Society & Solitude #1 - Hill Farmstead Brewery

schlimenhaumer

New York

4.01/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750ml Hill Farmstead growler into a Hill Farmstead tulip at low altitude in NY. Looking forward to enjoying a full glass of this after sampling it at the brewery.

A: Pours a gradient reddish orange with a think stark white head of little retention. Leaves plenty of lacing on the glass as it goes down.

S: Citric Cascade hops with a bit of malt backing. A bit of alcoholic heat here as well.

T: Citric hops up front with a bit of resinous character to follow. The sweet malt body helps to offset the hop bitterness, but I think it could be a bit more balanced. The bitterness is a bit overwhelming.

M: Medium-bodied with plenty of carbonation. Dry finish. Suits the flavors well.

O: In true Hill Farmstead fashion, this is a straightforward beer that highlights a single hop. However, it's not among the best DIPAs I've tried in recent memory.

Serving type: growler

04-28-2013 01:32:52 | More by schlimenhaumer

inlimbo77

Delaware

4.21/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

64oz, filled 4/12/13, drank 4/20/13
5oz mini snifter

A: Pours a cloudy orange color. Bright white head. Sticky lacing is getting left on the glass. Still good carbonation.

S: Again, big fruity hops. Orange. Tangerine. Citrus. But here you are getting more of a malt present (both visual and on the nose). Definitely more body than the first two I had today.

T: Nice rush of bitterness on tip of tongue. Grapefruit. Orange. Citrus. More malt here than others. Dry finish. Lingering hop resin.

M: Medium bodied.

Serving type: growler

04-22-2013 14:08:38 | More by inlimbo77

Alieniloquium

Florida

4.05/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

750 mL growler poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Hazy without much head. The thinnest of collars. A few loney islands.

Smell - Lots of grapefruit hops. Very citrusy. A little bit of sweetness.

Taste - Grapefruit and a bit of creaminess. Less intensely hoppy. Grainy hops. Low bitterness.

Mouthfeel - The creaminess is a little odd, but not off putting. Very drinkable. Low carbonation.

Overall - Straightforward but very good. Less impressive than the other Society & Solitude variants.

Serving type: growler

04-15-2013 23:40:08 | More by Alieniloquium

Kinsman

New Hampshire

4.21/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Enjoyed on tap at Blackback Pub in Waterbury, VT

Fills the glass with a nice hazy orange and bright white head. First aroma is all Cascade. Reminds me a lot like a beefier SN Pale Ale. Lots of pine on the nose and just a bit of citrus in the background.

Pine resin and floral hops flavors right up front with the first sip. Pleasantly bitter, more so than some other HF DIPAs I've had. Nice creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Overall, not my favorite of the S&S series but still a damn enjoyable beer.

Serving type: on-tap

04-14-2013 22:35:35 | More by Kinsman

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

3.94/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: 750 mL swingtop growler filled at the brewery today. Chilled and enjoyed in a Hill Faarmstead tulip glass.

Appearance: Pale orange in color and cloudy. Pours a decent, fluffy white head. Really nice retention. Leaves a nice lacing around the glass.

Aroma: Huge cascade notes. Lots of pine, mango and grapefruit notes. Really big freh hop character.

Taste: Grapefruit and pine really dominate here. Really light malt character. Not as sweet as some of Hill Farmstead's other IPA's. Actually, this is very dry overall. Lots of hop bitterness and just a touch of tropical fruit juice.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and dry. Definitely refreshing and nicely carbonated.

Overall, a really nice IPA, but not one of my favorites from HF. This is definitely drier than other double IPA's and doesn't offer the huge juicy fruit character of some their other beers. Really nice and refreshing but just a step below top notch.

Serving type: growler

04-14-2013 03:05:21 | More by Gosox8787

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This poured out as a hazy bright orange color, it's got a nice rocky white head on top. The retention is good and the lacing is sticky. The smell is more mellow than I expected, it's got a muted citrus aroma, some sweet malt on the nose as well. The taste of nicely balanced between the hops and the malt, there is a touch of boozy heat in there too. The mouthfeel is very nice, smooth, gently carbonated and refreshing. Overall it's a good sessionable IPA. Worth checking out.

Serving type: growler

04-10-2013 22:33:30 | More by Knapp85

cfrances33

Illinois

4.65/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Growler thanks to ILOVESTOUTS poured into a Hill Farmstead stem.

Pour: Hazy golden orange with two fingers of clean, fluffy white head. Lots of sticky lacing through out the glass. Typical beautiful Hill Farmstead beer.

Smell: Big juicy citrus and a nice resinous pine off the start. A light grass. Citrus is characterized by grapefruit and tangerine. A touch of honey.

Taste: Really nice balance between citrus and piney hop flavors. Definite touch of floral and grassy hops as well, but in the right amount. A nice honey and bready sweetness provides a little bit of a backbone. Finishes lightly bitter with citrus and resinous pine.

Mouthfeel: Really fantastically drinkable. Drinks much more like an IPA than a DIPA. Just the right amount of bitterness. Very juicy given the piney flavor profile. Medium bodied.

Overall: I was very impressed, as usual, with this offering from the Society and Solitude series. A very nice showcase of Cascade.

Serving type: growler

04-06-2013 21:32:44 | More by cfrances33

Skrip

South Carolina

3.95/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

750ml growler poured into a Hill Farmsted oversized wine glass.

A~ hazy, glowing orange with minimal head and nice lacing.

S~ not too much going on here, a little citrus and hop bitterness.

T~ peppery bitterness up front followed by nice citrus, mostly lemon. not as much bitterness as i was expecting from the cascade hops. not a bad thing at all though. i like it a little tame.

M~ nice carbonation, smooth, and very refreshing!

O~ a great IPA, definitely not in my top 10 or anything but still very enjoyable. this could be a daily late spring/summer beer for sure!

Serving type: growler

04-05-2013 20:39:56 | More by Skrip

pschul4

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A- Pours a translucent orange with a tiny bit of head but it leaves lots of lacing

S- Smell is very faint, some lemony citrus in there as well as pines

T- Zesty, lemony, peppery hops. Yes you heard me PEPPERY. It is amazing in it's unique-ness. Not much malt to speak of

M- Very carbonated but not in a bad way

O- I really like this. It's no Abner but it's tasty as phuck

Serving type: growler

04-04-2013 02:52:08 | More by pschul4

celfan

Vermont

4.44/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Initial impression was disappointment, not the full blown hop effect like most Hill Farmstead
DIPAs. After a few more sips, I realized this was an absolute masterpiece of brewing skill
that beautifully blended a strong hop like cascade with a malty sweet finish. Cascade isn't my favorite hop, I find it almost too floral, so if HF was going to make a more malty Society and Solitude, I'm glad they went with this one. Too me, it took the flowery edge off the Cascade, but maintained a strong enough flavor not to be overshadowed by the sweeter malt character.

Full blown hopheads may be underwhelmed, but this would be perfect for the beer drinker just venturing into the hops world. I'd probably choose Abner over this eighty percent of the time, but I've never been more impressed with HF's brewing magic.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2013 13:09:37 | More by celfan

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.43/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Shared by yourefragile. Thanks Michael!

The beer is straw yellow colored and hazy with a lasting white head. A wonderful hoppy aroma, like sunshine in a glass. A touch of fruit and mildly sweet. Quite tasty and drinkable. Crisp carbonation and light to medium in body. A touch of bitterness in the finish, but nothing aggressive. Another delicious beer from Hill Farmstead.

Serving type: growler

06-06-2012 22:15:39 | More by Huhzubendah

mltobin

Connecticut

3.95/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750mL bottle from the brewery, poured into a Unibroue tulip.

Appearance is a hazy golden tone with nearly two fingers of head. Its` nose has citrus hops, herbs, orange and grapefruit. Excited, for the sip, which delivered more orange, malts, hops. It is pretty tasty, but I was hoping for a little more. HF of course has set the bar high in the past. Mouthfeel is medium, not too much carbonation. Most certainly worth checking out if you can.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2012 01:38:31 | More by mltobin

drabmuh

Maryland

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

Thanks to yourefragile for this. He described it to me as one of the worst IPAs made by Hill Farmstead and then stated that it is probably about a 4.2 on beeradvocate. It was quite good, I'm not as critical of their offerings.

Beer is yellow and mostly clear with nearly no head, low carbonation, no lacing.

Aroma is sweet and hoppy, fruits mostly.

Beer is medium to light in body, nice hop character and a sweet finish. A very cool little beer but not as good as others from them. Almost no bitterness on the finish, drinks a little bit more like a pale ale ultimately than an IPA, still I enjoyed it and would have it again.

Serving type: growler

02-17-2012 21:06:07 | More by drabmuh

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Peekskill Brewery. 8%ABV.
Legend has it that this brew was created with the help of current brewmaster of PB, Jeff O'Neil at the HF brewery in VT. Glad he showed up, because this brew is fantastic!
Pours a burnt orange haze that you cannot see through. It looks thick. Nice foamy chewy head with great lacing.
Smells of bitter hops, but slighty sweet and bready.
Taste is truly amazing. Great bitter hop flavor, but its finished with a candy-like sweet flavor. Rounded out with some bready/buscuit malts. Truly a great DIPA!
Id have this again in a heartbeat.

Serving type: on-tap

02-13-2012 14:37:15 | More by DrinkSlurm

Bendurgin

Maine

3.65/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Andy for sharing this one. Poured into a tulip. This one pours a hazy murky orange color with a cap of white head with a little bit of sticky lace.

The aroma is sweet juicy citrus with some hints of caramel. Nice balance of malt and a little bit of bitterness in the background. Bitter and grassy hops here with a little bit of caramel sweetness rounding out the pallet. Seems to have a bit of lemon here too.

Nice light body with somewhat sharp carbonation.

Overall a solid brew. Enjoyable to drink with a nice balance of hops and rich malts.

Serving type: growler

02-10-2012 05:27:45 | More by Bendurgin

andrewinski1

Maine

3.98/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a wine taster glass. The color is hazy orange. There is a great white head on this.

The aroma is slightly sweet with a nice hoppy citrus. There is a bit of zestyness to the hop aroma as well.

The taste has a nice cereal graininess here while being nice and dry. There is a nice zesty hoppiness throughout that leads to a dry bitter finish. This is pretty simple, and the flavors are clean.

The body is light and this drinks nice and easy. Great carbonation coming from the growler.

This is really good. I imagine it was even better a couple weeks ago.

Serving type: growler

02-10-2012 05:06:13 | More by andrewinski1

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap @ Lord Hobo (Cambridge, MA) on 2/3/12. Served in a cervoise.

Pours a hazed grapefruit color, topped with a thin bright-white head. This retains with a smooth creaminess that skims the surface, slathering the sides of the glass with a sticky latticework of lacing. The aroma smells piney, floral, and a little spicy, with a hefty dose of bright zesty grapefruit and a splash of lemon tartness. Malts have a supportive sweet graininess to them underneath but are pretty much put in the background by the fresh robustness of the hops here in the nose. I swear I can smell the hops in this like 2 feet away from the glass!

The taste is straight up bright bitter grapefruit and to a lesser extent lemon tartness, with a touch of underlying softer fruit and herbal textures helping smooth this out a bit. The malts have more of a neutral balancing sweetness to them, keeping the focus on those hops, as this finishes dry, resinous, and bitter. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, maybe a touch fuller feeling, with a crisp prickliness the whole way through. An underlying oily slickness (which carries that herbal feel as well) really keeps this riding along nicely. There is a touch of light warmth present from the ABV but it serves no more than to pop the zesty bitterness of this that much more.

This is another excellent hoppy offering from Hill Farmstead, with an all around robust hop profile and an easy going drinkable nature to it. This had some nice well rounded edges to it for a DIPA that kept it really accessible for the size. This is some really good stuff here.

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2012 18:14:45 | More by Kegatron

oline73

Maryland

4.33/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had this on-tap at Lord Hobo. Poured into a goblet.

Cloudy like cider, amber, finger fluffy off white head, ring left on top of the pour 3

Grassy citrus hops, earthy, not sweet malt 4

Bitter hops, nice balance, citrus and grass, bit peppery 4.5

Medium body, aggressive carbonation, über dry finish 4.5

Great, really bitter , earthy, I would have again 4.5

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2012 05:17:06 | More by oline73

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750mL swingtop growler shared by yourefragile. Served in a Hill Farmstead wine glass.

Pours a golden-peach color with a nice rocky white head and a good bit of lacing. The nose carries a moderate amount of citrus hops plus a touch of an herbal/piney character. I believe someone said this was all or mostly Cascade, which seems about right. Flavor has nice citrus qualities as well with a touch of orange. Very light backing malt. Light-medium body with good carbonation and a crisp, bitter finish. Really nicely done, as always.

Serving type: growler

02-07-2012 03:41:10 | More by Thorpe429

FosterJM

California

3.98/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1082nd Review on BA
Growler to stemmed tuplip
750 ml

Thanks to CliffBrake for this one.

Shared with GuruDel

App- I wasnt expecting this color. This seemed a bit darker and muted than most. More of an over ripened peach color with some yellows mixed in. A tiny 1/4" of head was there and gone.

Smell- A very fruit forward DIPA. More along the grapefruit and musk kinda smell. Intermixed with a bit of Fusel alcohol notes.

Taste- I like the idea of single hop series to see how they all mix. This one is a bit of straight grapefruit and pine flavor with some juiciness behind it with a bit of a dry ending to the taste. A slight malt character in the middle.

Mouth- A medium body atop a slight medium carbonation level. Residual musk and grapefruit flavors.

Drink- Overall a good beer from HF. This was quite interesting with a musky zesty fruit flavor and a little bit of malt mixed in.

Serving type: growler

02-02-2012 17:30:45 | More by FosterJM

HopsHopenstein

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Society and Solitude #1 poured from a large HF growler into a HF oversized wine glass.

A- Hazy golden orange similar in color to Edward. 1/2 finger white head with lots of lacing. I like the look of this beer.

S- Citrusy grapefruit aroma with some good floral hop notes. Also detect the alcohol in the nose.

T- This is a different Dipa, nice bitterness with some kick. Alcohol is present and some sweet bready malts. The floral hop characters are what im focusing in on first. Also picking up some nice citrus followed by some pine and ending with a clean dry finish.

M- Light bodied for a Dipa and good carbonation. Its not as creamy as alot of other Dipas.

O- Not my favorite Dipa but a really nice beer in all accounts. This beer is absolutly worth a try but it didnt blow me away. Not the best from Shaun Hill (great guy by the way) but still a really good beer.

Serving type: growler

02-02-2012 00:55:16 | More by HopsHopenstein

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.38/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 mL growler compliments of Tucker. Served in a tulip.

Pours a cloudy straw orange color with a quickly fading cream color head fading to a thin collar slippery lacing. Hops and not much else on the nose. Orange and pine, slightly earthy and some vanilla reminiscent of Nor, but for the most part this is tropical orange and not much else. Medium thick body, soft carbonation, soft and fluffy on the palate with a slight dry, bitter finish. Flavor is vanilla and orange on the front of the palate with earthy, pine and resin hops drying out the finish. Sweet with slight spice and gentle bitterness, this is a very easy drinking IIPA; no problem enjoying a 750 of this.

edit: Ideally the flavor is a 4.25, but I'll round up.

Serving type: growler

02-01-2012 00:27:55 | More by yourefragile

Sean9689

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml growler poured into Darkness tulip.

A - Pours a mirky light orange color, frothy cream-colored head, sticky lacing, thin collar, thin cap.

S - Sweet citrus and tropical nose that's heavy on the Mandarin oranges. Light pine, some floral notes in there as well. Very clean and sweet, quite enjoyable.

T - Not quite as a palate-buster as the taste would suggest, which is nice. Again, really nice citrus/orange, some lemon zest, and a nice dose of sweet malts in round things out. Finish is slightly floral hoppy notes with a nice bitter bite on the end.

M - Light, refreshing, good carbonation.

O - Another excellent hoppy beer from Hill Farmstead...what a surprise, haha. The nose led me to believe this one was bigger then I though it was, which is nice because it was easy to drink while still having some nice complexity. Recommend.

Serving type: growler

01-31-2012 19:33:00 | More by Sean9689

silentjay

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

When they said they were going to make an experimental series of IPAs, I was kind of taken aback when they decided to make a single-hopped beer with Cascade hops, which is one of the most common hops used for the past decade +. figured they would have gone with something more "experimental" but I'll let the beer speak for itself.

very hazy golden copper with a sizable pure white head that sticks around forever and laces well.

definite cascade aroma of citrus and grapefruit with that slight pine twang. lots of orange peel, grapefruit juice, lemon zest. not detecting much in the way of malts. very hoppy and citric, which was expected.

again, lots of juicy citrus, a bit of bitterness but more of the cascade flavor than bitterness. There is a bit of a floral/spicy quality in the middle and it finishes with a bit of a resiny finish with a slight bitterness, but for how hoppy this is, the bitterness is tame. again, just tons of fresh hop flavor.

medium bodied with a very pleasant carbonation level and a slightly resiny finish that leaves a pleasant juicy flavor lingering for a while.

Well, Cascade hops are the most used in America for a reason, they are damn tasty. I like how this focuses more on the flavor and aroma of the hop rather than the bitterness. Would like a bit more complexity, but there still is a lot of flavor for a single-hopped single-malted beer.

I have read that this measures at 8%ABV, but not direct from the brewer.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2012 04:03:29 | More by silentjay

MasterSki

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Sean for sharing this one. Served in a Cigar City snifter.

A - Quick-dissolving thin white foam settles to a thin collar and a few wispy patches on top, but no lace. Murky white peach flesh body.

S - My initial impression is creamsicle - a hefty dose of orange and vanilla malts. However, as it warms up a bit I get a tad more herbal, earthy, and slightly piney hop flavors adding depth to the intense citrus flavor.

T - Taste is also quite similar, with both sweet orange flesh and bitter orange peel flavors, lightly sugary malts, and a surprising tropical flavor I don't generally get from Cascade hops. More balanced than I was expecting, but the malt character integrates well with the juicy hop flavors. Bitterness is pretty low.

M - Medium body, lower carbonation, chewy texture, and a very dry finish. Plenty of residual hop oils and resins that coat the teeth. Could maybe use a few more bubbles.

D - I had fairly low expectations considering I tend to dislike Cascade-heavy beers. I'm not sure if Shaun supplemented the hop bill with another hop, or just has great ingredient sourcing, but this one was a winner and avoids the soapy flavors that I associate with Cascade. I was sad that Sean took home the second 750ml growler, as I kind of wanted more of this one.

Serving type: growler

01-24-2012 03:38:38 | More by MasterSki