Dave's BrewFarm Odd Job

I made it to Dave's BrewFarm Sunday afternoon, my first visit since early December. Why, why, why did it take me nearly 5 months for me to return? I don't know! I just don't. There seems to be no obvious explanation, so we won't dwell on it. But I really wanted it to happen this Sunday, for it was the day after my last day at my job of 15 years. And my ol' pal Jason B. was ready and able to drive us both out there. Nothing says celebrate like returning to my pals at the BrewFarm, where they even had a band this time, a group called Holy Sheboygan that was actually from Appleton (a less funny name than Sheboygan. You never saw W.C. Fields referring to Spokane, no, it was always Walla Walla, Washington. Keokuk? Hilarious Iowa city. Des Moines? Not as much.)

But, I'm on a slight budget, so I didn't fill all 4 of my DBF growlers, only 2, and the first that I'm opening is the one that they didn't have on tap Sunday, so it is new to me. It is called Odd Job, and I don't know why it has that sobriquet, nor do I find any style it might resemble. No matter. Let us drink it and find out.

It's clear, and it's light crimson, with a slim white head.

Aromatics: light caramel malt tones, fairly muted. Light citric fruit notes. Interesting mix, widening, gaining esters as it unfolds. What seemed simple at first is growing in complexity.

Taste: bright, citrus-y hops spark first, bouncing on the palate, then stepping back. Body is light, and malt character is clean and spare. There's a crispness and cleanless, at first, that gives way, once more, to fruitiness. Smoke is coming through now, at last, in these new sips. Another one of the Frankenstein beers from the BrewFarm, with no precedent, no style that it aims to fit, pieced together in a way no one's ever tried before.

Here's what Farmer Dave says about it: "6.1% ABV. With a nod to one of James Bond's greatest villains, this lightly smoky ale has Pils, Cara Red, Smoked and Victory malts, Magnum, Perle, Brewer's Gold and Mandarina hops and fermented with a German ale yeast. (WY1007).