Farmhand Select
Block 15 Brewing - Southtown Tap Room

Look: Light orange with a frothy white head that builds up, holds, and slowly recedes to a lid, leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Wet straw, soda crackers, floral hop notes, baking biscuits, some yeast funk, and wafts of spices
Taste: Opens up with bready malt, crackers, and wet straw that hold and intermingle before being joined by some nice spice and floral notes. Cherry blossoms, cloves, orange flowers, and honeysuckle are all present as is a light pear note and the Belgian yeast is ubiquitous throughout. Closes with some biscuity malt, more pear, and flowers
Mouthfeel: Full but light, medium-high carbonation, fairly clean, and a clean and spritzy finish
Overall: This is good stuff. As both an Upright fan and someone who feels Block 15’s Belgian game is on-point and has been for years, I quickly bought this when I saw it and glad I did as it’s tasty and well-made. This Saison, like most I like, has a lot going on in the aroma/flavor department but is doesn’t get messy and handles it all in stride. It gets even deeper as it starts to warm too so don’t get through it too fast. Recommended

cool beer, i was especially stoked when i got the can home and looked a little closer and saw it was a collaboration with upright, one of my absolute favorites and one of the best in the game, sweet! this isnt as wild or fermentation forward as expected, its not even really all that rustic, its extremely well refined, clear for the style, and sort of drinks as much like a belgian golden as anything else, although the complexity here is all real subtle, its there, and its found primarily in the grain profile, cool they get with local farms for this, neat idea for a saison of course. this is golden and radiant in my oversized red wine glass, two inches of puffy white head lasting the whole drink, rising bubbles, high shine, looks great. the nose is a little french saison yeasty to me, hints of white pepper, banana peal, and chamomile, but not overly estery either, some herbal hops in the mix, and lots of layers to the grain from subtle spiciness through to richer honey notes, warm bread, and minerals, its nicely proportioned and somewhat elegant. the flavor is exactly the same, pale but malty throughout, earthy and agricultural not sweet, the yeast is white winey but tidy, some belgian flare to it, no funk or brett or anything at all to it, as i had hoped for given the breweries involved. its this easy drinking but it also has some body and for being so pale it presents as autumnal, like harvest time in a glass, the hops seem fresh, i like the bitterness they add, and the cereal character of the malt is cool. overall i am more impressed with the quality of this than i am with the flavor, i had hoped it would be a little more wild and intriguing on the ferment, but its objectively wonderful, a cool collaboration for this time of year indeed!

 

Clear golden yellow brew with plenty of foam in the Troubadour tulip. Pleasant aroma of bread and yeast. Quite robustly flavored. I've had others in this Farmhouse style that are more friendly and less like diluted Tripels. Still, it's a clean and intense taste of Belgian yeast if that's your cup of tea. Mouthfeel is lush and sudsy, on the plush side. From the 16 oz can purchased at Elizabeth Station. Dated 06/16/22.

Can from Market of Choice.

A clear golden yellow with a dense white head with good retention and lacing. The nose is classic American saison, with a blend of yeast, grains of paradise and a softly sweet bubblegum ester note. Light straw, mild grain, soft cotton candy. The palate opens spicy and yeasty, with a blend of grains of paradise, soft honey, light bubblegum, a little pepper and some light grain. The mid-palate has a mild bitterness, a blend of spice and light hops. Fruit notes of pear are also present. Drying, clean spicy on the finish, this is solid stuff.