Civil Disobedience #4 - Hill Farmstead Brewery

Verecund

North Carolina

3.95/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

2012. 750ml opened on July 29, 2012.

Slow gusher. CD4 pours dark brown, with faint burgundy hues on the edge of the glass when held up to the light. It yields four to five fingers of lightly tanned head. A little overcarbonated, but settles down after a few minutes.

Features a disobedient nose of jammy cabernet grapes, tannic oak, eucalyptus, some miscellaneous plummy dark fruit, and Belgian saison yeast. Subdued sourness.

The front of the palate is a little flabby, featuring a hint of roast, currant, cabernet grape, lemon, and substantial oak. Fruity, with a pleasant sourness — you have to search a little bit to find the saison base. The mid-palate reintroduces the heavy, tannic oak found on the nose, and CD4 finishes dryly, curtly, with just a pinch of pepper.

Medium, medium-thin in body with middle-of-the-road carbonation.

This grows on me over time, but I wish I had held my one bottle a little longer. An ambitious beer that just misses the mark for me, if only because of the quality of Shaun's other saisons.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2012 01:12:30 | More by Verecund

abuliarose

New Hampshire

4.58/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a Hill Farmstead glass revealing a finger or two of tan head over dark brown body. Caramel and smoke on the nose along with a bit of lemony funk and a stone fruit floral essence. Taste is slightly tart and evocative of grilled unripe plum with some smoke and woodiness on the finish. Earthy underneath. Lively carb on the tongue, medium-bodied. Overall very refreshing and deliciously complex.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2012 22:29:41 | More by abuliarose

sisuspeed

New Hampshire

4.18/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into some Hill Farmstead stemware. A finger’s worth of lightly-tan head rests on top of a murky dark brown body. Nice lacing on the glass. Black currants, cocoa and a hint of smoke on the nose. Earthy oak notes in the background with a touch of soured grape. The flavor is a nice continuation of the nose and brings out some soured cabernet notes and grassy earthiness. The body is smooth, almost creamy, with appropriate carbonation and a refreshing level of sourness throughout. Overall, an excellent black saison. Slightly reminiscent of Russian River’s Consecration.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2012 22:15:40 | More by sisuspeed

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Shaun for this one.

Pours a light creamy head covering, slight hazy dark murky brown colored beer with decent lacing.

Nose has a nice creamy dark malt aroma, hint of lactose like with bits of chocolate and caramel. Light dark saison malts underneath with saison spices as well, lots of vanilla oak, light lactic sour and hint of wild funk.

Taste starts with light bitterness the quickly turns to malts. A hitn of a metallic twing, light vanilla oak and creamy brown malts, lots of tartness with light lacto and other funk, hint of chocolate like porter malt, light tart berry flavor too, long tart berry fruit profile that lingers a while, and some fluffy malt to round it off. Finish is a bit drier, long lingering tart berry flavor, hint of dark saison spices and dark malts, and just a bit of funk.

Mouth is fluffy, good carbonation, med to fuller bodied.

Overall awesome! Great malts, saison flavors, dark malts, tart berry, and nice funk. A well made beer with lots of good flavors and still very drinkable. Wonder how it will age.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2012 00:31:27 | More by jlindros

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.35/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This review is aka "Look at me, I'm an idiot reviewing a beer on draft and from a bottle". As long as you let me BA, as long as you let me... 750 mL bottle shared with Dyan.

Pours a clearish dark brown, muddy mahogany with a large, retentive light tan head. Thick streaks of bubbly lace cascade down my HF wine glass. Similar to Jimmy, this has a complex nose that is pulled in seemingly divergent and incompatible directions: lemon, oak, vanilla, dark fruit, Belgian yeast, citrus rind, plum and apple all mingle in each whiff. Body is medium thin with moderate carbonation, thin throughout, with a dry oaky finish. The bottle has a much more prevalent fruity presence than I recall from draft samples. Cherry, honey and red grape hit the front of the palate before the oak and barrel dry out the finish which still has a residual vanilla like sweetness. Darn, this is a complex and distinct dark saison that will be interesting to age.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2012 03:44:04 | More by yourefragile

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.18/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thank you, Michael.

A very dark brown with reddish highlights, a dense, brown head with excellent retention and nice lacing, this is a nice looking beer. The nose is great! Fruity (plums, raisins, currants), red wine, a nice roast, moderate saison funk and a nice yeast character. Moderate oak presence, lending some vanilla notes as well. Adding the yeast lends a cheesy component to the nose. Most excellent.

The palate opens roasty, mildly lactic, fruity and vinous. This is surprisingly well integrated, with a nice lemony and lactic sourness. Currants and dark fruits are present, and are livened up by the base saison. Medium-light in body and moderately carbonated, this feels quite nice on the palate. Drying on the finish with vanilla, oak and roast with just enough of the saison pepperiness, this is fantastic stuff. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2012 03:25:29 | More by DefenCorps

rudzud

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the hill farmstead release for civil disobedience 4 and Jimmy. Poured into my hill farmstead tulip.

A - poured a dark brown hue with a two finger fluffy mocha head that leaves sticky side lacing and a very nice blanket.

S - Aromas of funk and sour vinuos barrel ans possibly some light char.

T - Taste is slightly funky with alot of sour funky barrel notes. Nice and vinegary with good grapeskin

M - Mouthfeel was solid with good funk and light chocolate very tart and nice.

O - Overall this beer was pretty tasty. Nice chocolates and funk here. Delicious.

Serving type: on-tap

07-14-2012 14:38:01 | More by rudzud