Premium - Stillwater Artisanal Ales

Barrelista

California

1.73/5  rDev -55.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Tasted of hominy, with hints of SPI Code 5 plastic and woodsiness.

Smells of grass, the plastic of baby diapers, air of the Coastal California Redwoods, and hominy.

Light, acidic mouthfeel; bubbles are agressive and a burn to the tongue.

A light, staw color with low foam.

Overall this beer argued too much with my sensibilities. The result? I could not appreciate it.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2012 02:18:26 | More by Barrelista

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Beer is cloudy golden in colour, very light. Looks rather like a wit. Good-sized white head, fades steadily leaving a good amount of lace.

Smell is dominated by brett. Quite funky, barnyardy. A bit of a cheesy scent. Some grain. I like brett but the scent is not the best.

Like the nose, the brett is quite strong. Other than that, the taste is very thin. Very funky with a cheese flavour. I get almost nothing other than brett.

Beer is very thin, very light-bodied. Moderate carbonation.

Overall, disappointing. It just tastes like the brett was added to a tasteless beer. Meh.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 19:37:45 | More by jrenihan

oline73

Maryland

3.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I had this on-tap at Max's. Served in a sample glass.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy yellow with a layer of off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Light malt and a slight tartness. The overall smell is rather yeasty.

Taste: Light and slightly bitter. I'm picking up some herbal and yeast flavors, especially in the finish. Mild and rather refreshing.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with tingly carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: There is a ton of flavor in this beer given the abv. I thought it was interesting and would have more.

Serving type: on-tap

02-27-2012 00:46:24 | More by oline73

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

First had: on tap at ? (I think TJ's, Paoli, PA)

Not a bad beer for a style I'm not a huge fan of. Poured a light, golden yellow, pale and slightly hazy, with a small cap of white bubbles for a head; minimal retention and lacing. Aromas of pale malts, musty grass, and a distinctive Belgian yeast quality that puts this on the border of a saison (typical Stillwater fare). More of the same in the taste, bready pale malts, yeast, grass, light herbal hops. Light-medium body and quite good for the style.

Serving type: on-tap

07-25-2012 20:15:37 | More by Rifugium

kylehay2004

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Half finger head wit excellent lacing in a cloudy banana yellow body. Aroma of clove, Belgian yeast, garbage and lemon. Flavor has a lot of corriander and clove with Belgian yeast funk and light lemon custard sweetness. Moderate carbonation and light to medium body. Lots of Belgian yeast and funk character. Drinkable but comes across very simpe. Not overly dry.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 18:26:41 | More by kylehay2004

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The farm smell is right there wafting through and after the pour. Really funky. Above average mouthfeel. Nothing exceptional taste wise, a little pepper, drinking of hay, but drinkable. Some rice as in saki, as in roast and toast rice. Worth a try for something different.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2012 13:03:54 | More by northyorksammy

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bomber into a tulip. Thanks go to wishuwerebeer for the share. The brew appears a clouded golden yellow color with 2 fingers of frothy white head. Patchy to webby lace sticks to the glass. Rising bubbles maintain about a finger strength across the top.

The nose has a nice lemony snap of fruity aromatics. Somewhat tropical as it warme and opens up in the glass. Hints of pineapple blend into more of a wheat-like grain inclusion. It smells somewhat tart but with hints of sulfur and grass.

The taste is pale grain blending into a bit of wheat sweetness. There is a mild indication of saison yeast and a touch of clove, spice and sulfur. A bit of exaggerated lemony oil quality like coriander is mid-palate blending to grassy and earthy qualities. The finish goes back to the straw character with a bit of perfume-like lemon.

This is a light bodied brew with a modest to effervescent level of carbonation that is lightly prickly on the tongue. It is interestingly enjoyable at times but it does have some distractions that make the brew fall apart a bit as the experience continues. The blend of saison character and tropical hints was brilliant, the sulfur and oily lemon - not so much.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 15:16:22 | More by stakem

OBeerMeGreatOne

California

3.6/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours straw/blonde with an impressive inch and a half of head. Huge gobs of lace get left behind. Looks very appealing.

The smell starts with heavy corn, grass and grain. Citrus and flowers make a small appearance.

The grain shows up quick, lemon and grass follow shortly. Simple but well balanced. Goes down very easily.

Easy to get through a bottle, but not worth the price. Love Stillwater, sort of like this beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2012 02:13:06 | More by OBeerMeGreatOne

ADZA

Australia

3.61/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pours the lightest hazy blonde hue I've ever seen borderlining urine colour with a fluffy three finger head and clingy lacing everywhere,the smell is sweaty socks,funk,citrus and lemon sherbet,the mouthfeel is lightbodied and well carbonated with tastes of lemon sherbet,mandarins,the slightest touch of funk and i mean slight just enough to make itself known and finished with a thirst quenching herbal fruity dryness and overall not bad and nice for when you want a tasty thirst quenching beer without too much going on it cheers.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 10:18:28 | More by ADZA

pmlondrigan

New York

3.7/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I suppose for the style the appearance does not get much better. Its yellow, but it has nice lacing and fair head retention. The aroma is a lot of lemon lime soda, phenols, band - aid, earth and funk. It is just on the right side of off putting honestly. Strong herbal, earthy, and bitter hop flavors. A well hopped beer for sure. The lemon lime soda appears again here as does the band - aid and phenol but it is more subdued and mostly in the finish. Wonderfully dry and crisp. I would love this on a hot summer day. A neat interpretation of a bastard style in the beer world.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 00:53:59 | More by pmlondrigan

kangarooAdam59

Maine

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Into a pint glass:

A: light golden-yellow colored body with a two finger frothy white head. The head fades into some valleys and leaves some nice lacing around the sides of the pint glass. Lots of carbonation is seen rising through the body

S: mixture of corn, citrus hops, lemon peel with some pepper in the background

T: peppery tartness up front making a bittery/zestiness with a good pop on the taste buds.

M: light to medium with a good balance between wet and dry. There's some harshness on the tongue, but its expected due to the style. I would say this is very drinkable.

O: though this is my first one by Stillwater, I would say I'm mostly pleased, but would fault myself for having this one this time of year because I think this one would probably show its aspects better in the warmer months of the year. I'll be looking for it next summer. Though, I will say its nice to see this in Maine.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 16:15:31 | More by kangarooAdam59

mdfb79

New York

3.78/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 02/11/12 notes. Poured into a tulip.

a - Pours a murky yellow color with one inch of white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of citrus, spice, Belgian style yeast, brett, and earthy notes. Lightly funky nose, pretty nice.

t - Tastes of pepper, Belgian yeast, spices, citrus hops, floral hops, earthy notes, grass. More pepper then the nose, a step down.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Pretty easy to drink.

o - Overall a pretty nice beer from saison. Taste had a little too much pepper for me, but the nose was very nice. Would try it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2012 03:21:34 | More by mdfb79

Kadonny

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from tap at TJs in Paoli PA into a tulip style glass.

A: A medium golden color with a one finger white fluffy head. Full glass lacing sticks.

S: Nice brett smells of barnyard, hay, straw, lemon and yeast. Some floral herbal hops as well.

T: The brett yeastiness really shines through early on to mix with the lemon tartness to yield some funk of wet hay, straw and barnyard. I get some subtle sweetness, but the beer really mostly stays tart. Herbal and floral hops keep some bitterness going and the finish is tart and dry. Nice brett beer, easy to drink!

M: Light and tart, no alcohol.

O: I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I really loved the brett and how it lasted through the entire tasting experience. This is a very drinkable beer that I will seek out again.

One of the easiest most flavorful drinking bretted beers I have had to date. You can have a few of these and really enjoy each one. Nice.

Serving type: on-tap

07-05-2012 19:35:48 | More by Kadonny

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 4

Pours pale straw with a large head.
Nose shows funky, goaty Brett, soft lemon, light malt, grassy cow shit. Smells like a bloody farm. Intriguing.
Some of the farm characters transfer through as flavours, along with dry saison notes and grainy malt.
Massively high carbonation.
This one grew on me, despite the cow shit.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 02:30:44 | More by CrazyDavros

Doppelbockulus

Florida

3.83/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Purchased this bottle in the first week of January 2012. It debuted at the Charleston Beer Exchange, they were chosen to be the first store to sell the beer, I watched them open the first box, and I purchased the first bottle. Here goes....

Pours a very light golden color with a substantial head that settles after a few minutes. In the glass it is hazy like an unfiltered hefeweisen.

Very fragrant with a sourness very close to that of a framboise, there is a raspberry character. It also reminds me of tropical sour fruits.

Taste is not fruity, it is like a dry tripel or saison. No sweetness, faint lemongrass, and a mild hop character with a tart note. It is kind of refreshing though.

mouthfeel is kind of like a champagne beer, bubbly, but dry, dusty and tart.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 01:33:54 | More by Doppelbockulus

Viciousknishs

Virginia

3.83/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- pours a hazy golden hay color with a finger and a half of creamy white head. Pretty good retention.

S- dry cracker like malt with that touch of corn sweetness hits the nose at first. Thankfully the yeast and hops soon take over. Leafy hops with notes of sweet mint and floral characteristics flesh out. Fruity eaters and a white pepper note from the saison yeast blend with a musty earthy Brett character on the finish.

T- crisp grainy malt on the front end. Hops and yeast again take over. Fruity white stone fruit and a musty earthy Brett character with notes of wet hay and light barnyard hit mid palate. Nice leafy grassy hop bitterness with a slight minerality and spicy characteristics hit on the finish with a mild funk and crisp hop flavor lingering in the aftertaste. Super crisp and refreshing.

MF- slick creamy mouthfeel with a light body with average carbonation.

D- one of the most drinkable beers out there.

Overall a very good brew. Who knew Brett, saison yeast and hops could make corn and rice taste good.

Serving type: on-tap

04-05-2012 02:19:21 | More by Viciousknishs

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer poured out as a lightly hazy looking yellow color. The head was white and a little on the fizzy side. The smell of the beer was made of mostly corn aromas and bready yeast. Smells very much like a very generic ale. The taste is sweet with some corn and grainy flavors. The mouthfeel was well carbonated with a decent body to it. Overall this beer was pretty good, I understand the style that was being attempted here and I think it's pretty good. I found this beer to be pretty refreshing actually.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 04:52:08 | More by Knapp85

srhoadsy

Florida

3.86/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured chilled into a fluted tulip.

Blonde is beautiful. This beer pours an amazing light blonde color with an inch plus of white airy head that slowly recedes leaving a moderate surface layer and moderate to heavy lacing.

Strong aromas of lemongrass and spice.

Taste follows through the aromas with a lot of sourness and funk from the yeast. Very complex; sour, sweet and musty all at the same time.

Light to medium bodied with crisp, dry finish and moderat to heavy carbonation. Lingering aftertaste.

Overall a great looking beer that may have been just a touch to funky for me. Would definitely like to try again and reassess the flavor profile.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2013 23:34:00 | More by srhoadsy

Tone

Missouri

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy amber color. 2/3 inch head of a white color. Good retention and great lacing. Smells of grapes, hops, yeast, hint of floral, hint of grass, and a hint of sweet malt. Fits the style of an American Blonde Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and thick, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of slight alcohol, grapes, slight grass, hint of yeast, slight floral, and a hint of sweet malt. Overall, good appearance, decent aroma, feel, and blend.

Serving type: on-tap

05-15-2013 16:50:19 | More by Tone

VaTechHopHead

California

3.9/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Very light yellow in color and definitely hazy. Big solid white foamy head

S - light funk from the Brett and a sweetness from the corn. Nice barnyard and hay aromas and a slight Belgian sugar smell as well

T - starts off bland but quickly picks up a very nice hay and corn flavor. The Brett is semi-sour and has a light tang. Aftertaste has a light dryness but fades quickly

M - light body with good carbonation. Light flavors and good use of adjuncts and Brett. Quick fading aftertaste and easy to drink. Overall an interesting and fun beer to drink

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 21:02:37 | More by VaTechHopHead

XicanoBeerRun

Texas

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I picked this up at the Davis Beer Shop, and it was worth the haul.

Pale, slightly hazy, straw-colored yellow. Mellow sour smell. Lots of carbonation, but it smooths out when you drink it.

Taste: slightly medicinal (plastic?) on the palate, faintly bitter, baking soda. I know this does not sound flattering, but it is really good. You pick up on some of those saison qualities (I think the brett made me think this was a saison like the other Stillwaters I have had), but it is not as strong or up front. It is almost like a saison light. I love this trend towards tasty, complex craft beers that are lower in alcohol. Jester King is doing it in Austin, and I have read about some others. This is a fantastic, refreshing session beer.

I’ll have another.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2012 18:43:09 | More by XicanoBeerRun

fmccormi

New York

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Of Love and Regret in Baltimore, MD. Received a 6oz half-pour in a small snifter-lookin’ kinda glass. They have nice glassware at that bar, for realsies.

Appearance (5.0): The body is a light straw-yellow, just barely hazy and extremely pretty. One finger of fluffy, white head, with very good retention, comes off of the pour but it leaves unbelievable lacing all around the sides of the glass as the beer goes down—as in, it literally coats the sides of the glass. Unreal.

Smell (4.5): There’s a very light, pale grain scent mixed with the sweet notes of corn-based, classic adjunct malt and the light crispness of rice that you get from AALs when you dig into them. Peppery brett notes are equally strong. Apparently, the malt composition of this beer is identical to Natty Boh and Old Milwaukee, so in that light the scents of the malt profile make perfect sense. Moderately fruity, musty character is also evident. Very fragrant, lightly citrusy with apple and pear notes.

Taste (3.5): Well, brett. Plain and simple, in all its weird glory. There’s that familiar mix of peppercorn and soft cheese-rind funk coming out of the finish, with a modest peppery character coming before it. The malt is pale and crisp, as would be expected from the nose, and washes down easy to leave the brett to shine in all of its peppery, musty glory. That dank, musty character that personally I prefer in a brett-forward beer really takes a backseat to that peppercorn/cheese rind phenolic funk, however. Some modest, lemony bitterness is present throughout.

Mouthfeel (4.0): This has an excellent feel, with very smooth and lush carbonation, devoid of any prickling. Clean finish, light bitterness, light-to-medium weight body. Very dry finish.

Overall (4.0): To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this beer. I get what Brian’s going for, and I think that he probably did an excellent job in creating that beer, but it’s not quite what I was hoping for and is definitely not for everybody. Admittedly, I’m a bit picky when it comes to brett funk: I like the musty, dank, and fruity characters, but get a little sensitive when the spicy, phenolic side of brett becomes more prominent. In this beer, the latter is definitely the case. But, it looks, smells, and feels fantastic, overall—it's just the prominence and balance of different brett notes that I'm somewhat at odds with. My understanding is that Brian wanted to create a very clean, very drinkable brett beer, and using brett in primary with the malt base he did, he did exactly that.

Serving type: on-tap

11-26-2012 17:46:28 | More by fmccormi

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.94/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

22oz bottle. More ornate, withered Victorian manuscript label imagery, very 'artisanal'.

This beer pours a very, very, very pale cloudy, almost white straw 'colour', with a tumultuous rising mass of thinly foamy, whipped cream head, which leaves broad swaths of chunky, splattered fuzzy lace around the glass as it genially abates. It is blonde, in the American sense, this much is certain.

It smells of funky, sort of cheesy yeast, a sour lemon and cherry fruitiness, grainy pale malt, soft earthy spice, and a sassy grassy hoppiness. The taste is tart lemon and mild white vinegar, a paler Brett funkiness than that of the nose (but still kickin' it), gritty pale malt, a touch of cornmeal, some understated black pepper mill detritus, and still prominent wet hay and grassy hops.

The carbonation is obviously quite the showman up front, and mostly keeps at it with a sharp, sometimes fizzy nature, the body medium-light in weight, maybe a smidgeon thin, but generally smooth for such a hoppy, modulated acidic brew. It finishes off-dry, the sweetness of the rice/corn kind of shouldering its way in, while the bitter hops and sour/funky combo just sit back and smirk.

A tasty enough pale wild ale, I don't quite grok the insistence on placing this in the Blonde Ale classification, even if said category, as a whole, is loosey-goosey at best. So a few niggling points off for that. And did pre-WWII beers in America really rely on wild yeast and bacteria for their fermentation? Maybe I've got some further reading up to do.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 02:00:00 | More by biboergosum

metter98

New York

3.96/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

A: The beer is clear light straw yellow in color and has a moderate to high amount of carbonation. It poured with a two finger high bright white head that took a very long time to die down but never completely faded away, consistently leaving a thin head covering the surface as well as lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: The Brettanomyces yeast imparts light amounts of sourness to the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste is a little sour and also has notes of lemon citrus and grassy hops. Hints of peppery spices are noticeable in the finish.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and a little clean on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This would make for a really easy to drink beer for someone that is just getting into sour beers because the brett is not overdone. I really liked how the brewer used a little sourness to make a beer brewed with adjunct malts that doesn't taste bland. It's extremely drinkable given its low alcohol content.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 22:08:19 | More by metter98

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.98/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Black Raven imperial pint. Pours a slightly cloudy pale yellow amber. Healthy three finger head and active carbonation leaving chunks of foam on the side of the glass as it slowly dissipated. Looked great! Aromatic aroma of Belgian yeast and spicing, light fruit and citrus, slightly sour and funky. Flavor dominated by citrus, mostly lemon, and brett funk. Light grain and sweet malt. Astringently bitter finish, but supported by the fruit from the citrus. I'm not a big fan of brett, but I have to admit that the low level in this ale along with the refreshing lemon flavor was quite nice. Light to medium bodied. Not my style, but I enjoyed the whole bottle. Good job, Stillwater.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 04:16:40 | More by LiquidAmber