E. - Hill Farmstead Brewery

DenverLogan

Colorado

2.58/5  rDev -39.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Apricot gold color...lingering head. Giant aromas...somewhat pigeon poop or cat litter with plums...funky, and a brilliant mix of hops. Stark bitterness, fruit rinds, lemon zest, and big brett. A bit rough but interesting. Probably not more than a 10 oz will do me! I don't want to give a poor rating but this just doesn't grab me like most saisons.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 22:16:36 | More by DenverLogan

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

pour is extremely cloudy orange with tons of bubbly white head. Nose is lemony, notes of Saison yeast, a touch dusty and citrusy. Taste is a bit bland, some lemon, maybe faint yeast. Fairly celtzery and leathery, thin finish. Overly bretted, body is decent, high carb and drinkable, faintly dry.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 20:04:21 | More by cpetrone84

KickInTheChalice

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 750 caged and corked into a tulip.

Appearance: E. has a very nice cloudy orange tangerine color with a frothy white head. Like I have come to expect in the style, there is a nice amount of lace that clings to my glass.

Smell: Dry saison yeast, biscuit malt, pepper, pineapple, grapefruit citrus, and a little bit of funk.

Taste: The first flavor to hit my tongue is a light caramel sweetness. A little bit of pepper and spice, then toward the end the flavor turns a little bit sour and some funk comes out. Some fruit is soft - peach, grapefruit, apricot.

Mouthfeel: Dry and light bodied, with a carbonation that is both somewhat crisp and creamy.

Overall: This is too dry for my taste, and it seems like the beer loses focus.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2011 00:08:06 | More by KickInTheChalice

JAXSON

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle. Pours a very attractive orange-golf with a rocky white cap. Nose is a melange of hop qualities, expressed with nice subtlety. Pine needle, orange pulp, cereal grains. Flavor is more pine needle, coconut husk, lingering grapefruit rind bitterness on the finish. The flaw here, to me, is that a light phenolic, almost medicinal touch persists throughout. The brett presence in this is fairly light but it just muddles everything and gives it this odd lingering quality that I don't dig. I don't really care for brett IPAs, or barrel-aged IPAs, so it's not surprising this isn't really stellar to me. I just think it would be so much more juicy and the hops more expressive without the brett here.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2011 01:40:50 | More by JAXSON

RuckusDu

Colorado

3.73/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - mostly white but some yellow hints in the gushing head. Body is very cloudy and orange/grapefruit in color. Great lacing

S - some nice citrus mixed within the farmhouse funk.

T - rind comes through strong. Orange and grapefruit.

M - well balanced and appropriate for the style.

O - a nice little beer. Nothing spectacular but enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 22:34:47 | More by RuckusDu

jaasen64

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750ml bottle

A- Pours a hazy slightly translucent brownish golden, at least 3-4 fingers of white frothy head- had a problem with this bottle foaming up, decent amount of carbonation definitely above average, leaves foamy layered lacing.

S- Some light brett funk, a little bit of lemons, a hint of oranges, some grassy notes. Not overly aromatic, a little bit below average aroma strength.

T- Orange peel, lemons, a little bit of grapefruit, with some light grassy/hay funk. Slightly tart + bitter on the finish. Leaves an orange peel aftertaste that lingers for awhile.

M- Light, average carbonation, abv hidden well, drinkable.

O- I wasn't a huge fan of this beer, especially since I had such high expectations after trying a few other HF beers. It might have tasted better fresh (I think the hops might have faded a bit too much), but to me it was just too lacking in strength- both aroma and taste. The orange peel citrus flavor balanced with the light funk also wasn't that appealing to me. Overall not a terrible beer, but definitely not as good as the other HF beers I've had (Everett, Abner, Daybreak).

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 02:28:35 | More by jaasen64

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

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a finger of white head. Leaves a lot of lace. Color is a hazed sunset golden orange.

Aroma: A little bit of hops. Some floral notes and then the saison funk in the background. A lot of spices. Bready malts. Fruity flavors. Pepper.

Taste: More crushed pepper. Floral hops. Grapefruit and lemons. Very fruity. Bone dry.

Mouthfeel: Dry, bitter, sticky. Hop resiny. Tons of hops. Medium bodied with a higher amount of carbonation. Ends sticky.

Overall, a really good beer. A really hoppy saison. Pretty drinkable. Definitely enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 02:02:29 | More by mothman

AgentZero

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Some fine sir shared this at Zwanze Day, but I don't remember who. But thanks!

A - Orangish yellow colored beer with a really big head that foamed up for a long time. Lot of stick on the sides.

S - I really didn't know what this beer was when I smelled it, for some reason I was thinking saison. There was quite a bit of syrupy fruit and a heavy dose of yeast.

T - Very heavy taste, it's kind of a yeast explosion with a lot of syrupy tropical fruit. Not particularly bitter. It tastes good, but the yeast is a little too much for me.

M - Lighter bodied with a lot of carbonation. Fairly dry.

O - This is a good beer for something that is a bastard style. It's just not a style I think is particularly good, and the phenolic quality of the yeast makes it hard for me to drink in large doses. Would like to try this one again though.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2011 03:53:13 | More by AgentZero

aasher

Indiana

4.03/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This bottle was shared by muskabeatz, thanks Evan!

E. pours a light bodied, very, very cloudy tangerine orange witha three finger, root beer esque foamy bright white head. The nose is very dry, full of Brett, with a moderate fruitiness. It drinks really dry with loads of Brett and almost a grapefruit like fruit presence. Its funky and has plenty of barnyard characteristics. It's interesting, just very dry. It drinks light and smooth. I like it but not nearly as much as I like Anna.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2012 00:45:30 | More by aasher

Sean9689

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2012 vintage shared at the Chicago Burbs Random Thursday Mega Tasting. Poured into Narke tulip.

A - Pours a hazy golden yellow, frothy white head, sticky lace.

S - Funky yeast and citrus from the start, oranges, grapefruit. The hops are still very much there and compliment the funk really well.

T - A mix of hoppy bitterness a yeast funk are the main showcase of this beer. Citrus, orange peel, hay, light must, and grass. Alcohol is well-hidden and it's way too refreshing to be anything over 3% (haha). Finish is funk with some bitterness.

M - Light to medium body, good carbonation, dry clean finish.

O - I love Edward and I love HF Saison's, so I don't see how this couldn't be a winner. Not quite as good as Edward alone or Anna alone, but still, a really nice beer and a cool experiment. I look forward to opening up one of my bottles in the near future.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 15:14:23 | More by Sean9689

Florida9

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This bottle ended up being a slow gusher; after pouring the first glass, the head within the bottle slowly formed and pushed itself out at a snail's pace. And when I returned to the bottle, it was now sitting in a pool of E.

A: Clear pale yellow on the first pour, but becomes a very cloudy orange-yellow on subsequent pours. Forms a massive foamy white head that sticks around for longer than I'd like it to. Moderate lacing.

S: Complexly aromatic. First thing I notice is a blend of citrus and yeast. The citrus is quite juicy, with orange and lemon. The yeast is the slightest bit bready, with notes of allspice, clove and coriander. Then there is a fragrant floral component within the mix as well.

T: Taste is full on citrus. Lots of orange. A little lemon. Then it turns fairly spicy, though the spice in the flavor is drier and earthier than it was on the nose. There is a bit more of the floral quality mixed in with a good dose of yeast.

M: On the lighter side of medium in body. Medium carbonation. Unfortunately, there is an odd dry bitterness on the back end that is over-excentuated by the dry spice in the flavor leaving my mouth feel as if I have just chewed on a peppercorn.

O: I has this beer when it was first released and I found it to be quite a bit more enjoyable. I suspect the Brett has really started to dry this one out in a way that I feel doesn't add to the beer. Still a good beer, but not nearly as good as when I first tried it.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2012 02:50:41 | More by Florida9

kingcrowing

Vermont

4.08/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750ml bottle poured into a HF wine glass.

Pours a clear orange/amber color with a huge white head, very sticky and pillowy with a ton of nice lacing. Nose is a bit funky and maybe some bret? It reminds me of a hoppy Orval or houblon chouffe, very nice.

Mouthfeel seems a bit light, carbonation is there but not quite as big as I was expecting/hoping. Taste though, does not disappoint. Very hoppy and citrusy with yeasty Belgian spice that is very well done and balanced.

Congrats on one year!

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 22:56:33 | More by kingcrowing

Chico1985

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured a hazy light orange with a huge white head that takes a while to settle. Settles as a nice rocky cap leaving good lacing.

Nice scent, bright fruits of all kinds (green apple, citrus, peach) with a bretty hay feel.

Taste doesn't quite live up to the smell but still good. The Belgian-ness takes over a bit more with a good dose of oak, brett, farmy saison yeast. Light funk and fruits.

Mouthfeel felt a bit thin and light to me.

This was a good beer to kick off the fest with. It feels more like a saison than a Belgian IPA to me. Light, interesting, good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-29-2011 14:36:21 | More by Chico1985

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.08/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle opened on 7.11.12.

A - Pours a pale, cloudy light orange with an explosive fine-bubbled, near-white head that takes forever to fade down.

S - Funky, citrusy-lemons mostly.

T - Lemons, funk, slight wood.

D - Great carbonation and a light body.

O - A funky, lemony farmhouse pale ale. It's been awhile since I have had a HF brew, and man do I miss them.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 04:21:31 | More by HuskyinPDX

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a very cloudy, hazy, orange. HUGE 4 inch head even with a very cautious, slow pour. Settles to a 1/2 inch fluffy white head with thick, chunky lacing.

Bready yeast dominates the scent. The funkiness is in the background. I LOVE the way IPA smell and with the added funk, the aroma is a winner!

The taste is good. If it were considered a 'true' Saison, I'd probably rate it lower, but being a bretted IPA makes it hit the mark. It isn't my first choice in style, but it is very good. First taste is of mostly bready. Once past the breadiness (is that a word??) you get hit with a fantastic funk fromthe Brett. Then a smooth, tart finish.

It is a medium body and on the dry side.

I reslly enjoyed this beer and the IPA w/ brett thing...but I prefer a more traditional saison. That being said, I'd never turn this away. Really enjoyed it and glad to have had the opportunity.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2012 23:30:21 | More by DaveHack

MasterSki

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Todd for sharing both batches of this beer at various events. Served in various taster glasses.

A - A finger of white foam settles to a ring, haze, and spotty lace. Murky and cloudy orange body.

S - Tons of earthy, peppery, and spicy yeast flavors, with appleskins and fruity notes as well. The second batch seemed to have a bit more malt sweetness and tropical brett character to it. Galaxy hops seem a tad understated, although when I had Batch 1 the bottle was 5-6 months old.

T - The taste is again quite earthy and bready, with some phenolic, pepper and spicy yeast character. Light sour lemon note in the finish. Batch 2 is sweeter and fruitier, with mild and fairly restrained oak presence.

M - Smooth texture, lower carbonation, medium body, lightly dry, with a touch of acidity to it.

D - I prefer Batch 2, probably because it was fresher. The tropical and fruity notes seem to help offset the aggressively spicy yeast that I didn't love in Batch 1. Also, I think I had the dregs of Batch 1, which is partially why I didn't post my review until now. An interesting beer from Hill Farmstead, but doesn't totally work for my tastes.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2012 17:56:25 | More by MasterSki

koopa

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serious gusher alert!

Appearance: Pours a murky dull orange with a massive 3 finger white crown composed of tight and fine carbonation bubbles. Moderate retention and lots of lace.

Smell: Definitely my favorite aspect of this brew. Mango, apricot, peach, lemon, grapefruit, passion fruit, and belgian esters.

Taste: Has most of the same notes the nose possesses, but they blend to the point where they are harder to pick out individually. The overly carbonated mouthfeel also makes picking them out more difficult.

Mouthfeel: Thin side of medium bodied with ample carbonation. The carbonation is so velvety smooth but its simply over carbonated to the point where it takes away from both the flavor and the mouthfeel.

Overall: I really really like this beer and think its one that Hill Farmstead could really dial in and improve upon in the future.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 18:45:53 | More by koopa

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a hazy pale yellow color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some excellent lacing. Aroma consists of pungent herbal hops with loads of funky notes and some rustic malt also discernable. Taste is a unique and funky mix between some herbal and floral hops with pungent notes with some rustic malt and light residual sugar notes. Brett is well dosed and hard to distinguish. Body is full with great carbonation and no apparent alcohol. This beer made for a very nice Christmas eve treat.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 03:42:18 | More by Phyl21ca

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thanks to millerbuffoon for opening this one last night. This bottle was alive, lots of foam spewing from the top of the bottle. Even with a gentle pour this beer has a massive white head on top of a cloudy yellow body. The smell of the beer is very good, it smells sour but holds the base malt aromas as well. It's pretty impressive honestly. The taste of the beer isn't really sour at all. The beer tastes a lot cleaner than it looks. The mouthfeel has a pretty active carbonation to it with a lighter body. Overall this beer is good, not something I would seek out for myself in the future but I enjoyed having it.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2013 15:37:59 | More by Knapp85

homebrew311

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours cloudy yellow with sticky white head and tons of lacing. Nose is funky with waves of lemon and sourdough bread. The taste starts off with citrusy hops which become a bit tart as the flavor develops. Very yeasty with a clean tart finish. Mouthfeel is light with high carbonation. Overall, very tasty... Nice combo of ipa and Saison.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2012 23:46:41 | More by homebrew311

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.13/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batches 1 & 2 side by side. Thanks to Joe for trading me the bottle of batch 1 and Mike for sharing a bottle of batch 2. The scores are for batch 2.

**Batch 1**

Moderately orange with a dense, off-white head with good retention and nice lacing. The nose is excellent. A nice Brett character is present, but as it warms up, it grows increasingly clove and plastic-like, along with some herbal character (cilantro stalks). The dry hop character has fallen off. Still, this is nice. The palate is significantly better than the nose would suggest. Opening grassy with some clove and a little plastic, there's plenty of Brett flavor. Mildly fruity as well, and a touch spicy too. Drying, yeasty, mildly cheesy, this is nice.
4.5/4/4.5/4/4

**Batch 2**

Orange with a thin, white head with excellent retention and lacing. The nose has more of a fruit character than batch 1 did, with an aroma of cantaloupe and mango, along with some dry hops. Faintly clove and plastic like, with a little bit of sea breeze, this smells excellent. The palate is a little less complex, a little more watery and a fantastic balance and blend of flavors. Nice dry hop character. Drying, long finish with mild clove and citrus, this is excellent.
4.5/4.5/4/4/4

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 00:54:46 | More by DefenCorps

drabmuh

Maryland

4.15/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

At the time of this review, this is the #3 Belgian IPA on the best of beeradvocate lists on beeradvocate.com. Bottle shared by Thorpe on a football game day, thanks. Served in a snifter.

Beer is yellow and hazy with a nice head of small white bubbles, some lacing, moderate carbonation, looks good.

Aroma is pretty complex, fruitiness from the galaxy hops and a nice nose of Brett b I assume.

Beer is light and effervescent on the palate, strong through, nice funk, strong yeast character, almost spicy at times, tastes great, the finish is mildly dry, good hop character throughout. The yeast on the palate are the clear winner to me but overall it is a good beer. I'd have it again.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 02:22:46 | More by drabmuh

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

4.2/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 750 mL bottle chilled and split with a friend. Poured into two Sierra Nevafa tulip glasses. Even after chilling, this gushed a little, but almost all of it made it to the glasses.

Appearance: Completely opaque bright orange to yellow in color. Really large sticky head that recedes pretty quickly.

Aroma: Big orange zest and funk notes upfront. Green apple and citrus juice provides a really nice backing. The hops are definitely present there as well and provide an interesting contrast.

Taste: Bitter pine notes from the hops really take over more here than in the aroma. A light backing of citrus zest and funk does well to balance the bitterness. A really interesting combination of pale ale and saison/wild ale. It works very well together in this case.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and spritzy. Very refreshing and bright.

Overall, a really nice hoppy saison / wild ale. Completely unlike other farmhouse pales I've had. The aroma really highlighted nice citrus and the Mimosa barrel notes really stood out. I look forward to having this again.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 16:11:30 | More by Gosox8787

orangesol

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Batch #2 bottle shared by Shaun Hill during Philly Beer Week.

A - Pours slightly hazed golden yellow with a nice one finger tall white head leaving spotty trails of lace down most of the glass.

S - Smells of damp earth, musty funk, spicy belgian yeast, and a nice strong fruit aroma - mainly apples and oranges. The hops are there but the other aromas drown them out a bit.

T - Starts off with the musty funk and wet earth from the aroma combining with the bready yeast and light spice to form the saison base. The fruit and hops come through toward the end of each sip, leaving the palate dried after each sip.

M - Light, smooth body with moderate carbonation. Nice crisp feel with a dry finish.

O - I only got a sample of batch one but I thought it was pretty good. Now that I got to try a proper pour I can really really see what this one is all about. The flavors work very well together and make a really awesome beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 18:27:51 | More by orangesol