The Bruery's Award-winning Saison Rue: "I appreciate the gesture, but no thanks."

by Gab

I have been mildly obsessed with Farmhouse Ales lately, so much so that I can no longer bitch about the affair Kathleen had with pumpkin ales this past fall.  Saison Rue from The Bruery is an award-winning, highly-rated Farmhouse Ale (aka Saison) from Orange County, CA.

Absolutely gorgeous color, typical of bottle-conditioned fabulousness. It appeared perfect in every way. As for the taste, it was incredibly smooth with mild citrus and earthy notes mixed with subtle spices and maltiness. (Note that it was lacking the thick, soapy head my beloved E.S. Bam displayed.) Notice the keywords here are smooth, mild, and subtle. There was no SHAZAM that I have experienced with other beers in this class, and I felt let down. It was definitely an exceptionally good, drinkable, beer, though. I sound conflicted, don't I? This beer took home the International Gold in 2008, and Beer Advocate rates it at 91. Don't get me wrong, with an ABV of 8.5% I was happy as I muddled through my do-I-or-don't-I dilemma, but with an IBU of just 30 I forgot to taste the second half of it as I sipped away. I really wanted to like this beer, and I did like it, but I didn't want it. Does that make sense?

Let me give you a better example. Let's say for instance, that I was offered this:

Wow. While this would undoubtedly be a very nice gesture, and I would be flattered as HELL, Ryan Gosling just doesn't do it for me. I think he's very talented and a great actor, and I openly admit to hitting rewind/pause at least 5 times when he took his shirt off in Crazy Stupid Love, but at the end of the day I think he's still kind of eh. For me, Ryan has an IBU of 30. He is smooth, mild, and subtle.

I would actually much rather have this man,

stained shirt and all. 

With an IBU of 90+, The Chadman imparts enough SHAZAM to last 60 years. And for me, hops are the zest of life.

Cheers!

~G~

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales E.S. Bam Hoppy Farmhouse Ale (say that 5 times fast)

E.S. Bam Hoppy Farmhouse Ale 4.7% ABV 750 ml.

This fantastic seasonal beer, brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, is a real treat. Just look at that gorgeous color! And the head was so light and creamy, I was tempted to take a spoon to it. Nice and soapy with impressive staying power. I couldn't help but think of my lovely mother-in-law, Beverly, when I tasted this beer. She lives on 5 acres and has 2 horses. She could pour herself a pint of this baby, head down to the barn to muck out the stalls and fill the feed buckets and head back to the house to enjoy a few sips before the head disappeared! I think I might bring her a bottle and see if I'm right, blah ha ha!

Even though this is a hoppy ale, it is relatively mild and can be enjoyed by hop-haters and hop-whores alike. The flavor offers earthy hops, citrus notes, and some wild yeast funkiness. I really enjoyed this beer, it is a fantastic drinking ale, very easy (Gab Buzz Factor of 5) and agreeable to most palates. The price point is a little high for a 750ml bottle - around $11 at my local beer store, but well worth it, in my opinion.

Cheers!
~G~