Bearded Farmer: “Hughey” Saison - Westbrook Brewing Co.

listenatjoes

Pennsylvania

4.95/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Notes from the bottle: "Hughey is the first installment in our Bearded Farmer series of Saisons. In keeping with the farmhouse brewing tradition, the idea here is to brew each successive beer a little (or a lot) different than the ones before it. Hughey is brewed with a blend of rustic grains including oats, rye and spelt, then fermented with a combination of Belgian and French yeast strains, including three types of Brettanomyces."

Bottle date: Oct 4 2012, purchased at Total Wine Greenville last week in Dec, cellared since and consumed on March 22 2013.

Huge creamy white head, awesome lacing, dusky unfiltered straw ale color.
Getting great yeast complexities on the nose as well as malt & funk.

Taste is just outstanding. Saison is my favorite style and this is superb; complex and yet very sessionable, approachable and goes with just about any savory dish. Great balance between the brett and sacc, slightly spicy, fresh and lively mouthfeel.

Westbrook has just been hitting them out of the park and this is no exception. Would like to see them increase aromatic/finishing hops on their next version.
My new favorite saison. Too bad it may never be made again!

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 03:33:26 | More by listenatjoes

AlexFields

Tennessee

3.9/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a light, hazy wheaty yellow/orange, with a large frothy off white head.

Smell is of banana, some other fruit I can't quite identify, spices, a little dry brett maybe but not much. Smell is nice but not super strong.

Taste is pear, apple, a little banana, ends with underripe strawberry. Very fruit forward! Some light floral and spice notes, maybe a little dry brett on the aftertaste but again, really not brett forward. This is really tasty.

Mouthfeel is great, super carbonated and bubbly, not too syrupy or thick but enough of a body.

Very good saison, subtle and big on fruit, not what I expected but great!

8.0/10

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 02:57:15 | More by AlexFields

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.89/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from bottle into a Westbrook snifter (proper!). Poured a hazy golden yellow-orange with a three finger pure white fluffy head that subsided to one finger very slowly. Maintained nice lacing through. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, fruit, spice, funk, earth, and barnyard. The flavor was of sweet malt, fruit, big funk, spice, earth, and horseblanket. It had a light feel on the palate with high carbonation. Overall this was a fairly good brew. I found it really quite interesting what was going on in this one. The aroma definitely had a big gaminess going on that was quite intriguing for the style with the fruit character mixed in. On the flavor it was dominated by funk without a doubt. If you love massively funky brews AND Saisons, this is your brew without a doubt.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 00:00:29 | More by thagr81us

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

4.31/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Presentation: 750 mL bottle chilled and poured into my Portsmouth Brewery tulip glass. Big thanks to mikeincharleston for this beer. Bottled on date of October 4, 2012.

Appearance: Pours a ridiculous, fluffy, three finger white head with outstanding retention. Somewhere between pale yellow and light orange in color. Some cloudiness as well. Really spectacular lacing.

Aroma: Some green apple, lemon zest and some peppery yeast. A nice backbone of barnyard funk that is actually pretty nicely developed. Really balanced with a surprising fruitiness.

Taste: Peppery yeast tones and some spicy rye upfront gives way to some funk and brett tones. A dry finish. Really nice citrus and lemon tones bring a really refreshing quality. Completely drinkable and really complex. A touch of green apple as well. Really nice.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and juicy upfront with some strong carbonation. A slightly dry finish.

Overall, a really tasty and refreshing saison. The brett and funk flavors are nicely developed, but not overwhelming. Really nice balance between the pepper, spice in the rye, and the fruit tones from the yeast. Incredibly refreshing, would love to have this again.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 01:31:29 | More by Gosox8787

danedelman

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Got this bottle when in Charleston for business. Should have bought more.

A-straw pale yellow with huge fluffy white head that sticks around forever

S- pepper, lemon, spice hint of un sweet banana

T- spiciness, pepper, lemon with a perfect driness. Wow this is perfect saison!!
Brett is doing a great job drying this out but isn't funky yet as it is only 2 months old. Would love to cellar another.

M-light to medium body with a ton of carbonation.

O- wow!! Perfect!!

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 22:15:02 | More by danedelman

BlackBelt5112203

South Carolina

3.88/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 mL bottle poured into a wine glass at cellar temperature.

L – Deep gold with a 3.5-finger white bubbly head. Really nice retention but only some patchy lacing. Clear with tons and tons of bubbles.

S – Mostly lemon esters, spicy rye, and peppery yeast. Not really any funk from the Brett.

T – Sweet and sour lemon and orange esters progressing to spicy rye and peppery yeast. There’s maybe a hint of earthy hops at the finish. Still not much in the way of funky Brett – maybe a little bit at the finish along with a touch of lemon sourness that lingers.

F – Light-to-medium-bodied with lots of carbonation, a fresh and crisp mouthfeel, and a spicy, slightly sour, and very dry finish. Rye spice and lemon tartness linger for a bit.

O – This is a pretty good Saison. It’s definitely tasty and refreshing enough. I wish it had just a bit more lacing to go along with the head retention and some more funky Brettanomyces in the aroma and taste. This is a good beer; it just lacks the complexity that many Belgian Saisons possess.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 04:21:02 | More by BlackBelt5112203

jsanford

Georgia

4.1/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy gold with a soapy white head that settles to a solid cap, leaving behind lots of spotty lacing. Lovely aromas of citrusy hops, light malts, earthy Brett, lots of tropical notes of papaya, pineapple, and mango, and just a bit of plastic. Taste is similarly tropical, with more peach, mango, and papaya, a nicely balanced malt body, earthy Brettanomyces, and citrus hops. Quite drinkable, with a medium body, good carbonation, and pleasantly dry finish. Really nice Saison, I'm definitely looking forward to more in the series!

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 22:50:12 | More by jsanford

avalon07

South Carolina

3.98/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a growler to a pint glass. Had a yellow color and a hazy consistency. There was a small amount of foamy head that quickly dissipated. Average lacing.

S: A pretty good aroma of yeast, malt, and some citrus.

T: Tasted of Belgian yeast, a light amount of malt, and a hint of citrus in the finish. This is a solid, easy to like flavor. Not quite as heavy on the funk as most Belgian saisons, but tasty nonetheless.

M: A decent amount of carbonation with a sharp, lively finish. Medium-bodied.

O: On the whole, a solid, likeable, well done beer. Drinkable.

Serving type: growler

10-24-2012 22:33:14 | More by avalon07