Dave's BrewFarm Bravo Single Hop Lager

Dave's BrewFarm Bravo Single Hop Lager.
6.4 % ABV. Bottled on July, 12, 2019. (Purchased 07/14/19)

Once again to the BrewFarm on a Sunday, and once again the patrons on Saturday bought up most of the growlers. My only choice was one that wasn't on tap Sunday afternoon, but it wasn't a bad choice at all.

Clear, bright crimson coloring, slim white head.

In the nose: Lightly hoppy, fruity. Slightly sweet, highly likable.

In the mouth: A brief blast of bitterness. Nicely spicy. Good hoppy buzz, then it's all smooth. Caramel malt flavors take over and deliver. Smooth and lovely.

I forgot to bring back the menu. But, wait, there's a description wrapped around the growler, let's see if I can get it cut free...not really. So, what do we know? "Pils, Cara Red, and...mel 20 malts, and hopped with 3 additions ...Bravo hops. Fermented with a lager yeast..." Hey, that's close enough.

It's a lager through the yeast used, but the malts and hop employed give this one a character that goes beyond the typical lager. Another tasty one from Farmer Dave.

Lakefront Mosaic Blonde Ale

Lakefront Mosaic Single Hop Blonde Ale. 5% ABV. Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI.

Clear, pale golden, lasting white head on top.

In the nose: honey. grains. something I can't put my finger on. Smells more than anything like fresh wort. Grape Nuts! Is that it? A puzzler.

In the mouth: Fruity/grainy, minor hops, mostly malty. I've not experienced Mosaic hops in this way, yet. Not as clean as you'd expect from a blonde ale, but this is a bit experimental, after all. Easy-drinking stuff, as you'd expect. I'm not getting all I'd usually get from Mosaic, but I'm enjoying it, nonetheless.

Mosaic® hops owe their name to the assortment of flavors they can add to a beer. Just like an artist arranging a hodgepodge of colorful tiles to create a mosaic, brewers unlock the patchwork of blueberry, orange blossom, and bubble gum aromas with well-timed Mosaic® additions to the boil kettle. Our brewers thought the soft, malty sweetness of an easy-drinking Blonde Ale best delivers the berry medley and citrus flavors. Unlock a bottle for yourself and see.

Lakefront Shop 2 Centennial IPA

Lakefront Shop (Single Hop) Series #2 Centennial India Pale Ale. Ale made exclusively with Centennial hops. Brewed and bottled by Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI. 7% ABV, 50 IBU.

Lightly hazed, amber hued, slim white head.

In the nose: Sweet malt starts the show, with Centennial hot on it's heels. Piney, leafy, citrus-y, green.

In the mouth: Big bitterness from the start. Grapefruit, orange, lemon. Medium-bodied, long hoppy finish. Nice, tasty session IPA. I like this more and more as we go.


In 1974, amid the Watergate scandal, Queen’s follow-up album, and The Brady Bunch getting nixed, hop growers at Washington State University discovered a special breed in their fields. Descended from five different hop strains, with one helluva citrus aroma, they dubbed the young cones “CFJ90”. Maybe the WSU team took 26 years to refine CFJ90? Maybe they waited for Ice Cube’s solo debut? Either way, in 1990, they unleashed the new hop, renamed “Centennial”, to eagerly-awaiting brewers. Often used alongside similar hops, we thought Centennial deserved its own solo in our Single HOP IPA series. 
SHOP–Centennial pours deep gold with a rocky white head. A generous Centennial dry hopping gives it a punchy grapefruit and orange blossom aroma, while late boil hop additions add plenty of floral and citrus zest flavors up front with biscuity Munich malt in tow. Medium bodied, SHOP–Centennial finishes with lingering orange peel.

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Wakatu Pale Ale

Town Hall Wakatu Pale Ale, featuring the New Zealand hop Wakatu, 5.1% ABV.

Clear, bright amber coloring, slim white head.

Citrus explosion in the nose, big with the lemon and orange and a twist of grapefruit. Pineapple and lime, too. Big time fresh fruit. Love it.

In the mouth: more, more, more. Lean-bodied, refreshing bitterness, lots of hops, with a modicum of malt. Just delightful.Another delicious Town Hall pale ale, one that leaves me saying (and I'm not ashamed to tell it) "Wakatu me."

Dave's BrewFarm Waimea Single Hop Lager

It's about time to crack open a growler that I brought home from the BrewFarm a week and a few days ago.

Here come the notes on Waimea Single Hop Lager:


Dave's BrewFarm Waimea Single Hop Lager. 6.4% ABV.

Hazy. bright amber coloring, beautiful ivory head above, leaving lace.

Delicately fruity aroma, a little floral, a touch citrusy, fairly clean.

A little hop attack starts it off, a gentle buzz on the palate. All is smoothness, thereafter. Bright, fresh, and zesty, with a lingering hop presence. Medium/light bodied. Sweet malty body, kept in check by incessant hoppiness. Easy drinking. Straight up deliciousness. I'll have no trouble finishing this growler off.

What's Farmer Dave say about it? "Single hop lager series. Shwocasing a single hop variety in a pale lager. Three separate additions of Waimea hops, Pils, Cara Red and caramel 20 malts."

Another one that makes me say "pale lager"? Pale? Nah....

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Equinox IPA

Minneapolis Town Hall Equinox IPA. It's an IPA made with Equinox hops. That's not what you'd call a hot hop, it's been around too long for that. "Hot hops" have to be less than a year old, otherwise….not as hot.

6.8% ABV. Other information is currently unobtainable. Nothing on the website, all I found was gleaned off of BA and RB. And that's it.

Appearance: clearish, bright golden amber hue, slim white head.

Aroma: Essence of tropical and citrus fruits lead the way: pineapple, lemon, a bit of banana. More sweet than bitter. Orange and tangerine come creeping through. I'm loving it.

Taste: Bitterness starts it off, bouncing all over the palate. Then comes the sweet. Terrific balance. Malt is on the light side, crisp and delicate. Cracker-y. Hops are truly going to town on this one, lasting long throughout the drink. Loong lasting.

This is a tasty one. I got to tell you, as much as I love Masala Mama from Town Hal, I find myself gravitating to their other IPAs and APAs when the chance arrives. Variety being the spice of life and all.

Dave's BrewFarm Hull Melon Single Hop Saison

Dave's BrewFarm Hull Melon Single Hop Saison, 6.4 % ABV.

Appearance: hazy, bright golden hue, short-lived, slim white head, shortens to a tight ring.

Aroma: Sweet, fruity nose, with, yes, melon leading the charge. Is that why they're called Hull Melon hops? Maybe some tropical fruit notes, just a little bit of citrus, but, man, it's a "melon bomb." (A little research show that Hull Melon was developed in Germany only two years ago. More information here.)

Taste: More fruit, more yum, and just enough bitterness to keep it fun. Smooth malt, just a touch of saison yeast funk. Easy-drinking as they come. Light-ish body, nicely hopped, plenty of farmhouse flavors and this delicious fruity hoppiness.

I gobbled down this growler, and it went smashingly with my chicken pad thai.

Dave's BrewFarm: Reflections, Past, Present, & Future (with notes on Azacca Single Hop Lager)

The dream is done, long live the dreamer.

Cal snapped this shot of Farmer Dave and I at the first taproom weekend, five years ago, December, 2009.

If you look to the right side of this beer blog, there is an alphabetical listing of tags, or labels, and each is followed by a number. A quick glance through them will show that among the breweries most celebrated here, Dave's BrewFarm ranks up at the top. When I publish this, it will be tag #51. (Only one other brewery beats that number, Town Hall, at 58, which is only about 4 miles away from me, rather than the 60 miles to the BrewFarm) and I've been writing about their beers for over 12 years).With this one, I'm not just writing about one of the latest beers from the BrewFarm that I'm trying out, I'm also giving a brief, personal history, as I mourn it's eventual passing.

Ever the individualist, always contrarian, Farmer Dave's version of a harvest beer is called Carrot Fest. This was taken last October; the beer was on tap again this weekend.

I've known David Anderson for about ten years now, and I've known of his history in brewing, and of his ambitions of starting up his own brewery. For so long, in what we'll call the mid-oughts, whenever I saw Dave, I pelted him with more questions about how his dream was coming along, when would it happen, where, what beers, when, when, at last, when? (Keep in mind that this is long before the current bold burgeoning of breweries, where it seems like they're opening locally once a week.) This was casual encounters, bumping into him here and there, and in official capacities while he was briefly my salesrep for a distributor. Eventually he met and married Pam Dixon, and they devised the current incarnation of the BrewFarm (which was originally conceived almost 20 years ago as a brewpub in a northern suburb), and in late 2009, it finally opened to the public. I was excited to be there for the open house, and eagerly anticipated the bottled version of Matacabras and the canned lager, BrewFarm Select. (Early on, he had t-shirts and such with the original BrewFarm logo, as well as a beer designed for it, Cow Pie Stout, which hasn't returned as often as the other BrewFarm favorites.)

Here was the home to Dave's masterful brews, in a brewery taproom that occupies the building which also houses their living quarters (clearly separated), in rural Wisconsin, nestled near the tiniest town (Wilson, Wisconsin, population: 180.), with nothing else around it. A proud windmill flies heartily in the breeze, but there are no other landmarks nearby to pronounce it's presence. You really have to be looking for it, searching it out. And it was built by them from the ground up.

Here's Pam happily pouring while the folk band Holy Sheboygan, (from Somerset, though) plays away.

The year 2010 found me enjoying those contract-brewed bottles and cans, and serving them at the Blue Nile, but not visiting the LaBrewTory, and instead jealously viewing evidence of my friends' visits via the modern-day wonder of FaceBook. It drove me nuts that Dave was continuing to create these beers you could only have on premise, and i wasn't there. I finally decided to make the time, and reached out to the right friends, and started taking that trip, usually on Sundays (the taproom has been open mostly on a bi-weekly basis, for four hours at a time, Saturdays and Sundays.)

Now, here's what's magical and untouchable about Dave's BrewFarm: it's Dave's plaything where he makes and serves his beers, his way, when and how he wants it. Should he be open every single week, seven days…or maybe more than weekends? No, he doesn't want to. But what if, why doesn't he, shouldn't he…? No, he doesn't want to.  Isn't that what all of us should strive for, to create what we want, and live how we wish? It's a quixotic dream, and it's rich and beyond admirable. It's exactly what we all wish we could be.

Through a glass, wistfully.

One of my first blog posts in early 2011 about the BrewFarm was when he first started selling growlers-to-go (and no, even though it was Wisconsin, you couldn't just bring in any growler, and he wouldn't fill it off of what was on tap, it was what he wanted to growler, and how much he wanted to growler, and in his chosen vessel, because that was the way he wanted to do it.) That was for the Rye Knot saison, which was on tap for today's visit. I did another post, declaring Matacabras to be my favorite beer of 2010, (an award I did not go on to grant on an annual basis)….
And over the next four years, I would try as many of his beers on tap at those visits, usually driven by good pal Jason B., and write about the ones I could take home in growlers. Sure, this is beer #51 on this blog, but how many more did I never get the chance to chronicle? Plenty, that's how many.

Looking at Dean through Big Red-colored glasses.

I could say it again, though I've said it before: The BrewFarm is a very special place, it's never just about the beer, and it's not entirely about the people, but it's all that and so much more. The fact that you're there to enjoy the creations of this very singular mind is just one important portion of the BrewFarm experience, and the company you share is another large component, but I can't fill in all the others for you. That's something you have to do for yourself. I apologize if you feel that this is overblown hyperbole, but you don't know for real until you're there.

At what other brewery will you meet cute little ducky wuckies? 

Evidence of this is that in 2013, when good ol' Jason wasn't going on a BrewFarm weekend, I found other friends to take me out to the BrewFarm, and they took friends, too, and everyone had the same feeling. And they came back, with more friends, and they wanted to keep coming back. And they would say that I took them there, even though it wasn't my car, and I didn't do the driving.

And that's why I was shocked and saddened in early October, when I first heard that Dave and Pam wanted to sell it off and close this chapter of their lives. No, it can't be true! We love it, it can't die, it must remain forever! Shock, sadness, and, in time, resignation, acceptance, and understanding. It was their decision, for their reasons, and what was, will never be again. Someone will buy it, make their own decisions about the land and the equipment, and they'll create something new. That thing called Dave's BrewFarm will become a memory, and pass into legend, and we will not visit Wilson, Wisconsin like we once did. Dave and Pam will do other things than brew and pour us these beers, but they will remain our friends. Maybe we'll get a chance to drink new David Anderson beers, under a new name, somewhere, somewhen, but not in that room, under those lights, at those tables, with these friends.

Alas.

Another snapshot from that first snowy day that thirsty travelers entered the Labrewatory.

And so, I jump back just a minute. When I was at the Blue Nile, I worked most Saturdays, and tried to take Sundays off, and that's when I was at the BrewFarm the most. When I left, and was to start at Northbound, I went to the BrewFarm on the Sunday before my first day there. Once at NB, I was always scheduled Saturdays and Sundays. A month passed and I finally requested a Sunday off in early June, visiting the BrewFarm with my sister Lynn. I kept working that schedule until leaving that job, and once I started at Harriet, they had me there every Sunday, and some Saturdays…it just never worked out, and I hated it! It's been five months since my last visit!

Today was my first opportunity to visit the BrewFarm since the news got out about the beginning of the end, and a good portion of my friends made a special effort to get together, bring the potluck, play the games, and goof around with great beer, brewed by our friend and humble brewing genius.

I went with Joe and Liz, this time and we arrived about two hours after they opened, and there were already a few beers gone from the printed list. A quick glance showed that there were three beers of the eight that I'd never had, and I decided not to do the "flight", or even the "Al flight",(that's half the beers, but twice the liquid in the glass) but go with full pours for a select few. And when it came to take-home growlers, there were three I'd not written about here yet…until I asked what was available. Alas, BrewFarm Funk 3 was already sold out! So I got some BrewFarm Funk 1 & 2 to share with friends, and 2 other beers to share my impression with you, here, and I start with…

Enjoying an Azaaca from a growler at home.

Azacca Single Hop Lager. ABV 6.4% ABV.  With a description I won't get to until later…

Appearance: crystal-clear, nearly crimson in coloring, slimmish off-white head.

Aroma: soft, malty, fruity.

Taste: It's in the mouth, and it's a fruity thing, it's a malty thing, and it's sweet, but balanced and beautiful. Bold, brilliant citrus-y notes and flavors. Forced to pick a style, I'd have to say amber lager, vienna lager or such. Dave's always been anti-style, but you have to stick it in somewhere. Really delicious, and expertly drinkable. Medium-bodied, and tasty as hell. Did I say that already?

It steers just away from sweetness, and never delivers any untoward bitterness, and is an utter model of balance. Farmer Dave strikes again.

Post-Script #1: I have a friend that I've invited to visit the BrewFarm who told me: "Don't they mostly do saisons and lagers? I don't like them!" And he's more the poorer, because what Dave does debunks your personal myths about those styles, and he makes better, more interesting beers than you ever thought you'd drink. And he does more than that, too. (And if you know me, you know I'm not pro-lager.)

Post-script #2: I talked about D.A.'s rugged individualism, his talent, his innate curiosity, and indomitable integrity, but how I wish I could make him do what I want him to do! Please, Farmer Dave, I want you to create a metropolitan craft brewery taproom and take these new kids to school! No one is doing anything like you, FD, and they're getting away with mediocrity, sometimes. We need brilliance in the big city, it can't be all kept away from us, among the cows.

And finally, what did Farmer Dave say about Azacca Single Hop Lager? "Pils, Cara Red and Caramel 20 malts, and hopped with three additions of Azacca hops. Fermented with lager yeast."

Sigh, the dream continues…a genius of Dave's level, off the field and in the city. Some day.

Northbound Greenway IPA

If you read my notes on Northbound's Buckwheat Honey Porter, I hinted that there would be another obsolete review coming up and this is the one. Greenway IPA was released on May 22, and lasted just over a week. There were only 40 growlers filled, and I took one of them home that first weekend. I didn't feel like taking notes at first, just cracked it open and enjoyed a pint. I did take notes the next day, and here they are...

There are very few logos made for the beers at Northbound, and in fact, this might be the only one, designed in-house by bartender Krissy S.

Greenway IPA, 6.9% ABV, 70 IBUs, all Centennial hops.

Appearance: slightly hazed, copper-colored, full, bright white head.

Aroma: vibrant, fruity hoppiness, bursting with tropical fruit, citrus, pine, all the traditional suspects here in abundance.

Taste: even more of that pounces on the palate. One for the hop-heads only, but for us, it's a definite delight. Slightly astringent, and beautifully bitter. Drinks like a dream, too. If only this could be a regular beer. I've already declared it my favorite yet, from this brewery (although it's hard to argue with Big Jim...). It's still early yet. Does it compete with Snownami, Snowpocalypse, etc? The barley-wine, the doppelbock, all those others I never took notes on? Maybe so. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Centennials?

Here are notes from the brewer: "Greenway is a single hop Centennial IPA. This was one of our most popular beers last year, so we brought it back. The malt is slightly different than last year since we don't have Cargill malt. We replaced the Cargill with Briess Ashburne malt. Ashburne is kilned a little darker for malt richness and a little bit of a toasty note in the background (if you can taste beyond the enormous amount of Centennials.) If you haven't noticed, people really love Centennial hops. The citrus, pine and dank aroma and flavor is the same profile that drives the popularity of Bell's Two Hearted Ale and Founders Centennial IPA. Staying true to the Northbound brewing focus, we took what people like and intensified it. At a hop rate of 5.6 pounds per barrel, this beer is no joke.  

Dave's BrewFarm Columbus Single Hop Saison

Dave's BrewFarm Columbus Single Hop Saison, ABV 6.4%.

Clear and golden-hued, under a light, soon-gone head.

Aroma: Fruity esters shine, mingled with Belgian funk. Saison yeast is strong here, and the Columbus hops bring the citric notes, the lemon and orange. A little sweet, a little bit bitter, and just enough of the wild. Mmm, nice.

Taste: It's here on the palate, bright citrus-y hop goodness, and the saison yeast. Whole lot of yum in here, simply put. Lean body, long hoppy finish. Lot of interplay on the tongue, many intermingling sensations. Stays fruity and bitter, ultimately ends on the dry side.

Here's a little description from Dave the Farmer man himself: "Showcasing a single hop variety in a Saison yeast. Two separate additions of Columbus hops, Pils, Cara Red and Caramel 20 malts."

This is a good one, perhaps my favorite single hop saison from the DBF, perhaps because this is one of the classic C hops (i.e. Centennial, Cascade, etc.) that delivers that citric hoppiness I enjoy so well.

Dave's BrewFarm Mandarina Single Hop Lager

Dave's BrewFarm Mandarina Single Hop Lager 6.4% ABV.

Lightly hazed, with bright crimson coloring, very small head, grows to nil.

Aroma: sweet caramel malt notes, with delicate citrus notes. Nice.

Taste: Lean and clean. Crisp and malty. Just enough caramel malt flavors below, just enough tasty, citrus-y (mandarin orange, you think?) hop profile on top. Delicious. Hop character never quits, and stays just south of bitterness. Excellent balance, medium bodied, and ever so tasty. Terrifically consumable.

Mandarina is a hop I'd never heard of, and doing it in a lager all by it's lonesome shows off it's particular character. Now, I have to wonder what a beer like this would be like with, maybe, a different malt base? Is this how the mind of Farmer Dave works? Hmmmm….I wonder….

Minneapolis Town Hall Calypso Pale Ale

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Calypso Pale Ale.

This one's clear, amber-hued, a little close to copper, with a sizable head, creamy tones, leaving lace. Nice.

Aroma: Good'n'hoppy, some fruity esters, for sure, mixed with herbal, earthy malt tones, as well.

Taste: Tasty tingle on the tongue starts it off, leaving a trail of bitterness on the tongue. Zesty stuff, robust, and effortlessly likable. Indistinct fruity notes, with bitter hop edge never quite quitting the palate. Medium-bodied. Long finish. Excellent consumability. Yum. Good one, this.

Here's the official yakketty-yak from the Town Hall website: Calypso, 5.6%. "Hopped exclusively with the fairly new American hop variety, Calyoso. This beer is the latest in THB's Single Hopped pale ale Showcase. The US pale ale malt backbone is augmented by Englsih Pale malt & English Premium Crystal malt. A touch of wheat malt rounds out the body. Calypsos flavor/aroma can be described as fruits with notes of pear, apple, meter lemon, lime, grapefruit, tea, melon, cherry blossoms, black pepper, orange. Yikes!
In other words, it's piney with tropical fruit notes peeking through."

Yeah, I didn't get all particular notes, either. But good for them for trying!

Dave's BrewFarm Mosaic Single hop lager

Dave's BrewFarm Mosaic Single Hop Lager, 6.4% ABV.

Hazy, amber/golden appearance; smallish, white, lace-leaving head of foam.

Aroma: complex and multi-faceted, can't quite put my finger on it. Fruity esters, mild bitterness, slight sweetness. Overall, it's not a hop I've "figured out" yet, but it's pleasing, to be sure.

Taste: Malt comes to the forefront in this one, caramel-y, copper-y, and tasty as heck. Mosaic hops stay off to the side, maintaining balance, keeping it nice and even, not stepping into the spotlight. Pressed into naming names, I'd call this an amber lager. It's smooth, and consumable, all the way. Drinks down easy-peasy.

What's the skinny? "Pils, Cara Red, and Caramel 20 malts, and hopped with three additions of Mosaic hops. Fermented with lager yeast."

Minneapolis Town Hall Super Sonic IPA

Minneapolis Town Hall Super Sonic IPA.

Clear and bright crimson colored, under a slimmed-down, off-white head.

Aroma: fruits and berries, low bitterness. minor sweetness. tropical fruits. pleasant.

Taste: Little blast of bitterness hits first, then engulfed by malt, a mix of bitter alpha acids and sweet malt washes over the palate, rounded out neatly and dryly. All manner of fruit associations climb into the sensory playground, berries and gourds galore, succulents and seeders, (????) and all of them. A bountiful harvest in this. Medium bodied, mellow, with a persistent, underlying hoppy attack along the palate that keeps it all interesting.

Not quite like any other IPA you're likely to bump into.

From the menu: "Single-hopped IPA with the New Zealand Super Alpha hop variety. Fruity hop characteristic reminiscent of melon, kiwi, mango, and juicy fruit. 6.8% ABV."

Soundtrack for this session provided by the great 1956 Sun Ra album on Saturn Records, Super-Sonic Jazz.

Dave's BrewFarm Centennial Single Hop Lager

Centennial Single Hop Lager. 6.4 %. I'll keep the other info for later.

Clear, amber-hued appearance, flush white head, long-lasting, and lace-leaving.

Aroma: floral hoppy notes first, followed by tropical fruit, citrus. Starts small and builds up beautifully. Ripens ad flowers as the minutes go, revealing more hop loveliness.

Taste: Warm, malty, toasty. Clean, medium-bodied, zesty. Bready malt, graham cracker-y, with fruit atop, with hops bursting aplenty. Fresh and drink-tastic, smooth-alicious,  consumable- acious.

This is a slight adjustment for me, as I've never really had Centennials in a lager, that I know of. Ales, sure enough, there's many a single-hop ale, such as Bell's Two Hearted Ale. There's something different in an ale, more than we get from a lager.
Experiments like the BrewFarm single-hop lager series serve to blow the lid off the presumptions we have of lagers, when using hops with more flavors than those normally employed. The hops bring this, but the yeast and fermenting bring something else.

It certainly changes things for this non-lager-lover. I do prefer a fully body, but the high hopping changes the game. Someone who swears they don't like lagers, may have to change their tune, when they sample the deliciousness in this. And this may be described ( see below) as a "pale lager", but the malts are not the same as a typical pale lager, it's much more flavorful and colorful than what we expect from a "pale lager."

I'll take a moment for the true story from Farmer D: "From the series of single hop lagers showcasing a single hop variety in a pale lager. Three separate additions of Centennial hops. Pils, Cara Red, Carmamel 20 malts."

Just what I was talking about cara red and caramel 20 aren't really the ingredients in a pale lager. And when does Centennial show up in the hop bill of the pale lager? This one is a freak all around, but the type that shows how crazy "normal" really is.

Founders Centennial IPA

Here's an old favorite I haven't sat down with in a while. I first jotted down notes on this one in April, 2004, from a bottle procured in a trade, about 5 years before the brand arrived in our market. Here come the jottings...


Hazy, deep amber to bronze color, fine, fuzzy, tapioca-ish head.

Aroma: grapefruit, a whiff of pine, pineapple, softly fruity,never harsh or bitter, but definitely hoppy, on a juicified level, a sweet pleasure to sniff!

Taste: rather mild on the mouth at first, though not unsparing in taste, fruit flavors do a delciious fandango in the tongue, mangoes and melons, grapefruit, and nectarine, with a slice of lime, the bitterness just hangs on the side, never poisons the experiencek merely barks up and nips a little. Again, bitterness is not unpleasant, but full fruity flavor is nothing but.

Medium bodied, zesty, medium-length finish, hangs well and firmly in the mouth. Nice rendition of the style.

Dave's BrewFarm Simcoe Single Hop Saison

Simcoe Single Hop Saison, Dave's BrewFarm, 6.9% ABV.

Brilliant golden appearance, lightly hazed, with a tight ring of white foam atop.

Earthy, malty nose, fruity and sweet. Apricot, apple and pear. Belgian yeast is funking things up in this. Bright and beautiful.

Taste: Zing! An instant blast of hops, well-matched with malt, covered up in yeast. A three-pronged attack. Hops jump, then fade, malt takes over, and it's an intriguing mix. Becomes sour in the middle, then returns to sweet. More citrus fruit qualities emerge, more than the other fruits mentioned above.

The malt component is pale and lean, allowing the hops and yeast to shine, and it's it's combination I've never encountered. The hops are shining brighter now, and the body remains light, pale, smooth. An ever-evolving ale, this.

One thing about Simcoe hops. I have a friend who hates them, because they remind her of the byproduct of feline urinary elimination. Or, in other words, cat pee. She won't drink Surly Furious, for instance, because of the Simcoe among the four hops involved. Hyper-sensitive, you could say. In this showcased of a saison, the yeast must tame that part of the beast. Just a guess, though.

So what's the Farmer say? "Pale, Rye and Ashburne Mild malts, and hopped with three additions of Simcoe hops. Fermented with French Saison yeast."