very enjoyable beer.

On tap on 12-8

A - Pours a dark mahogany with a small layer of foam

S - chocolate aromas with a nice belgian yeastiness

T - Chocolate malts mix well with the belgian flavor for quite an interesting taste

M/D - very very drinkable, although at 9% maybe i'll just have a few. I really liked the flavor of this and it went down way too quickly. I have to say, i'm very impressed with what I had this night. Good job on something different.

note: Iron Hill's website lists this as 8.6% abv.

a: This was a very dark mahogany or ruby red. It was served to me with a smallish, light tan head. It looks like a Belgian dark ale, but it certainly isn't.

s: The website also mentions 8 grains and 3 yeast strains. That level of complexity is absolutely evident here. Warm dark fruit smells emerge first as this warms. Prickly, spicy rye notes and a little cocoa came out as well.

t: I've never had anything like this one. Some dark fruit flavors of raisins or plums suggest a Belgian strong dark ale. The prickly, wet grain flavors say otherwise. At the very end, I got a little cocoa. This was a lot of fun to linger over while I attempted to decipher it. There were some layers here that I just couldn't deconstruct.

m: This had a nice, viscous body and gently prickly carbonation.

d: I highly recommend giving this one a chance while you can. Wildly inventive and delicious is a rare combination.

The Lancaster head brewer, Paul Rutherford, gave me a sneak peak at this dark farmhouse ale during a pre-Thanksgiving lunch.

A: The ale is a dark, dunkel lager color, rustic woody brown that borderlines on charcoal black. The ale had little head but that should improve as it continues to lager.

S: The nose is full of chocolate malts, rather robust for a farmhouse ale. After the malts, a spicier profile emerges, pepper and Belgian yeast particularly.

T: The ale is rather boozy, weighing in at a not-quite-final 9% or so. The heat doesn't hide the chocolate malts or the Belgian profile. The malts are full, noticeably chocolate but not toasted or burnt. The result is a mild flavor upfront that nicely segues into Belgian flavors. The finish has some pepper and a dry fruity flavor. This is a perfect candidate for some brettanomyces. Although Paul did mention that he dropped some of this into a chardonnay barrel to age for a spell (very interesting indeed).

M: Interesting. The ale is still raw, requiring a few more weeks to settle down, lose some alcohol and pick up some carbonation. Still, it's always nice to try a work-in-process.

D: The ale is hot right now and should calm down a bit. That heat is not entirely too much but it may prevent more than a glass or two.