E. - Hill Farmstead Brewery

tectactoe

Michigan

3.86/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours out a compilation of golden and yellow tones with some lighters straw hints around the edges. Super volatile pour, even being somewhat conservative creates a head that grows thicker than the amount of beer that's been poured already; eggshell-white, cloudy, and foamy, leaving huge chunks of lacing as it slowly recedes.

I bring E. up to my face and I'm met with a huge bouquet of roses; the aroma is largely floral, comprised of fresh, wet roses and bitter grassy notes. The hops are clearly the key component in this one. Successive whiffs reveal a more refined hop character, rounded out with tones of earth, dirt, and musk. Light hints of funk and wet wood (as well as some of the musk) is probably from the brett yeast used. There isn't much to be said in terms of malt, at least as far as the aroma is concerned. The hop profile here is certainly different - one of the most purely, raw, floral things I've smelled in quite some time. Very, very light tropical fruit and citrus peek in more and more with each sniff - maybe apple skins and/or pears?

I take my first swig of E. and I'm not sure if I just drank a beer or if I ate a flower and a handful of grass. There should be no surprise, however, as the aroma was largely floral and grassy. The vegetal notes are pretty huge on this one; grass, roses, and perfume. The hops are raw and dirty, giving off a very weedy, grassy, and bitter tone. They must have used a ton of bittering hops on this one - the bitterness charges in, rides the wave hard, and doesn't come close to being settled by the end. I would have like more aromatics to accompany this dry, leafy bitterness. A mild citrus zest sits quiet in the background, but never jumps out and strong as I was hoping for. There's a heavy bit of funk and wet oak in the aftertaste - hard to pick it up throughout the sip, as the hop notes are so profound. Medium bodied, heavily carbonated.

Hm... I don't love E. like the scores and reviews said I would. Listening to others describe it, it definitely sounds like something right up my alley. Don't get me wrong - it was a good beer, but I guess from the way people talk about HF, I was possibly expecting a bit too much. I like the funk and oak in the end, but the bittering hops just don't make my palate dance like they should. Either way, still a solid brew, but likely nothing I'll seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 12:42:42 | More by tectactoe

Photekut

Azerbaijan

3.75/5  rDev -12%

05-18-2013 21:56:32 | More by Photekut

lakersfan16

Alaska

4/5  rDev -6.1%

05-17-2013 03:30:52 | More by lakersfan16

vonnegut21

New York

4/5  rDev -6.1%

05-13-2013 19:35:56 | More by vonnegut21

Bonko_the_sane

North Carolina

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

05-13-2013 05:45:28 | More by Bonko_the_sane

SPRichard

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

05-11-2013 17:07:54 | More by SPRichard

cadaugherty

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

05-07-2013 23:26:05 | More by cadaugherty

tom10101

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -6.1%

04-29-2013 22:22:00 | More by tom10101

kjkinsey

Texas

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

04-28-2013 00:37:33 | More by kjkinsey

DJButters

California

4/5  rDev -6.1%

04-26-2013 22:35:22 | More by DJButters

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a cloudy, opaque, cloudy golden tan color and a massive three fingered, creamy head that sticks to the glass like glue and cotton candy. The head eventually subsides but stays rocky and creamy across the top.

S - Bready, light earthiness, light fruitiness, sweet floral with lemon bitterness.

T - Brett, barnyard funk, earthy, sour, funky lemon, light grass, bready, tart.

M - Medium body.

O - Tastes far better than it looks!

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 21:28:09 | More by jzeilinger

joel66

New York

3.5/5  rDev -17.8%

04-18-2013 02:54:18 | More by joel66

TotallyHosed

Illinois

2.75/5  rDev -35.4%

04-07-2013 15:24:01 | More by TotallyHosed

Skrip

South Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

750ml bottle poured into a Gandhi Bot snifter.

A~ hazy golden copper with crazy huge head and lots of lacing.

S~ peppery, citrus, and lots of bready yeast. just like a great saison should smell!

T~ more hop bitterness up front then i was expecting, definitely a nice treat. followed by a lot of lemon/lime citrus, a tad orange. nice pepper and tartness on the finish. mmm..!

M~ very carbonated but not overly so. you can kind of feel the bitterness from the hops if that makes sense lol

O~ definitely different then most HF saisons i've had but i'm gonna blame that on the hops! in a good way of course =] i love how HF saisons get sour with a little age, this one especially!

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 02:46:32 | More by Skrip

Ahappyhiker2

New Jersey

4.3/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I decided to drink a whole bottle of this tonight. Second time I'm having E., first time I'm reviewing it. 2012 vintage, I bought it at the brewery last August.

A- Like most beers that I've had by Hill Farmstead, it has quite the head on it. Not nearly as much as the first time I had this, but I still had to pour pretty slowly to minimize it. It's a bit cloudy, and golden-orange in color.

S- Smells delicious. The first scent I get is peach to be honest, followed by orange and more citrusy fruits. The aroma has some hops to it as well, but they have definitely died down in the 7 or so months this had been aging. It has a nice floral scent as well, like fresh picked flowers almost. Just a great, sweet aroma.

T- It has more hops to it than I initially thought it would, but once that dies down that fruitiness really comes in. Peach, pineapple, orange, and those are just to name a few. It's slightly tart, but I definitely would not consider this a sour. It definitely is not as sour as most of their other saisons.

M- Loads of carbonation on this one. It almost slightly gets in the way of the flavor because there is so much happening on your tongue.

O- This is just another amazing saison by Hill Farmstead. They are by far one of my favorite breweries, if not my absolute favorite. I have to admit that the first time I had E. I wasn't overly impressed with it, but it really has aged nicely. It's my least favorite saison by Hill Farmstead, and I'm still giving it a great rating. Goes to show how good their stuff is. I'm going to finish this one, Happy Easter everyone and God Bless.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 02:43:50 | More by Ahappyhiker2

rondufresne

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

04-01-2013 01:56:38 | More by rondufresne

bauermj

Illinois

4/5  rDev -6.1%

03-23-2013 22:09:41 | More by bauermj

Itsjustme023

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

03-11-2013 00:02:51 | More by Itsjustme023

Takeanotherswing

New York

3.5/5  rDev -17.8%

03-06-2013 03:09:26 | More by Takeanotherswing

dumbocastillo

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

03-03-2013 21:23:26 | More by dumbocastillo

Shilt

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

02-27-2013 01:37:40 | More by Shilt

tehzachatak

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

02-18-2013 16:04:24 | More by tehzachatak

AlexFields

Tennessee

4.34/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Opened 2/16/2013.

This is a bit of a gusher, and pours with a massive head. Head sticks around forever and leaves huge sticky lacing all over the glass. Looks awesome.

Smells of bright citrus, orange and grapefruit, some bretty funk. Really great, complex aroma.

Taste is similar but a little more tame. Wish I could've tried this when it was really fresh, probably would have been even better with a more pronounced hop character.

Great beer, one of the best of the HF beers we opened.

8.7/10

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 15:45:10 | More by AlexFields

SpdKilz

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

02-16-2013 20:11:43 | More by SpdKilz

oglmcdgl

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

02-15-2013 21:39:27 | More by oglmcdgl