Brewed By: Stillwater Artisanal at DOG Brewing Co. in Federal Hill, Maryland
Purchased: 11.2oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Saison/Farmhouse Ale (in Wine Barrels), 7.2%
Stillwater Artisanal Ales are a Gypsy Brewery based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 2009-ish, the beer is brewed by Brian Strumke. You can find the brewery's blog/website HERE.
Tonight's beer, the barrel-aged version of the Stateside Saison, is aged in empty Chardonnay barrels for 9 months, and then re-fermented with multiple strains of Brettanomyces. I've heard this beer is a gusher, so proceed with caution!
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| Stateside Saison (Ale Aged in Oak Chardonnay Barrels) |
The aroma is sex, with a Mimosa like thing going on, as the champagne-y, oak, and grape chardonnay notes meld with the funky, farmhouse, and citrus notes from the Saison. I'm getting grapes, pears, stone fruits, musty basement, barnyard funk, oak, wood, orange juice, and some more Brett. Really juicy, bright, and nice funk meets wine.
Juicy at first, with tons of citrus, pear, grapes, apples, and sweet citrus. It's almost like drinking orange juice. It's very sweet, but then you get a blast of basement funk, like blowing off an old book. There's a bit of mildew, and barnyard Brett funk. A touch of hops come forward, and the back end dries out, with lingering wood and light oak tannins complementing the acidic and dry Brett finish. The chardonnay is VERY evident in this beer, especially as you drink into it. I'm pulling out pretty prominent wine notes, with grapes, gooseberry, lemon zest, pineapple, sweet tropical fruits, and a dash of citrus. There's slight oak and wood in this beer, but it's not overly tannic.
At 7.2% ABV, you get a dash of booze in the back, with some warming and alcohol heat. However, this is ridiculously drinkable, even at 7.2% ABV. The price I paid is fine and dandy, at around 6 or 7 bucks a bottle. I wish I had more (I say all the time.../sigh). The mouthfeel is light-full to medium-light, with lively, high carbonation. Palate depth is good, and complexity is moderate...all things considered, this is (1) aged in wine barrels, (2) re-fermented with a bunch of Brett. In this beer's defense, I'm drinking it fairly fresh. I'm curious how this will taste in say...5 years. Up front is some funk, citrus, and fruits; mid palate is where the wine shines, with a dash of oak; the back end is oak, dry, Brett. Good stuff.
Rating: Above-Average
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this, and I think this will get better with time. I have two more bottles, and I'll probably throw them into the cellar and forget about them. Right now, the Brett isn't very funky, and the beer is very sweet. I'm wondering if some of the sweetness will drop off with time, and if more funk will come out. The Chardonnay notes are very strong in this, so I think they will hold up with time. The oak/wood will probably drop out. It almost seems like a shame to pair 11.2oz of this stuff with food. This is a beer you want to enjoy, all things considered. Having said that, I would pair this with a cheese and meat tray, or some sort of finger foods. This is one of those beers you want to enjoy....don't fuck it up with a bunch of food.
Random Thought: It's windy out, and the temps are in the 40s. I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the nice, warm weather. I have my window open, and I will probably sleep like a baby. The nice thing about Spring is the warm weather...the bad thing is I still have a handful of Winter-y beers I need to wrap up. I'll probably knock a few out this week....
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