Shiner FM 966 Farmhouse Ale

A few centuries ago, during the cold winter months, farmhands in Europe brewed a ‘seasonal provision’ Farmhouse Ale to be enjoyed once spring rolled around. In the farmlands of Shiner, TX that tradition lives on. Which is why our tribute to this style uses Golding, Sterling and Meridian hops for a sweet yet lightly spiced flavor. Our incredibly refreshing farmhouse ale bears the name of the farm to market road just to the south of where our brewery has proudly stood for over 100 years.

2.8

217 reviews

Shiner, United States

Community reviews

2.7 Pours orange gold. Smell is lightly funked malt and faint bandaid and alcohol. Taste is crisp dry malt. Like a farmhouse light. Drinkable but not my favorite.

3.3 12 ounce bottle. Well, it’s hot as Tejas here in PDX tonight. So I guess this suits. Pours a clear golden color with a medium white head. A light fruity and yeasty nose. The flavor is mild bread, lemons, some zest, a bit of yeast, this is like a saison-light and is pretty decent.

2.9 12oz bottle from Wegman’s, Buffalo, NY. Amber with a fast fading white head; herbal aroma; soft in the mouth with a vegatable taste and a sweet grainy body; and a dry herbal finish with a touch of spice. Not bad.

2.2 Not very good. Leaves a funky taste in the mouth but I guess it is drinkable depending on your choices.

3.0 Bottle to glass. Small head that dissipates quickly. Lacing was decent. Nose has some fruit and light grain to it. Pretty well carbonated. Easy to drink.

3.0 Sample at Ginger Man Dallas. Clear yellow-orange color with a medium white head that evaporates steadily to an outer ring. Short strings of lacing. Aroma of fruit, spice and grain. Light-bodied with flavors of bready malt, fruit and mild spice. The finish is fruity with a short malty aftertaste. Average overall.

3.5 Appearance: clear pale yellow with a short white head. Aroma: surprisingly fruity, with a general stone fruit note over some peppery yeast and light crackery grains. Taste: light saltine cracker, some honey, light yeast, juicy fruit gum. Finish: lingering fruity and crackery notes, with a hint of lingering yeast. Notes: I was totally surprised by how much this didn’t suck. Wasn’t super saison-y in the traditional sense, but it was light, crackery, fruity, and well-balanced, and very easy to drink. Probably rating higher than I should because it outperformed by expectations.

3.3 Surprised, this was actually a pretty nice saison. Elements of honey, meadow, some floral notes, and the yeast lilt. Soft and easy to drink. One of Shiner’s better brews.

2.5 Bottle at home. Aroma is dirt, mushroom, yeast. Taste is fruity, light yeast, light spice, bit of lemon. Easy drinking. By no ones standards should this be considered a saison. If you told me it was a kolsch or a golden ale i would believe it.

3.0 Pours light yellow with frothy white head. Biscuity scent with faint fruity notes of Belgian yeast. A good light beer but not a pot of straw or common horse blanket flavors associated with a farmhouse. Still a pretty decent light beer.

2.7 Pours aClear pale golden color with a small head. Aroma of yeast, earthy, bit of fruit sweetness and spice. Taste of fruit sweetness, bit of malt and spice in the background. Just a touch of bitterness and a fairly clean sweetness. Light body, smooth but doesn’t have that bit of farmhouse funk I expected. Not a bad beer just too sweet for me to really enjoy.

2.4 Nothing I’m proud of but it was all the gas station had, not bad through compared to bud light

2.8 12oz bottle pours with a crystal clear deep gold body with a copper core and supporting a loose weak off white head. The aroma offers up a bit of sugary sweetness and then green apple and red apple slices to go along with a touch of yeasty spices and hay. The taste starts with apple sweetness and then it picks up mild spices just as the body drops out of this leaving a watery sensation. There is also a bit of drying into the finish yet overall this seems too sweet to be refreshing.

1.8 I was very disappointed in this beer. It may be sold as an ale, but it looks and tastes like a light lager.

2.4 Overripe lemon nose, funky overtones, some cheese, some garbage disposal, a bit of coriander. Clear amber, thick head. Dry, malt forward but a bit stale. Lemon present. Light body, watery. Clean finish. I forget what I paid for it, but I hope it wasn’t much.

2.3 Tastes rather plain to me. Moderate amount of carbonation, and I’m not getting much off the aroma. I get a citrus taste but not much else.

2.7 Bottle. Smells lightly fruity. Pours translucent yellow with a little white head that fades down. Taste is a little fruity and it feels over carbonated, but it’s not unpleasant at all. I can dig it but I’m not a fan.

1.7 Bottle. Pours clear yellow with a small white head. There is a lot of bubbles in the glass. The aroma is cheap euro lager. The taste is absolutely an insult to the saison style. Do not get this.

2.7 Bottle. Pours clear bright orange, no head. The aroma is citrus, spice, tart yeast, and grain. The taste is light and sweet with a touch of spice. There's a light green apple note but, not much else going on. The palate is crisp with a good amount of carb. Nothing special here, wouldn't get it again.

3.2 Bottle from Whole Foods. Pours chill hazy gold with minimal head. Nose is bready pale malt, orange marmaladey fruit. Tastes somewhat sweet, with pale malt, orangy fruit, mild hops, mild funk, and a complex finish. Not bad.

3.0 Bottle. Aroma is some banana, spice, cloves, wheat notes. Some earthy character to this, some pear and other sweetness too. Otherwise this beer is a bit on the average side, not horrible, but just so-so.

2.6 Straight from bottle at happy hour. Smooth and light feeling. Easy drinking as with most Shiners. Just okay.

3.0 12oz bottle pours a slightly hazy golden color with a thin white head that leaves spotty lacing. Smells of dough and fresh cut grass. Tastes of pear, dough and fresh cut grass and light peppery finish. Mouthfeel is light and chewy with decent carbonation. Pretty bland for a saison. Not much flavor and really light.

3.7 Bottle. Slightly hazed gold with a medium, foamy white head. Aroma is fruity and citrusy with soft spice notes, grains, grass and malt notes. Taste is fruity and grassy with yeast, spice, flowers, grains, soft malt and light bready notes. Body is medium with a moderate, bubbly and lively carbonation. Ends with more spice and yeast, fresh fruit, light malt, toasted bread, soft grains and grass. Not bad!

3.1 Bottle from 16 Tons Taphouse, Eugene. Pours a slightly cloudy golden color, slight amount of lacing. Aroma doughy, yeasty, bready. Maybe some fruity esters, too. Body very lively, finish is slightly tart and very abrupt. It’s not awful, but it’s not top level, either.

2.5 Appearance: clear copper color, pours with a small white head that fades away pretty quickly Aroma: apricot, fruity, some light malt, Taste: coriander, citrus, light light bitterness on the finish, leaves mouth dry, very light mouthfeel Overall: this tastes nothing like a farmhouse ale, think more along the lines of fruit beer, very light body, a session beer

2.3 Bottle, screw-top. Nose is fruity, jammy with clove and pretzel (sour)dough, sweet with floral and orange citrus character. Generic spice. Pours a dark clear golden with orange highlights and little carb, soapy white head. Taste sweet and lightly bitter, stinging crispness despite not all that much carb, more of that pretzel note, spicy hops without any fruit or citrus. Light-medium body finishes relatively clean despite increasing grainy blandness. Amazing how this basically turned into BMC in the mouth, or even a malt liquor.

2.8 Pours a slightly hayish yellow with less than one finger of off white head. Aroma is a bit spicy, floral, and a slight malt hint. Taste is full of grain, not too complex a slight spicy finish but weak body and weak palate. Not an amazing beer, but refreshing.

2.3 Bottle. Pale and musty yellow with a big poofy white head. Drinks with what’s become the new American standard for quasi-representative sample of a European classic. But this is a bit too sudsy, a bit too American. (#5430, 2/6/2013)

3.0 Draft. A- Spices, apples, pears. A- Golden color, clear liquid, white head. T- Light spices, low bitterness, light fruits. P- Medium body, average texture, medium carbonation, boring finish. O- A good ale, but not as much complexity as I would hope for from a Farmhouse. Subtle fruit tones and not a lot of bitterness in this one.