Farm Girl Saison - Lift Bridge Brewery

Buebie

Minnesota

1.85/5  rDev -47.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz bottle into a snifter.

Forming little head, under an inch of white. Settling to leave to retention, no colar, nothing.
Color is brite yellow....budweiser yellow.

Aroma of corn, shampoo...yes shampoo, also smells like perm. Burnt hair, and thats about it.

Taste is very mellow with very little flavor. There is some bittering grain taste and a touch of grassy hops, more corn and burnt hair.
Lingering dryness at the swallow with a lemon rind sourness.

Mouthfeel is thin, like water. Some carbonation, but man, this beer is terrible.

I did not enjoy this at all. Sorry, but drainpour.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2009 20:23:41 | More by Buebie

sugit

California

1.93/5  rDev -45.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Pours clear golden yellow. (Very BMC) Some head that quicky fads to away leaving just a few bubbles behind.

S: Some yeast and very very little bit of lemon peel. Couldn't pickup any of the orange mentioned on the label.

T: Very very light, very very mellow flavor (again very BMC). None of the oranage peel mentioned on the label. I'm trying to pick a flavor out, but nothing other than a bit of yeast. No spice at all other than an odd bitter kind of peppery taste.

M: Very thin, almost like water. Carbonation too low.

D: I would only drink this is if I was in a BMC mood. While 6% isn't anything high nowadays, I still wouldn't guess it was 6%, or eveb 4% for that matter.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 01:03:50 | More by sugit

cokes

Wisconsin

2.15/5  rDev -39.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Moderately hazy, milky lemon-yellow hued with a thin white skim, which fades swiftly but leaves patchy lace.
Doughy wheat bread nose, backed with chalk dust, powdered sugar, and bitter orange rind.
Wheaty, wet, and doughy. That's what the mouth gets. Yeast adds a touch of lactic sourness. Orange-rind flavors piggybacks and overrides, adding sweetness rather than bitterness.
Gassy, light bodied, with a fizzy CO2 that burns itself out with haste. It's got a Shandy-like profile that might suffice when a mean thirst strikes. But why bother, when any number of liquids could easily fill that roll more satisfyingly.
Essentially, it's an American Wheat Ale doing a half-ass Witbier impersonation.

But marketing this as a Saison?

Really?

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2010 06:34:01 | More by cokes

ZAP

Minnesota

2.25/5  rDev -36.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Hard to believe this is 6% ABV...it is light bodied, light textured, lightly flavored, etc....watery body and feel...flavor is almost like that of an American wheat....really does not give any impression of a saison....

Might be servicable as summer drinker in the sun when you want something lighter...but it is just not a real flavorful or inspiring example of a saison.

Low carbonation too...

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2009 04:32:54 | More by ZAP

Dulcea

Massachusetts

2.53/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Cloves. That is all.

Initial smell of bananas.

Tasted like an ale which was made with too much clove. I could not get past the clove flavor. In fact, I could not finish it because it was so overpowering. I was looking forward to the "citrus" flavor since it's brewed with orange peel but it was lost on me. No flavor of orange at all.

Personally, this is not a beer I would buy again.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 17:03:57 | More by Dulcea

EwaldEichstaett

Jordan

2.73/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured with no head and a sickly looking cloudy yellow. The beer is dominated by a sweet and sour wheat malt smell. There is a hint of earthy sweetness as well.

I agree with another reviewer who compared the taste to that of an american wheat. It really does not taste/feel like a Saison. Taste is mostly malt with a bit of a fruity flavor (banana). Really weak carbonation and hardly any spice.

It is not a horrible beer, but really not a good representation of the Saison style.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2010 04:42:41 | More by EwaldEichstaett

brewdoc75

Minnesota

2.78/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On tap at Busters

A: Yellow, slightly cloudy. Strong carbonation. Not much head.

S: Really not a whole lot of aroma. I let it warm up a bit and god some tartness and faint yeast tones, with some banana and pepper. Really faint though.

T: Slightly sweet with nice tartness. Really no yeast character when compared to other saisons I've had. The yeast that is there provides some hints of pepper and banana, but it is really hard to get out of this beer. I do get a nice lemon peel bitterness towards the end, but other than that, the flavors just aren't there. Tastes more like a pale wheat ale than a saison.

M: Light bodied and finishes dry. Right on mouthfeel.

D: I really felt like this one missed the boat. I've had it a couple times and thought it was so-so. Upon reviewing this, I really agree with that assessment. I love saisons, and just had a Saison Dupont. This doesn't hold a candle. I may give it another try in the future to see if it changes my mind.

Serving type: on-tap

07-29-2009 22:46:47 | More by brewdoc75

KarlHungus

Minnesota

2.9/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

This beer pours a semi-cloudy orange-gold color. The head is small, and recedes into almost no lacing within seconds. The aroma has lots of lemon and orange peel, some cardamom, and yeasty barnyard funk. This is the most lemon/orange peel I've encountered in a saison, but it works and I like it. The taste is considerably less vibrant than the aroma. In fact, I think it can be best described as weak. What is there is fruity with a mild yeast presence. The mouthfeel is thin, water, with low carbonation. This is the weakest, thinnest feel I've encountered in a saison. Overall, I am greatly disappointed in this beer. I had heard good things, and it being brewed in Minnesota I decided to take a chance and bought a whole six pack. Now I'm left with the problem of how to finish the last five beers. This is by no means the worst beer around. However, it has a lot of aspects which I find very disagreeable, and nothing that really sparks any interest.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2009 01:08:42 | More by KarlHungus

GregSVT

Texas

2.9/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle into a snifter

A: Pours a slightly hazy yellow with a white head that fades quickly leaving no lacing on the glass.

S: The aromas are lemmony citrus and that's about it. Maybe a slight malt aroma.

T: The taste is lemon peel and bready malt. Pretty one dimensional.

M: The feel is crisp and a bit flat. This makes the acidic citrus really come through in the finish.

D: I'm not a big Saison drinker but this didn't seem to be a good representation.

I could see a BMC drinking liking this because it's pretty one dimensional. If you like lemon in your Blue Moon or Corona you'll probably like this.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2010 04:38:19 | More by GregSVT

kojevergas

California

3/5  rDev -15%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Served on-draught into a pilsner glass in Minnesota. Reviewed from notes. I didn't have any expectations. Not paired with food.

A: No head at all. Colour is a semitransparent gold.

Sm: Light bacteria, yeast, and barley. A mild strength aroma.

T: Light sourness/bacteria, a decently full barley foundation, and a milky note on the side. Not horribly complex, but pleasant and refreshing with a little something different.

Mf: Smooth and wet, but a touch sharp (overcarbonated?), and little too thick. Pretty suitable for the flavours.

Dr: Pretty drinkable, but a bit sharp. Affordable, but I still wouldn't get it again simply because it's mediocre.

Serving type: on-tap

12-19-2011 00:54:39 | More by kojevergas

orangesol

Pennsylvania

3.03/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle poured into my HOTD tulip glass.

A - Pours straw yellow with a decent one finger tall white head leaving small wisps of lacing down the glass.

S - Smells like a wheat beer to me. It has a few hints of apples, pears, and lemon but it is mostly just wheat.

T - Starts off with a big dose of chewy wheat slowly giving way to a mix of dulled fruits; similar to the nose; and a touch of light funk. Finish is pretty chewy, lingering for some time. Is this really a saison? Could have fooled me.

M - Light body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Chewy feel with a tiny bit of funk, lingering through the finish.

O - Meh, this was ok at best. It really didn't taste like a saison at all until it came completely to room temp. I wouldn't seek this one out.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 20:24:49 | More by orangesol

ccrida

Oregon

3.15/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into my Schell's shaker pint, Farm Girl Saison is a fizzy yellow beer with a quickly dissipating white head leaving very light scattered lace.

Smell is grainy, sweet, fruity.

Taste is simple and strait forward, a touch of cereal but mostly Belgian esters, with the orange fairly obvious as well. More of a pseudo Belgian pale, lots of banana. Smooth, but not really a saison.

Mouthfeel is somewhat crisp and dry, but not as much as it should be, and it seems a bit thin.

Drinkability (just noticed they changed this to "overall", whatever) is ok, an inoffensive brew that goes down with ease, but nothing I'd bother revisiting.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 21:24:38 | More by ccrida

morimech

Minnesota

3.18/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy yellow color with two inchs of white head that faded quickly to a thin layer of bubbles. Just a little lace is left on the glass. Sourdough bread aroma with just a hint of funkiness. About the most boring flavor I have had in a saison. Mild spice and malt notes with a little sweetness up front. Finishes bone dry. Average. Light body with nice carbonation. I understand the bottled version with the contract brewer is not quite up to par with what is on-tap. Nothing terrible about this beer, it just has average flavor.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2009 23:09:36 | More by morimech

OakedCanuck

Washington

3.18/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into pint glass

This beer pours a very clear straw yellow with a white head that dissipated quickly. The smell is uninteresting with a touch of lemon tartness and some grain. The taste is also mediocre. You get a bit more wheat taste than expecting. Lemon, orange rind and a touch of pepper are there but weak. No real 'farmyard funk' that you'd typically expect from a saison. The mouthfeel was light bodied and didn't leave a bad taste in your mouth. This beer drinks very lightly and would be good in the summer.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2010 16:26:57 | More by OakedCanuck

birchstick

Missouri

3.23/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - pours a cloudy straw yellow with a small head

S - faint nose, but what is there is good - peppery lemon with hits of coriander

T - starts off lively with sweet lemon flavor and some grain malts. It fades to a bit coriander and some subtle bitter rind. Nice, light flavor profile. Pretty good but I think falls a little short of others in its company.

M - creamy and goes down smoothly

D - not a bad saison by any means, but I find this to be very middle of the road compared to others I have had. It was a nice treat for this afternoon. Thanks to KeefD for sending this Minnesota brew my way!

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2011 18:17:39 | More by birchstick

GoldHorde

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This was my very first taste test of a categorical Saison type from a commercial/craft brewery. I expected the cloudy appearance and the very light watery mouth-feel because it was not on my predictions to get a grain-body weight coating on my tongue from an offering in this category. I had sampled home-brewed saisons from friends and it was quickly not a favorite of mine. I was instantly reminded of the Belgian ale category which is extremely loose and can spill over into lambics and krieks with sour notes. Though I scored a silver with my own homebrew in the Belgian Ale category I was never impressed with the category. While this probably excels in the saison category - it is far too fruity with distinctly sour notes for me to give marks higher than good or average. I prefer the IPA's and mostly the face slapping American IPA's.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2011 05:11:30 | More by GoldHorde

NuclearDolphin

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a Pint Glass

Appearance - Cloudy, unfiltered golden straw color with a very fizzy head to it which quickly disappears.

Smell - Lemon, cloves, a slight hint of pepper, yeasts and barley. The smell itself is very earthy and grassy, almost like a blonde ale instead of a Saison.

Taste - Cloves, bananas, pepper, light lemon, biscuits/yeasts and grassiness. It tastes more like a Saison in the flavor fortunately and the flavor is alright.

Mouthfeel - Light bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. It feels very crisp and refreshing on the palate

Overall - It's okay for what it is. However if you want a truly excellent Saison ale, go with Surly CynicAle or Ommegang Hennepin

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2012 03:25:36 | More by NuclearDolphin

alexgash

Connecticut

3.28/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle.

Partially cloudy lemon gold body. Small finger of eggshell white head. Some retention and minor lacing. Nose of wheat malt (banana, pears, and bubblegum), orange and lemon zest, and maybe a little pepper.

Grainy wheat malt up front. Hints of sweetness with some banana and tropical fruit. Herbal, spicy hop bitterness shows up early. Lemon mineral water flavors mid-palate, along with some bready malt. Citrus rind in the finish, along with bittermelon (seriously). Not bad, despite the bittermelon finish (not my favorite fruit). Medium-bodied with an overcarbonated, too-lively feel. Turn down the gas! Could use a little tweaking, but not too bad.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2010 22:13:54 | More by alexgash

chicano4craft

Colorado

3.3/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours a clear golden with a small white head that drops very fast. To look at it I would have guest it was a pilsner.

Nose has chalky belgian yeast. Lots of lemon with slight pepper.

Tons of lemon zest up front. Some orange peel. Really dry with a crisp finish.

Mouthfeel is slighly watery. Drinkability is good if only because the palate isn't really challenged.

On the lower end of American Saisons for me. It could make a nice summertime session beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 21:13:52 | More by chicano4craft

vette2006c5r

Wisconsin

3.34/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Farm Girl pours a hazy yellow color, with almost no head. There is a slightly fruity and pepper like aroma. The taste has different spices, and flowery like notes, and hints of peppercorn. Nice complex flavors coming together, and not overpowering. Overall a nice Saison.

Serving type: on-tap

04-29-2013 21:28:15 | More by vette2006c5r

yamar68

Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle to polak:

Pours a nice hazy honey gold with a finger of egg shell head and abundant beading. On the nose it's a little spicy, some orange zest, lemon, clove. The taste is refreshing with all the expected saison qualities. I wish this was amped up a bit, both in booze and clove/ester/citrus. The feel is medium with a dry finish. Overall, a bit better than what other reviews suggest but still has its flaws. Perfectly drinkable though.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 05:15:36 | More by yamar68

maximum12

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at the Blue Door Pub. If you haven't been there for a local beer & a Blucy yet, get your arse down there. Good place!

Hadn't had anything from Lift Bridge, so I opted for the Saison over my old friend Furious.

The Farm Girl didn't make much of an impression, maybe because I dated a few in the past. Yellow, with a hint of spices, a sweet kiss, & just a hinted backdraft of funk in the distance.

Easy-drinking, a good beer for the summer out on the patio. If nothing else, it convinced me that Lift Bridge can make beer, so I'll be on the lookout for other offerings that might make me even happier.

Serving type: on-tap

12-31-2008 03:01:58 | More by maximum12

gford217

Georgia

3.38/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle courtesy of buebie.

Pours a very light and very clear yellow with a small bubbly white head that recedes slowly to a solid collar but leaves no trace of lacing.

The aroma is slightly sweet with some green apples and apricots on top of grass and Belgian yeast spiciness.

The taste is light and almost watery with some grassy hops up front and apples and pears following closely. The finish is dry and very much like a pilsner honestly. In fact, the whole thing tastes more like a pilsner than a saison now that I think about it.

The mouthfeel is light bodied and extremely crisp and clean for the style. It's got very little spiciness that I would expect in the style.

This is a solid and very drinkable beer but I don't think it's really great for the style, as it offers very little complexity.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2010 02:02:21 | More by gford217

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Out of the bottle, and into a Saison Dupont glass, why not.

Clearly cloudy, pale straw color, small to no head, but with intensive carbonation, streaming up from above.

Aroma: wheaty nose, pleasant fruity esters, orange and lime, floral and sweetly tart. Promising.

Taste: Spritzy mouthfeel, tartness grabs the palate first, then all fades back. Flavor doesn't last long in the mouth, but does linger a bit in the back. What flavor there is, though, I'm not a fan of. Malt is very light, pilsner-y, bit like a witbier, quite delicate, but doesn't have the character I'd like to get from a professed saison.

Halfway through, the mouthfeel seems creamier and not as tart & spritzy as in the start. Gets easier to down, but I remain unimpressed by the flavor, and find it comes quite short of a true saison character.

Little sweet, little sour, little cider-ish. And I'm glad so many people like it, and it's doing well for these guys, but...not for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2010 04:36:34 | More by feloniousmonk

gtn80

Maine

3.38/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into an Allagash tulip glass.

Appearance is good, nice two finger head that dissipated quickly. Golden color.

Smell is underwhelming, not a whole lot going on there. Some spice character, bit of wheat.

Taste is okay, definitely a wheat beer, but more of an American attempt at a Wit beer or a "Summer Beer" release. Not a saison by any means, but that doesn't diminish the taste. Would be a great summer drinker, very refreshing.

Mouthfeel is good, lots of carbonation, very light on the palate.

Drinkability is great, like I said, very refreshing. Goes down very smoothly, I would be a big fan of this on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2010 23:17:21 | More by gtn80