Society & Solitude #5 - Hill Farmstead Brewery

tewaris

Minnesota

3.68/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Growler sent kindly by millerbuffoon, thanks a lot!

Hazy amber colored, very typical of HF. Medium head, good lacing. Tropical fruit heavy aroma, lots of pineapple and possibly malty sweetness. Light and hoppy taste with a finishing bitterness and a dominant fruity note. Crisp and dry feel. Overall it's not bad but nothing's great about it either.

3, 3, 3, 4, 3
---
Took it's time getting warmed up and what not, glad I had a growler full. Bumping the scores up to 4, 4, 3.5, 4, 3.5

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 03:44:43 | More by tewaris

Luk13

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap. Very hazy gold pour, almost white, white head. Aroma is really quite fruity and pungent, lots of grapefruit, the hops are wet and sticky. Taste is fruity, not particularly bitter, very grapefruity - bitter and citrusy tart at once. Alcohol is not perceptible. Palate is lightly-med carbed with med body. Not my favourite from HF but definitly very good

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2012 00:40:06 | More by Luk13

merc7186

New York

4.2/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had this beer poured from a growler into a tulip glass.

A: Hazy Golden Straw Hue, Passes Some Light, Thick White Head, Great Lacing

S: Mild Grapefruit, Mild Grapefruit Rind

T: Grapefruit, Mild Grainy

M: Great Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Bitter

Overall, good but disappointing for a DIPA.

Serving type: growler

09-25-2012 00:13:35 | More by merc7186

inlimbo77

Delaware

4.23/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

64oz growler (Harvest Fest)
New Belgium Globe

A: Hazy as hell golden orange color. About a finger of bright white head. Leaving some sticking lacing sheets. There is some yeast in suspension floating around. Again, so cloudy.

S: Tons of piney grapefruit notes. Very reisinous. Smells so inviting. Low malt bill. Hop bomb. Right in my wheel house.

T: Lots of crazy hop bitterness on tongue. Just really attacking it. Tons of pine and grapefruit. Hop bomb. Low malt bill. I like the lower ABV for a DIPA. Not as sweet with the lower malt too.

M: Medium bodied. Lighter than most DIPAs.

Serving type: growler

10-01-2012 18:24:49 | More by inlimbo77

brystmar

New York

4.25/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Mac & Justin for sharing!

This bright, straw-colored body is lighter in color than I remember from other HF DIPAs. Delicate lace and head form atop the liquid which, again, departs from the thicker, often aggressively stubborn foam shown by their other offerings.

Taste and aroma are similar. Initial dose of lemon zest has spring in its step, yet this succumbs to the hoppy base midway through the drink. Fresh hops take over, imparting a bitter quality that isn't overbearing or imbalanced, yet doesn't quite capture the magic of their previous DIPAs. More hop resin at the end for a unique finish.

A crisp, clean, tasty brew that's sure to please many, but I'm still an Abner man.

Serving type: growler

10-01-2012 18:29:00 | More by brystmar

thebigredone

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Jon for hooking me up with this.

Poured from a growler to a New Belgium snifter. Small white head, extremely hazy golden color. Basically opaque, cannot see through this beer at all.

The smell is where this beer shines. Grapfruity, citrus, pine, I love the nose on this. Best smell ever.

Taste follows the grapefruity smell. Bitter grapefruit, a msall amount of malt, a bit of pine and cirus on the finish. Mouthfeel is great.

Overall, this is an excellent DIPA. I am extremely happy I got to try it!

Serving type: growler

11-11-2012 00:03:28 | More by thebigredone

s1ckboy

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Hazy orange/yellow body, fluffy white head.

S - Citrus & pineapple. Juicy.

T - Pineapple, lemon, orange, a bit piney. Dry finish.

M - Medium body, mid to low carb.

Good stuff. One of the better IPA's I've had from Hill Farmstead. Bonus characters!

Serving type: growler

11-16-2012 00:18:46 | More by s1ckboy

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tasted from a growler 24 hours after the 2012 Hill Farmstead Harvestfest.

Society and Solitude #5 pours a hazy straw yellow with a medium sized, creamy head on top. The foam is slow to dissolve leaving behind a coating of lace on the glass.

The aroma is loaded with pine, grapefruit and lemon citrus. A touch of bready pale malt is also present.

Each sip of this medium to full bodied beer is oily on the palate with a good firm carbonation. The flavor has lots of lemon and grapefruit citrus as well as some pine. There's some bubblegum sweetness and a touch of bready pale malt found in the background. The beer finishes dry and bitter and slightly tart. Once gone the lemon citrus lingers on the palate.

This is a very tasty beer that's loaded with hop flavor, but the aroma fades quickly.

Serving type: growler

09-30-2012 23:50:55 | More by WanderingFool

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.35/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a cloudy golden orange color with good carbonation leaving a small fluffy white cap which resedes after a few sips revealing layers of white rings clinging to the edge of the glass.

S: Healthy doses of pine needles, grapefruit and some orange peel. Very appealing and pleasant

T: An immediate grapefruit, pine resin meet the palate with a moderate dry hop bitterness. The malt bill is very light on this really leaving the hops to work overtime. Light booze, bigger pine and citrus notes keep the taste buds salivating. The finish is clean, a little sweetness, bitter and it has a drying but resiny duo thing going on.

M: Medium bodied, almost light to medium, well carbonated. Very airy, pleasant.

O: Again, so nice, wanted a bit more body. Again, this beer is just so damn clean and tasty that i did not even care. Very well crafted beer.

Serving type: growler

12-01-2012 21:03:29 | More by barleywinefiend

billab914

Virginia

4.35/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a growler into a stone snifter. It poured a hazy light golden color with a thick foamy white head. Great lacing as I drank it.

The aroma shows some Juicy peach and tropical fruit flavors. A little grapefruit rind bitterness mixing in along with some light notes of grapes. A little of the pale malts peek through. Very nice hoppy aroma overall.

The taste shows a little more of the grapefruit rind and crisp grape notes to it at first. Peach and tropic fruit lead into a dry finish. Really great juicy and bright hoppiness to it.

The mouthfeel is on the lighter side with moderate carbonation. Very good beer overall, loved the juicy bright hoppiness. Very drinkable and flavorful.

Serving type: growler

12-09-2012 13:25:46 | More by billab914

Sean9689

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Parker Pie and HF Harvest Fest 2012 into HF wine glass and pint glass (at Parker Pie).

Pours a mirky golden yellow color, white head, thin collar, spotty lace. Aroma is hop-forward without being over-the-hop, light fruity sweetness, some resin in there too. Flavor is grapefruit, pine, and citrus. Hoppy yet smooth...not a palate-wrecker...very well-done. Light toward medium body, good carbonation, oily hoppy finish.

Easier to drink then S&S #4 and I think I enjoyed this one a bit more as well. Very easy to drink for 7.8% and the perfect balance of hops to not kill me after one or two glasses. Great stuff!

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2012 19:49:58 | More by Sean9689

jaasen64

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml growler filled at Hill Farmstead earlier today. Poured into HF stemmed glass.

A- Pours a hazy slightly orange yellow with about a finger's worth of foamy head that recedes fairly fast and leaves some foamy layered lacing. Decent carbonation.

S- Grapefruit (when they said think Grapefruit they weren't kidding), orange peel, light lemon zest. Nicely balanced, nice aroma strength, and definitely pleasant.

T- Grapefruit, orange peel, light lemon zest. Nicely balanced fruity taste that lingers and finishes without much bitterness.

M- Medium bodied, nice carbonation, very smooth, abv pretty much non existent. Pretty much perfect feel for an IPA.

O- This was a very nice IPA that easily stands up to the SS4 that preceded this. Nice grapefruit presence with a light zest and pretty much nonexistent bitterness. I think this came out pretty much exactly how they wanted it to come out. My only major complaint is that it should be made year round.

Serving type: growler

10-29-2012 02:00:32 | More by jaasen64

Brad007

Vermont

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Picked this up at the Hill Farmstead Autumn Harvest Festival in a 750ml bottle. I honestly had not sampled the previous four in this series so I was not sure what to expect.

Pours a cloudy orange-blonde with a two-finger head that fades to lacing in my glass. I was not expecting the cloudiness but perhaps it's there for a reason?

Spicy with a touch of pine and citrus in the nose. It tingles my olfactory gland, mellowing me out.

Wow. It starts with a touch of pine that morphs into a tsunami of acidic grapefruit with a sweet, biscuity backbone. Something about this just feels so right.

It's all in the mouthfeel. The hops fade and lead to a buttery, doughy, lupulin-soaked aftertaste. Wow.

Sure, scoff at the repetitive use of "wow". I am very happy with this selection.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 01:48:13 | More by Brad007

Gushue3

Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into Jack's Abby pint

A Pours a hazy light orange color with a pretty large white head. Lots of sticky lacing left all the way down the glass and lots of lively carbonation. Typical Hill Farmstead looking beer...

S Citrus bomb. Grapefruit, tangerine, orange and a light malt hiding out in the back.

T Follows the nose perfectly. Medium to lighter bitterness with lots of sweet grapefruit and tangerine. Sweetens up in the middle and rides out to a juicy finish. I'm always looking for the bitterness in IPAs and DIPAs but the citrus in this is crazy. and does NOT drink almost 8%.

M Medium feel with a medium amount of carbonation on the tongue. The finish is somewhere between dry and sticky.

O This beer was pretty unreal. It tastes like goddamn fruit juice with a small bitterness. These S&S's dont deviate from the awesome line. Thanks HF guys for having another top notch fest and making ridiculous beers.

Serving type: growler

09-25-2012 00:00:54 | More by Gushue3

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First had: on tap at Hill Farmstead

And I got it just as it was starting to kick too, fortunately. Cloudy peach-yellow pour with a medium-sized white head that settled to a wispy layer of bubbles leaving some spotty lacing on the glass. Lots of fresh citrus in the nose, some notes of pine and tropical fruit. The taste reflects the nose in a tremendous way, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, pine resin, grass, light biscuity malts in the background. Mouthfeel is crisp and juicy, light-medium body fairly bitter in the finish, slightly higher ABV essentially unnoticeable. Great beer overall...just another in a long line of great IPAs/APAs from HF.

Serving type: on-tap

10-13-2012 19:37:59 | More by Rifugium

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Moll for grabbing the growler for me. Served in Hill Farmstead stemware. Nose has loads of grapefruit and accompanying peel. Very dry. Fairly bitter, but not super over the top. Pretty light body. Another huge winner from Hill Farmstead. I am not surprised.

Serving type: growler

12-16-2012 19:55:47 | More by Thorpe429

HopHead84

California

4.45/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

10/13/2012

Growler from Barry, thanks! Snifter.

A: Very hazy yellow orange with a frothy white head. Scattered lacing.

S: Spicy grapefruit with notes of mango, tangerine, and orange. Exceptional fruit profile. Perfumy floral notes with no malt influence. There's a little lemon in there.

T: Very dry with notes of lemon and grapefruit. Lots of rind as well as flesh. Upper moderate bitterness with no real sweetness to shelter the palate from the hop onslaught. Dry, bitter, juicy, well attenuated finish. No evident booze.

M: Lower medium body with upper medium carbonation. Sticky and dry mouthfeel.

Overall: A great addition to the Society & Solitude series. Very nice.

Serving type: growler

10-14-2012 04:43:59 | More by HopHead84

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Sampled on draft a few times during the Harvest Festival weekend, and a few glasses from a growler watching football on Sunday.

Pours a pale, hazed golden amber with a dense, soapy white head that fades fairly quickly to a thin collar and some clumpy lacing. Aroma and flavor are like biting into a fresh grapefruit with a surprising lack of bitterness in the finish. Aroma is ruby red grapefruit, citrus rind and skin, not particularly sweet, artificial or juicy. Flavor has a little more sugary sweetness, but continues with fresh grapefruit notes. Pulpy in the finish with long lasting lingering acidity and no bitterness. Dry, crisp and balanced, body is exceptional for this series. I realize describing this as a grapefruit IPA makes this sound like 1 of N other beers, but this was remarkably unique and exceptional.

Serving type: on-tap

09-23-2012 19:34:24 | More by yourefragile

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from tap at the 2012 Harvest Festival - twice. Pours a beautiful hazy straw color with nice head. Aromas are just amazing. Big citrus/grapefruit hops! Taste is deff full of the grapefruit, but sweet hops and malts really balance the bitterness. Its just so drinkable and bursting with flavors. One of the best Double IPA's out there. Have this brew if you can get your hands on it!

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2012 19:11:58 | More by DrinkSlurm

nrs207

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Light golden yellow with a finger of a white head. Leaves decent lacing. Nice and hazy.

S - Grapefruit bomb. Sweet and bitter grapefruit pours out of this beer. There's really not too much else to note. If you like grapefruit forward IPAs, this is 100% for you.

T - Follows the nose quite well. Starts out with a nice sweet, juicy grapefruit flavor. Finish is dry and bitter grapefruit.

M - Really smooth, no alcohol. Medium bodied. The bitterness really builds as you drink it.

O - Another fantastic brew from Shaun. Big surprise, right? Not my favorite IPA, but for what they were going for, it's really excellent.

Serving type: growler

09-27-2012 00:04:09 | More by nrs207

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer is hazy golden yellow with a white head. Citrus and hops, grapefruit, orange, rind. Smells fabulous. Smooth and delicious. Lingering hops with a delectable bitterness. Little malt profile. Medium bodied with appropriate carbonation. Another winner from Shaun and the folks at Hill Farmstead.

Serving type: growler

09-28-2012 20:20:18 | More by Huhzubendah

dubinsky

California

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Special thanks for Nick (ilovevermont) for the hook up with this beer. Chilled 750ml growler poured into a C&B snifter/tulip.

A - Pours a super hazy and is clearly unfiltered. Reminds me of a Wit beer the way it pours. The pour yielded a frothy, white head that quickly dissipated leaving behind some nice lace.

S - Holy Citrus Batman. Huge grapefruit and orange aromas. Pineapple and pale malt lend a biscuity sweetness to even out the aroma profile

T - Another awesome tasting beer from HF. Damn these guys! Huge citrus flavors dominated by grapefruit and some tart orange juice. I’m having a hard time picking out any other flavors given how citrusy this beer is. There are slight hints of sweetness in the middle, but it finishes off as tart as it starts.

M - Although this was bottled probably a week ago, it arrived super fresh and very well carbonated. I would almost say it was mildly over carbonated for the style. The mouth feel was fairly thick and slick, almost creamy. The mouth feel of this beer is a complete opposite to what i was expecting at such a low ABV beer. Starts and finishes dry.

O - Damn, these guys at HF sure know how to brew beer. I'm used to all the usual Northern California offerings and am blown away by the beers i have tasted from this brewery. I found this to be the most drinkable, almost sessioanable IPA i have ever had. I prefer their more potent Abner but would easily say this is the second best IPA i have had from them.

Serving type: growler

11-13-2012 04:16:56 | More by dubinsky

lovindahops

New York

4.53/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Decided to crack open a 2 liter growler of society of solitude 5 that I picked from hill farmstead at the 2012 harvest fest. I really enjoyed trying this brew at the festival so my mouth is watering to tap into this growler

A- society and solitude pours a hazy tangerine orange body with a soapy white head of foam that laces the edges with marshmallow webbing. Very exuberant and glowing in my hill farmstead stemware.

S- Ridiculous grapefruit blast that embodies the description of tropical oasis. Sweet and citric catapult of literal grapefruit bombs blasting the scent profile. S&S5 pushes your nostrils off a tropical island of a citric oasis

T- A sweet and sour compilation of the aforementioned tropical flavor. A bitter mouth cringing grapefruit flavor attaches itself to the palate while a sugary spectacle of flavor lingers on. There is a caramel flavor that is at the exit with flavor that suggests some piney resinous flavor contributing and therefore balancing the hoppy grapefruit too

M- carbonated and prickly deliciousness that flows all over the palate

O- The best way to summarize society and solitude 5 is to summarize it as a tropical grapefruit neutron bomb. Very enlightening and tropical brew that explodes and graffitees your palate with bitter sweet flavor. Again, here is Shaun Hill demonstrating that DIPA's can embody many different properties. Way to go Hill Farmstead!

Serving type: growler

09-30-2012 00:09:52 | More by lovindahops

SpeedwayJim

New York

4.53/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Tyler for this one. 22oz growler into a snifter.

Pours a 1 finger frothy white head that dissipates slowly. Beer is a pale, cloudy lemon. Lacing is thick, layered, and patchy. Pretty beer.

Nose is aromatic as hell. Citrus, pine, mango, papaya and other tropical fruits. Real sweet, fruity and super appetizing. Real pulpy and grassy too.

Opens with a big citrus punch. Grapefruit, papaya and passion fruit along with a strong cane sugar backbone. Fruity hop bitterness comes in towards the middle to tie things together and balance the sweetness. Finishes with more mango, papaya, and other tropical fruit flavors. Aftertaste is pleasantly citrus. Very nearly perfect.

Light bodied and well carbonated. Light and prickly in the mouth and on the tongue and aggressive and quenching going down. Finishes messy with a long, lingering aftertaste. Can't get enough of this one!

Another very nearly perfect pale ale from Hill Farmstead. I'm convinced they churn out the best variety of consistently amazing ipas of any brewery around.

Serving type: growler

11-24-2012 03:08:20 | More by SpeedwayJim

mdfb79

New York

4.58/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

From 10/02/12 notes. Had this on tap at Rattle n Hum in NYC. 10 oz. pour, had two glasses of it.

a - Pours a murky, orange-golden color with one and a half fingers of fluffy bright white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of oranges, citrus, grapefruit, pine hops, tropical fruits, lemon, fruity malts, floral hops. Ton of fresh hops and fruit; really an amazing nose for a hoppy beer. Perfect for me.

t - Tastes of oranges, citrus, lemon, grapefruit, tropical fruits, bready malts, pine hops, some earthy notes, and floral hops. Again, really amazing, though I think the nose had a little more to it. Still an amazing taste.

m - Medium body and low to moderate carbonation. Body is super smooth and insanely easy to drink. Not much bitterness at all for a DIPA. Near perfect mouthfeel for a DIPA for me.

o - Overall a really amazing DIPA. I also drank a Heady Topper and Ephraim tonight, and this is right up there with them as some of the best hoppy beers I've ever had. I think I like it a little bit better than S&S #4 as I find this less bitter and more drinkable. Perfect nose and mouthfeel to me, would love to have this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

10-03-2012 21:35:11 | More by mdfb79