Forgotten Flem Farmhouse Ale - Brau Brothers Brewing Co. LLC

brewdoc75

Minnesota

2.95/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Amber orange. A rocky white head dies quickly, leavning a nice Belgian lace. Stronger carbonation.

S: Aromas of tart cherry, apple, and plum. Some raisen and spice in the end. Slight hay-like aroma fromt he hops.

T: Tart cherry again followed by a some light apple and dark fruit notes. Light graininess. Some rye spiciness. Moderate to strong bitterness rounds out the palate. There are some fruity esters, but not a ton of phenols. The flavors don't seem to meld well to me. A little sour, a little grainy sweet, too much bitterness for the dryness. It is interesting, but doesn't work well for me.

M: Bone dry. Almost too dry. Even for a saison. Strong carbonation. Finishes crisp.

O: This is an interesting beer, the flavors just don't agree with me. I love a good saison. While this is unique and has some good elements (some sour fruits, rye spiciness, etc), the bad elements overpower the good. I'm not a big fan. I won't buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2011 03:07:49 | More by brewdoc75

Herky21

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev +5.4%

03-13-2013 14:05:52 | More by Herky21

GeezLynn

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Golden brown with a huge white head. Great retention.
S: Yeast is very pronounced – a musty, onion-like earthiness. Underneath, a nutty brown malt.
T: Apples, honey, just a touch of sweetness. Malt is restrained with a faint tartness somewhere in there. Also shows a bit of earthy hops, but nowhere near what the aroma suggests. Finish is dry and a bit hoppy.
M: Medium to light body with crisp carbonation.

Based on the aroma, I was expecting this to be more of a saison, but the flavor was closer to something like Duvel. Not really a clone of any of the classics, but a nice beer if you like a crisp Belgian style pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 04:10:41 | More by GeezLynn

jbierling

Michigan

3/5  rDev -9.6%

09-03-2012 18:41:18 | More by jbierling

Jman_01

2.5/5  rDev -24.7%

07-29-2012 13:28:31 | More by Jman_01

MacStinson

Michigan

2.75/5  rDev -17.2%

07-27-2012 16:12:16 | More by MacStinson

whallgren

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +5.4%

06-17-2012 17:24:05 | More by whallgren

t2thebro

Iowa

3.9/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle: 12oz.

A- deep hazy orange, two finger head which disapates quickly leaving a thick sticky lacing behind.

S- smells dank, with a tart and hoppy smell, apricot, and pear. A lot of citrus hop and a dash of earthy hoppness. Not a sour smell like a lot of farmhouse ales.

T- hoppy up front Amazing Hop balance, sweet citrus hops start the flavor well, tricks you into thinking its a light malt ipa. Then the fruit kicks in the middle. Warm apricot, almost a Riesling wine flavor. Finishing with a light dank biscuity English malt. Well done, a remarkably well rounded ale. I wanna be at this farmhouse.

M- weird. Much lighter than expected. Medium carb. Fresh.

O- I rate my beers from the first smell/drink. My first impression was this is a good looking strange smelling brew. As I drank it, let it warm just a bit, I began to pay attention to the detail of the balance. Awesome balance. For the style, which I don't do a whole lot of a great brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2012 00:15:56 | More by t2thebro

Supergenious

Michigan

3/5  rDev -9.6%

02-24-2012 21:22:37 | More by Supergenious

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Brau Brothers Forgotten Flem. Such an odd name. Despite the spelling, it makes you think of bodily fluids. Once you taste it, though, you know what they mean. It's also called a Farmhouse Ale on the label, and no farmhouse ale that I know of tastes like this.

Other than restating the population of Lucan, MN, there is no other information on this label, it is 100% gobbledygook-free. I can always search online, or even call up the Brau Bros myself, but until that happens, these notes, will, as always, take shape as I sip and slurp.

Before I do that, though, I will return my Brau Brothers pint glass to the cabinet, and pull out an appropriate Belgian-style glass, the least I can do. And does it ever look nice, now that I have!

Clear, and apricot toned, until prodigious head, leaving delicate lace, lasting long.

Aroma: sour, funky, fruity and weird, right from the get-go. Definitely some wild Belgian yeast strains at work. Particularly pickled and pungent. Sour cherries plus vinegar meets Jolly Ranchers candy. And then jumps in a box of old unwashed gym socks. (I only half mean that. Casting a wide net in order to nail down this peculiar permutation.)

I may have forgotten to mention that I like it, and that it does, eventually, veer closer to a true Flemish Red aroma.

Taste: Oooo! Ow! Yeow! Huh! Jump back! Make it funky now! Popcorn! Hah! The big pay-back! Maceo! Maceoooo!

(Sorry, sometimes my guttural exhortations transform me briefly into the ghost of James Brown.)

Where was I? Oh, man, this is sour stuff to start off with! What did they do, what yeast, what barrels, how aged, etcetera? All will be know eventually, I can only speculate and sip. So, again…odd, funky, wild, then sweet, then sour again. Definitely Belgian yeast action. Then malt and fruit shine brightest. (There is no expression of hops felt here.) Body gets lean and mellow, starts feeling smooth and lovely, and acts utterly consumable. Let's try it again, shall we?

Fresh and zesty, despite it's age. (This is not a new product, and I feel fortunate to still find it at Chicago Lake liquors, not a store known as a secret haven for the connoisseur.) The spark and the spank on the palate continues, although it definitely cools from the initial slap. Lays rather light, inevitably, on the palate, though all the flavors remain in place.
What we have, it seems, is a south western Minnesota version of a saison, hit with funky Belgian yeast. Tasty, refreshing stuff. Slight bitterness emerges, unfelt earlier. I'm liking this more and more, and feel like I'll end up liberating the remaining 6-ers from that shop.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 04:03:05 | More by feloniousmonk

ChopperSmith

Minnesota

3.68/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz. brown bottle into a clear tulip glass.

Appearance: A slightly hazy deep golden color with a one finger off-white foam head. Foam receded quickly and left some nice lacing.

Smell: Sweet and tart aroma with an interesting tang from the yeast. Slightly sour smelling, like green apples.

Taste: Like it smells, it is very sweet with light malts and some hops, but the real star of the flavor is the interesting yeast flavors. They offer a little tart fruit and a bit of spice. Very unique yeast flavor and I like it.

Mouth feel: Good soft carbonation and a sweet finish.

Overall: Saison farmhouse ales come in a wide variety of interpretations, some work and some don't. This one works for me because of the prominent yeast profile and the yeast flavors. Might not be for everyone, but I like it quite a bit.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 02:50:06 | More by ChopperSmith

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.48/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Hazy orange, lighter along the bottom and growing murkier toward the top. Cap is thin but sticky.

Aroma betrays a little sourness but mainly a chaff-y mustiness. Slightly spiced but sweet.

Flavor has a slight vanillin flavor behind a tartness up front. It's all a facade, as the carbonation pulls everything away all too quickly. Musty peppers towards the middle-back.

Body is light, carbonation high, finishes lemony but thin. Lacks a joie de vivre that would really kick this up to a Flemish level, but for an American midwest saison it's not too bad.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2011 02:05:27 | More by BretSikkink

Kkottonmouthkngz

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -9.6%

12-11-2011 19:48:04 | More by Kkottonmouthkngz

bigdaddypolite

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -9.6%

12-10-2011 04:05:11 | More by bigdaddypolite

bondebonde

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -9.6%

12-04-2011 03:09:48 | More by bondebonde

Ejayz

Iowa

4/5  rDev +20.5%

11-29-2011 02:52:36 | More by Ejayz

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Picked up a single from Princeton Liquors in Maple Grove, MN. The aroma is a pleasant mix of sweet biscuit, cookie malt with farmhouse spice. The body is light and effervescent, and the there's a heavy, grassy lemon rind finish, but the main flavor is a little thin. This beer is good upfront and in the finish, but missing umpff in the character. Certainly worth a try though.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2011 00:06:44 | More by tempest

csiewert

Oregon

4/5  rDev +20.5%

11-17-2011 19:15:38 | More by csiewert

doucmehu

Wisconsin

1/5  rDev -69.9%

11-17-2011 00:40:29 | More by doucmehu

lurpy1

Minnesota

2.23/5  rDev -32.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Picked this bottle up at Four Firkins. My first Brau beer was a year+ ago and wasn't overly impressed, but reviews seem to picking up, so I figured it was time to give the brothers another try.

Pour is a relatively nondescript goldenrod with a whitish head. There is a lot of bakery and a little bit of citrus in the aroma. Nice. Off to a good start.

Unfortunately in terms of taste, this drink is guilty of two different sins. First, it misses the mark of being true to the saison style. It is sorely lacking in spice and fruity body. Second, and more damningly, it just doesn't taste good. The whole experience is attended by an unpleasant bitterness (way too bitter for a saison,IMHO) and watery undertones. An earthy musty-ness as well. My wife picked up on sour notes. I did not. No matter, she didn't feel the sour improved the experience.

The mouthfeel was zingy and carbonated, suitable for a saison, but coupled with the bitterness it left a sting that was less than enjoyable.

Sorry Brau Bros, I want to support small local breweries like you, but it's gonna be a while before I seek your stuff out again.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2011 13:20:06 | More by lurpy1

JohnnyHopps

Indiana

2.35/5  rDev -29.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass, this beer produced a generous head. Pouring a golden copper color, the initial taste seemed to be disturbed by a strange oily texture. This would seem to be a mouthfeel issue, but it also affected the taste. The flavor came across like crushed Flinstone Vitamins, except in liquid form. The beer even had a certain grittiness to it. A farmhouse ale should have a certain lemon flavor, but this was more like lemon rind. I did not notice any of the spice others write about in their reviews. The sour aftertaste make the beer slightly more acceptable, but not in the overall picture.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2011 14:22:38 | More by JohnnyHopps

herman77

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Dark apple juice like color with a big and bubbly off white head. Really good retention and lots of sticky bubbly lacing left behind.

S: Lemon zest, a bit of orange citrus, pear, tart apples and a hint of pepper spice.

T: Bready and tart. More bready malts than I would of thought. Some spice hops and a bit of tart apples as well.

M: Medium body, pretty active carbonation, but it still feels pretty slick overall.

O: Not bad at all. A pretty solid saison with decent drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 01:06:09 | More by herman77

BierFan

Michigan

4.1/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a chalice.

Slightly hazy coppery amber body. Fruity Belgian yeast aroma. Fresh, fruity, and vibrant taste. Dry with a grape skin taste and a nice bitterness.

Overall, a very great farmhouse ale, in my opinion. I wish I had more than just this one bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2011 04:28:26 | More by BierFan

vfgccp

New York

3.75/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A – Solid orange with a touch of ice tea. Nice lace and retention on a lightly off-white head.

S – Orange, honey suckle, and peach with a hint of sour.

T – Dry and flinty up front. Fruity center brings out tart white peach, apricot and tart under-ripe plum. Dry, lightly sour finish.

M – Medium body, almost full for the style. Nice carbonation.

O – A solid saison on the dry side of the style.

P – The dryness lets you pair this beer with some unlikely companions, similar to a dry irish stout. Think muscles, oysters, and steamers. This would also go great with gazpacho.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 18:36:40 | More by vfgccp

Tballz420

Minnesota

3.13/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Forgotten Farmhouse Flem is a Saison/Farmhouse Ale, which is a complex style of beer that you usually find in the Summer. This one pours out with a massive off-white head, extremely sticky. That tops a darker-golden colored body, pretty cloudy but if you hold it to the light you see some very active carbonation. The aroma is sweet malts with a Belgian influence, and a lot of spice. The taste starts off with a caramel sweetness, Belgian candy, spicy follow through, fairly tart, some bitterness, a touch of roast as well. This is a very dry beer, it evaporates off your tongue pretty quickly.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2011 02:11:36 | More by Tballz420