Bison Farmhouse Ale
In the past era, hard working rural "Saisonniers" consumed 5 liters per day of this style beer. We re-created it for today’s modern worker using Belgian yeasts and sour mashing for a refreshing spiceness and acidity to enliven your palate. Bottle conditioning leaves some sediment, so decant by slowly pouring into a wide mouth glass. Refill this bottle at your favorite local brewery.
3.6
185 reviews
Berkeley, United States
Community reviews
Pours a bright golden orange with a one finger frothy white head. The nose is spicy, citrusy, very earthy yeasty character, mild grassy hop character. The flavor is citrusy, yeasty, could be a bit more pronounced, earthy, lemongrass, very flavorful, develops a mild spicy character. Crisp carbonated palate and finishes yeasty, orange peel, spicy. Very tasty.
Bright golden in colour, fairly clear with a thin white coloured head and some light patchy lacing. The aroma is floral, some perfume, herbs, yeast, some spice with a moderate sweetness. The flavour has lots of perfume, very herbal, strong and spicy, quite a bit of bread. Spicy mouthfeel, medium body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes floral and spicy.
This wasn’t all that great. Boring compared to all the other beers from the sour tasting.
650ml bottle obtained in a trade with TheCheeseMan, thanks Dan.
Opened on March 29, 2008
Vintage 2007.
Thanks Santa! Slightly hazy gold, white head. Nose is doughy malt, yeast, some hoppiness, a bit of lemony funk. Flavor is bready malt, a hint of lemon, yeast, lots of breadiness towards the end. Nice & dry but still somehow cloying - its very odd, there is fruit & bread but great dryness too.. Maybe some bubblegum/german hefe characteristics in the finish. Odd.
English pale ale aroma - slightly tannic, pale malt, yeasty, tart fruit. Excellent, excellent, painted label on a bomber. Golden, lighlty misted brew with a webby-beady slightly off-white head. Lemony, a little peppery, light to moderate sweetness, light astringency, some phenols or other chemicals in the flavor mix. Medium body, lemon zest in the finish. Good, different, it’s a style that’s sometimes technically good but unenjoyable, but this is decent.
This one noted "2006 Reserve" on the bottle. Light bronze appearance with decent mix of cream and foam head. Mild uric acid yeastiness wafts off the glass along with light dashes of pepper. Flavor is strongly sour and acidic, in fact, unpleasantly so. Wheat and yeastiness are overwhelmed. Soapy notes materialize on the finish. While this might be true to traditional style, it is not a Saison I would readily try again or recommend.
Pours a cloudy light orange with a lasting white head and lacing. Aroma is lightly sweet with dough, citrus, spices and some grass. Flavor is more of the same only in a larger scale. Finishes abruptly and tart. Medium bodied, sticky texture.
Golden in color with a moderate fluffy head. The aromas were herbaceous with a bunch of dill showing through. In the mouth it starts off fine but quickly fades leaving little flavor.
So far I’ve had every batch of this beauty. Still I believe it may be my favorite Bison product. My review is of the 2006: Pours a golden amber with slight head retention. Citrus, hops, farm waft to the nose. Flavor brings out grass notes combined with slight tart citrus hints, old hops, and a bit of spice. Lingering finish of grass and spice. Really like the delicate hop profile within this one as well. And funky 16.9 oz swingtops? Sold!
Straw gold pour with tight white head and lace. Aroma of Belgian yeast and corriander dominate. A sourish flavor that reminds me of bad apple juice. A hint of malt as well. Thin and watery and just a bit foamy. Poor example of the style to me but not undrinkable.
Bottle back from Greensboro. Poured a clear yellow color with some nice carbonation bubbles filtering up into the head. The carbonation came through in the flavor with a little bit of yeast and an unexpected but pleasant hop finish. Aroma was pretty interesting as well with some yeast, must, citrus, orange, and red fruit as well like plum and cherry. Very entertaining brew. One of the nicer saisons I have had.
50cl bottle from Willow Bend Liquors (Tampa, FL). rated on 4/16/08. Pours a cloudy golden color with one finger white head. Clearly visible pariculate matter floating in glass. Aroma is floral with notes of spice, yeast, bread, honey. Flavor is light and spicy with a yeasty-breadiness to it. Notes of banana and vanilla appear as it warms. Slightly bitter on finish. Light to medium-bodied.
16.9oz bottle-pours a retaining off white head and cloudy gold color. Aroma is herbal, spice, yeast. Taste is medium malt, herbal, spice, yeast, some/sour vinegar. Not sure what they were aiming for but… Thanks to decaturstevo for sharing.
Pours clear golden with huge white head. Slightly sweet and peppery with some banana flavors. Light/medium body with fizzy carbonation. It’s OK, buth there are much better saisons that are widely available.
From a flip-top bottle. 2007. Poured amber with fat and pillow white head. Nose of caramel malts with fruits Nice mouthfeel. Flavors are slightly sweet with floral hops, ripe fruit, and spices .Good slightly bitter finish. Very enjoyable.
Bottle purchased at Willow Bend Liquors (Lutz, FL) pours a cloudy golden yellow with a vibrant white head. Very pleasant aroma with notes of yeast, spices, and a hint of citrus. Delicious mix of sweet, acidic, and slightly bitter flavors. Very lively carbonation.
Thanks to David for bringing the bottle, 2006 vintage! Poured clear medium caramel with a tall, fluffy cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up dusty bready notes, some darker toffee sugars, and lighter fruits with an overall dark feel to it.. nicely presented. The flavor had caramel, toffee, and honey sweetness at the core surrounded by dusty bread yeastiness, lemon zest, and some honey.. spicy finish with some not-too-well-refined sweetness. Medium-bodied with high carbonation on the palate.. OK spicy feel with a tacky, dragging feel. OK beer overall, but missed expectations.
22 oz Bomber-2007 Brewer’s Reserve-Trade w/Snojerk321. Pours a cloudy yellow/orange color w/a slight white head. Kind of similar to the Organic Belgian w/a little more bite to it. Flavors of candied sugar. green apple, banana, bread dough, & floral Hops. Has a little bit of a bitter, gamey bite to it, almost a little bit of that sour funk going on. Long dry finish. Pretty good stuff, Thanks Torry!
Bottle of "2007 Brewer’s Reserve." Did anyone notice the irony of a silkscreened bottle boasting "organic" also warning of lead in the ink used to print it?? Anyhoo, the ale decants with the turbid, unlikely pale neon orange of mango flesh; healthy carbonation ensures a roiling froth of durable, lumpy suds. Combined peach, banana, and the "green" tang of noble hops introduce the aroma; wafts of tangerine, seashore, flowery spice, and scented baby powder ensue. Fruity-spicy hop flavor complements the dry, sweet/tart, and barely metallic flavor. An enchanting cilantro and mint herbailty surfaces intermittently. (The second decantation, with lees, introduces electric, citric acidity.) A burnt marshmallow quality that I almost dismissed in the nose revisits in the beer’s finish. Although dry and pillowy, enough maple-y "raw" sugar flavor remains to keep the palate as wet and thirst-slaiking as springwater. The mildly bitter aftertaste hints at ironilike astringency. Despite finding the fruity/funky yeast character a tad restrained, this is a charming and well-crafted rustic ale.
Bottle purchased in Hayden. Fair head on pale gold. Sour funky aroma with scents of cheese, soap and salt water. Smooth lightly foamy body. A tame funkiness. Reaches but doesn’t quite hit the high notes. Approachable. Soapy saltiness. Some pepper lightly mixed in and noticeable in the finish.
20070630 2006 Farmhouse Ale. Cloudy dark gold. medium head. Light fink, lightly malty, full body, nutty, quite nice.
Brandon, Fl. - Kingdom Liquors - 22 oz bomber. Murky orange pour, snow-white but very brief thin head. Fresh floral aroma, some buttery notes in there as well. Fresh, thirst quenching flavor, find some nectarines, white grapes, hint of butter with some faint coriander spicy notes on the back end. Nice smooth texture, goes down well. Tastes great after working in the yard on a hot, muggy spring day.
Flip-top bottle. Small, very bubbly, white head that mostly diminished, patchy lacing, carbonation observed, slightly cloudy, and a pale yellow-golden hue. Nose was spicy, yeasty,fruity, and some light pepper. Flavor was spicy, acidic, lightly bitter finish, and lightly peppery.Light-medium body. Quaffable and maybe okay for a session saison, but not one I am likely to want again.
Sampled last year. A very very nice brew with a solid base that has a thick head and deep tan/yellow hues. Pours nicely and goes down smooth. Well for the cost.
Small but fizzy white head. The Body is slightly hazy dark yellow. The aroma first hits you with clove with notes of sweet orange, pepper and a light yeastiness of cobweb and mustiness. Very nice. The flavor is moderately sweet and moderately acidic with a light bitterness on the back of the tongue. Long finish as the bitterness ebbs. Medium body with a smooth, but slightly watery texture. Lively carbonation. A delicious saison even though it’s a little sweet.
2006 swingtop bottle from Sam’s. Pours hazy golden with a nice white head that sticks. Nose is very doughy and bready, with some spices and yeast. Flavor is equally bready and spicy, but lacks in acidity to balance it out. A nice and sessionable saison, but perhaps not the best ager.
Bottle 07. Pours amber orange wiith a quickly diminishing head. Can smell and taste wild yeast and fruit. Finishes nice.
[1067-20080201] 1pt6floz (w/ blankboy, GregClow, jerc, mds). Light fish and ginger spice aroma. Clear, orange yellow body with a medium-lasting foamy white head and sunken floaty bits. Zippy pepper base flavour has a vegetable and straw ginger follow with a slightly bitter finish. Medium body is fizzy. Interesting.
Minimally hazy pale gold. Fair lacing in the white foam, but not the most endurant. Yummy! They did something good in here. There’s a vibrant acidity that accompanies the crisp pils malts. Minimally spicy (and it’s an American Saison!) despite the vague spicy hints from the fermentation. A bit hay-like. Not very complex nose, but fresh. I saw on the bottle that this won a gold medal at the GABF. They could have picked much worse. Really drinkable, medium-bubbled carbonation feels genuine. Citric, lemony. Delicious acidity. Gentle crunchy wheat influence. Dupontesque yeast, but like always, more residual sugars. Good, I’m very satisfied. I’ll make it a point to try other Bison brews when I go to California. Thirst-quenching, but lacking the jaw-dropping factor.
This flippy top bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a small sized head of foamy with a frothy top white colored bubbles that were mostly lasting and left behind a hazy with with yeast swirls yellow colored body and a good lacing. The funky aroma was malty and farmhouse. The crisp semi-thick mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish. The flavor contained notes of malt floral hops and mild citrus. A decent one that I would consider buying again.
Bottle (22oz) shared with jerc, mabel, GregClow & mds -- courtesy of mabel. 2007 vintage. Pours a clear golden-orange with an average size somewhat-lasting frothy white head. Aroma has a bit of "bottle" or staleness to it, light funky yeast, light spices and hops. Yeasty, bready flavour along with some fruit and spices. Mild astringency. Light bitter finish. Medium bodied. A good Saison, not great.