Tag Archives: chardonnay barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Burning Sky Brewery, England, Farmhouse Saison

Burning Sky Saison Anniversaire 2020

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Brewery: Burning Sky Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Adjunct – Pink peppercorn, grains of paradise and caraway seeds

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brewed just once a year, Anniversaire is a celebration of everything we at Burning Sky love about saisons. Lightly spiced in the boil, this special edition beer was fermented and aged entirely in French Chardonnay barriques using our house saison and a blend of wild yeast strains.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.1
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 21st September 2020, and with a best before date of 21st September 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice slightly hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention while leaving lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, vinous, grape, white wine, lemon zest, straw, with light floral notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, floral, lemon zest, white wine vinous, woody, lightly floral, and a slightly spicy peppery finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good balance of sour, funk and citrus fruit. The Chardonnay barrel was a little light overall, and I think if it was stronger, it would have been very interesting. Still a very easy drinking beer, that was especially good on a hot summer, but rainy day.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit, Trillium Brewing Company, USA

Trillium Double Apricot Stonington

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Brewery: Trillium Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: New England Wild Saison with apricot aged in oak barrels. Hops – US Goldings. Malts – Valley Pilsner, Valley Danko Rye and Valley Wheat. Adjuncts – Apricots

Brewer Description: (from website) The base beer for Double Apricot Stonington was brewed with 100% Valley Malt and fermented by our native New England mixed culture which was collected from grape skins at Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, CT where JC & Esther Tetreault were married. This New England Saison is aged in French oak Chardonnay casks for sixteen months to layer in a bright vinous character before being blended back into stainless to carry out a secondary fermentation on 4.5 pounds of apricots per gallon for three months.

Out of the bottle, Double Apricot Stonington pours a hazy orange color, immediately announcing itself by swirling a bevy of stone fruit aromatics with undertones of bright white wine, lightly toasted oak and a mild funk. The amplified quantity of fruit used intensifies flavors of apricot nectar, yellow peach, overripe pineapple and tart, freshly squeezed orange that meld together and crash over the palate in bold waves. Balanced by a light biscuity malt backbone, Double Apricot Stonington is splendidly sour with a crisp, semisweet finish accentuated by an elegant floral note and bellini-like effervescence.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 1st November 2018. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange juice orange colour, with a very thin off white head that disappeared almost immediately, and left no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, intense apricot, with notes of peach and oak.
Taste: Sharp, intense sour, tart, apricot, with a hint of oak and white wine.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: While the flavour wasn’t bad, it could not hide the balance which was off, as the sourness was just too sharp and intense that it distracts from, and hides the other flavours. It also felt rather uncomfortable at times, and just wasn’t easy to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Cascade Brewing, USA, Wild Ale

Cascade Figaro

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Brewery: Cascade Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 9.1%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Northwest sour ale. Ale aged in oak barrels with white figs and lemon peel. 2014 project

Brewer Description: (from bottle) House of Sour. Figaro is a blend of blend of sour Blond ales aged for up to 18 months in Chardonnay oak barrels with white figs and lemon peel.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2014 project. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden copper colour with a two finger off white head that dissipated quickly, but settled to a thin replenishing cap, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Moderately tart, fig, raisin, apple peel, vinous, white wine, with citrus zest notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, plum, grapes, vinous, white wine, fig, oak, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The flavour of figs were a bit week, and overwhelmed by the dark fruits and especially the lemon. But it was still quite enjoyable, and a surprise at 9.1% abv, since it doesn’t seem anywhere close to being that high.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, USA, Wild Ale

Black Project Gnomon

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: Unsure as not on bottle (5% on BA and UT, 6.2% on RB)
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Spontaneous Raw Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Gnomon is a blend of two sister beers, the first is similar to one of our traditional Lambic-inspired recipes, but we replaced the unmalted wheat with malted purple barley from our friends at Troubadour Maltings who acquired a special type of ancient, husk-less barley that has a deep purple color. We also didn’t boil the wort, making it a Raw Ale. It was inoculated via coolship and then fermented and aged the beer in Chardonnay barrels. The second part is also a spontaneous Raw Ale made with 100% malted purple barley. The beer was then fermented and aged in neutral oak barrels. The beers were blended and given a light dry hop prior to being bottled. The end result exhibits a unique, hearty grain character, which is backed by restrained bitterness and a moderate citrusy acidity.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 500ml corked and capped bottled, bottled on 12th February 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sour, fruity, underripe mango, peach, wood, with hints of nail polish.
Taste: Light sour, fruity, apricot, oak, funk, and grapes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: The light fruitiness was more tropical than expected and was enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, Wild Ale, Young Master Brewery

Young Master The Grand Master

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 7.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 5 IBUs. Bottle 74 of 204. Chardonnay BA Méthode Traditionnelle

Brewer Description: (from website) A blend of foeder and chardonnay barrel aged sours different vintages grand master is a delightfully complex yet very drinkable sour. Initial lemony brightness with hints orange blossom gives way to fuller texture from ageing coconut vanilla notes coating the palate. Its balanced acidity gradually becomes more apparent light acetic bite adding complexity. Its vinuous throughout has satisfying medium dry finish. Happy 40th birthday, Grand Master (Rohit)!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with no clear bottled on or best before date. Bottle 74 of 204. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lemon, peach, tart, coconut, vanilla, oak, white wine.
Taste: Sweet, Chardonnay, white wine, oak, vanilla, coconut, light tartness, lemon, lime, vinous, grape, with an oaky vanilla finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy to drink. Very Chardonnay like, quite creamy, lots of oak and vanilla, and vinous. If that’s your thing, you’d enjoy this.