Hill Farmstead (2021)

Susan is my favorite beer in the whole world but this batch is so perfumy it’s damn near unbearable. There was a batch like this back in the fall sometime, too. I need the tasting room back so I can test drive my purchases and not end up with another entire case that tastes like an old lady in an elevator.

 

Ouch.

I too love Susan, and it is my favorite non-imperial HF hoppy beer. Do you think the unwelcome perfume character comes from variation in hop quality that can occur from one hop harvest to the next? Maybe you let it sit in the fridge for a week before cracking another? Just a thought.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to try any Hill beers for a another month or so.

 

Actually, the perfume character is somewhat pleasant... when it's restrained. What was it? like, a couple of years ago? that Susan was reformulated to include Riwaka? I think? My first reaction was that new Susan tasted even more like Susan than old Susan. But, like I said, sometimes it just gets this icky eau d'old lady thing going - which is odd because I don't really associate Riwaka with strong perfume notes. More likely the Simcoe.

At any rate, it won't be a problem letting the cans sit in the fridge for awhile.

 

Blackback had Edward and Susan on their board Friday.

 

Ha when Arsmby Abbey had Poetica or Memoria on draft a long time ago(forget which one) I nearly choked on my expensive cheese when I saw the 10 dollar price tag. I did order one mind you, and it was damn delicious, but dang. I have been around this thread long enough to know that my gripes aren't widely shared, at least not publicly, so I will stop beating a dead horse until the next price increase.

 

Oh don't get me wrong- Damon is one of the best barrel aged stouts I have ever had. I just wish I didn't need someone to cosign a loan to buy a few. And If I was coming all the way from Michigan, I would get as many as I could as well. They age well, so you can enjoy them over time.

 

I believe Susan originally had Riwaka but it was almost impossible to get for a while. I think at one point Shaun was the only brewer in the US who was even able to get any and it wasn’t very much. Either Riwaka was removed or Susan wasn’t brewed as often it seems. Now with Shaun’s involvement in Freestyle, Riwaka has increased significantly in acreage however it’s also one of the hardest hops to grow and can have pretty low yields. I think they’re still learning a lot about that hop and how to grow it and when to pick it. Not saying the Riwaka is the cause of the “perfumey” notes but it’s a very powerful hop and he might have lots that present very differently. Glad to take some off your hands and identify the source of the perfume for you... ha

 

Armsby added Edward on draft today. Also have Marie listed.

 

I’m getting the perfumy hop aroma w/this batch of Susan but it’s pretty mild to my senses (likely biased given repeated gorging on ester/juice bombs for some time now...). Still in love w/Susan for her intense/dry grapefruit character... and minerally back end. So glad the hops are back at HF!

 

I miss that 1st ed etched glass...

Heading up tomorrow for a mental health day. I’m hoping Parker Pie has a few kegs on.

 

Any thoughts on Soignee Cherry/Raspberry?

 

Parker has Arthur and Edward right now.

 

fuckerpants. i was hoping to sit on the lawn and enjoy a beer for the first time on my visit to VT this summer. probably save the stop there for 2022 then.

 

Grabbed a pour of both on the deck with a Green Mt Special!

 

I only had Arthur with a meat lovers, also on the deck. Around 1.
Had Edward and Sumner at Blackback with dinner,

Want to thank everyone who added great tips and advice for visiting Hill Farmstead.
I had no idea how really out in the middle of nowhere it was.
Mt Pisgah was a great hike before picking up my order, Going to do Stowe pinnacle today.

 

This 5 month lagered Marie is pretty insane.

 

Opened a Vera Mae 2019. Wife and I sharing it. It's excellent in every conceivable way. Nice way to end the weekend. That is all I have to say.

 

In case anyone missed it, after shutting down comments on its Instagram posts, here’s the latest from Hill Farmstead...



Presumably in response to allegations like this...

 

Can we get some back story to help understand?

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/calling-out-sexism-in-the-beer-industry.658535/

Instagram handle linked in first post has around 800 stories in it, some of which implicate certain people in the industry to varying degrees multiple times, inc. Shaun Hill (two are pasted above). Not going to spell out more info than that in this thread to avoid repeat post nukings. On the SH front, HF turned off comments to their most recent post and deleted any comments on their prior post related to the above topic, and then later added the above posi-vibes-only message to their story (first of the three screen grabs).