Stillwater Premium
a ’Post Prohibition’ style ale brewed with Pilsner malt, corn, and rice.. hopped at 2lbs per BBL with Cluster, Northern Brewer, and Saaz.. and oh, yeah.. fermented with a farmhouse yeast and 3 strains of Brettanomyces (from our friend Chad at Crooked Stave) to weigh in at 4.5% ABV.. ’Always’ ;7
3.6
222 reviews
Rochester, United States
Community reviews
Pours a slightly hazy light gold with a foamy white head and lacing. It has an aroma of straw, horse blanket, and some floral notes. The flavor is light malt quickly followed by tartness and bitterness and a medium sour finish over a light-medium body.
Golden coloured and unclear. Has a white head, lasting. Aroma has notes of acid, red fruit, sulfur. Flaovr starts sweet, them light acid, finish bitter.
Bottle @ Kristrup tasting. Gusher that pours hazy yellow with a creamy white head.
Aroma of is light, light malt, yeast, fresh citrusly hops, grass.
Flavor is light bitter, malt, yeast, little sourness, grass, citrus.
Medium body, lively carbonation, light bitter finish. 310115
Bottle. Pale yellow colour with small creamy white mostly lasting head. Yeasty and sour aroma. Fruity flavor.
Best way to describe it is a champagne sort of ale beer. I got a bottle in Chicago at bar $27 what not recommend it for the price.
Bottle - big pillowy head, cloudy medium straw color, nice light malt (almost like wheat) aroma and flavor, just enough sourness from the Brett to make it super refreshing, very good overall
I sure am glad I bought this, its just the sort of light funky beer I’m into these days. Very pale yellow hazy color, large foamy rocky meringue of a head. Very effervescent. Nose is funky bretty, soured cream, blue cheese, damp straw. Dry herbal, bready, light cheesy funk, no acidity, maybe a hint of hop but not really more than a lingering bitterness at the dry finish. Fizzy almost carbonic mouthfeel. I have no idea what they mean by post-prohibition style ale. I wouldn’t call this a speciality grain either, as its no more speciality than any lager that uses corn and rice, neither of which do anything here other than lighten the body. Having said that I’d have no idea what to call it in any case, not that it is important anyway, just rambling on at this point.
Draught at City Beer in San Fransisco.
Huge, white moussy head. Clowdy yellow color. Small lactobacillus aroma with a bit of stable. Fruity (pear and apricot) taste with a small acid to freshen up the beer. Plesent dry with a small fine bitterness.
Bomber into footed glass. Hazy lemonade yellow. Strong bright white head that settles quickly. Nose of tropical fruit (papya?) and some barnyard funk. Fairly carbonated in the mouth. In the mouth, tart but fruity up front -- reminds me of biting into fruit without the sugar, Funk comes through in the mid, and I’m almost getting a smokey hint like a rauchbier? Weird. Finishes very dry, almost acerbic, like pitting into the pith of a lemon or grapefruit. Suggestion of pepper too. Unique, with lots of unusual flavors for a beer. I’d be interested to see what it does with food, maybe sushi?
On draft at Caps & Taps. It pours a very pale yellow color with a white head. The aroma is nice and bright with lemon and grapefruit citrus, mild wheat and peppery spice. The flavor is minerally and herbal with some pepper and a little soap. Citrus grapefruit bitterness with more dank herbs in the finish. Tasty, but a little too aggressive for me.
On tap at Barrels & Bottles. Yellow, light hazy appearance with a white head. Aroma and flavor of brett, earthy notes, funky yeast and pilsner malts. Light to medium body, crisp and refreshing with a pleasant, dry finish. Nice brew.
Bottle.
Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly lasting.
Body is hazy light to medium yellow.
Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain, corn starch), lightly to moderately hoppy (herbs), with notes of lemon juice/zest, sour apple skin, light note of band-aid.
Flavor is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter.
Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter.
Light to medium body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation.
An interesting beer, although I can’t help but wonder why this wasn’t all-malt instead. It’s quite attenuated, almost overly so...the finish is so dry as to almost be unpleasant, but as I always say, it’s certainly better than being too sweet. Could make a very nice saison without the adjuncts, and just a teeny tiny bit more residual sweetness. Saisons should be thirst-quenching, not make you parched and *more* thirsty.
22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours moderately hazy golden straw color with a 2 finger dense and rocky white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of tart lemon zest, pear, apple, cracker, bread, hay, straw, grass, herbal, clove, black pepper, musty funk, and herbal/yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/funky yeast, pale malt, and earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of lightly tart lemon, pear, apple, cracker, bread, clove, black pepper, hay, straw, grass, herbal, musty funk, and herbal/yeast earthiness. Light earthy tartness and moderate yeast/hop spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of lightly tart lemon zest, pear, apple, cracker, bread, clove, black pepper, hay, straw, grass, herbal, musty funk, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity and balance of fruity/funky yeast, pale malt, and earthy hop flavors; with a great crisp malt/yeast/hop balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium bodied; with a very smooth, crisp, and lightly prickly mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with zero warming present after the finish as expected of 4.5%. Overall this is a very nice saison style. All around good complexity and balance of fruity/funky yeast, pale malt, and earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
650 ml bottle. Pours a hazy pale yellow with a huge, long lasting, white head that laces nicely. Aroma is very yeasty with some citrus. Sweet flavour with citrus, malt, grain , grass, yeast and a very dry, bitter finish. Medium body with oily texture and soft carbonation.
[Bottle] Hazy golden colored pour with a long-lasting head on top. Aromas of Brett yeast, grass and a mild musty character. Lemon and orange zest, citrus hops, hay, peach, light funk, and a ton of yeast in the taste. Almost too much Brett in here for my tastes. Dry and surprisingly bitter finish. Very active carbonation. Pretty good overall though.
650ml bottle. Pours out a pale gold with crisp white foam. Wild aroma with lemon, yoghurt and cheese taking over. Taste starts out with a white wine thing going on even though you can taste the adjunct base. Gets brettier with each pour. Nothing spectacular but refreshing and interesting.
Pale cloudy yellow looks kind of sickly or wine-like to me. Beautiful buttery sour aroma was my favorite part, a great intro to what is to come although there’s no sour to speak of in the tasting. It took me a while to appreciate this one as it insists on being its own animal. Taste is of butter, light fruits and funky yeast. If you like sours this is for you.
Rcvd in trade.
The appearance was a light golden-yellow colored body with a two finger frothy white head. The head fades into some valleys and leaves some nice lacing around the sides of the pint glass. Lots of carbonation is seen rising through the body.
The smell had a mixture of corn, citrus hops, lemon peel with some pepper in the background.
The taste had a peppery tartness up front making a bittery/zestiness with a good pop on the taste buds.
On the palate, it sat about a light to medium with a good balance between wet and dry. There’s some harshness on the tongue, but its expected due to the style. I would say this is very drinkable.
Overall, I would say I’m mostly pleased, and would have it again if given the opportunity.
Tallahassee, Fl - Whole Foods - 22 oz bomber. Luxurious hazy light golden pour, soft bubbly snow white head. Sour aroma, hints of lemon and Sweet Tarts. Sourness carries over to the flavor as well with the same Sweet Tart candy flavor shining through, some lemony tartness, a touch of light yeast in the back end. Mouthfeel has a nice spritz to it. Pretty decent.
Bottle pour (Līgo Ziema 2014, Riga) (7:4:6:4:14=3.5)
Fruity brett aroma. Lovely fruity twist at the end. Apricot everywhere. Pale, but hazy. Some citrussy lemon taste too. Good drinkability. Nice attention to details, good sour. A total, and very welcome, contrast to the Lost Abbey piece of brettsploitation I just endured.
Rerate: 660ml bottle (ALEHouse, Riga) (7:3-:6:3:14=3.3)
Nice lemony aroma, tons of brett too. Very pale, fizzy. Look and palate. Watery feel too. More hoppy in the finish than before. Improves as itwarms, aroma and taste still have.some apricot. Crisp and very pleasant, but not full compared to the prior one.
A good number of 750mL bottles and a few drafts consumed in the Boston area (primarily Deep Ellum) over the past three years.
Mountainous amounts of white head are impossibly well-retained, with a light haze to the golden raisin colored body with small, plentiful carbonation rising and lots of sediment left behind.
Pure, unadulterated, lovely, luscious brett in the nose. The first time I smelled this beer it put a smile on my face and made me blabber to my friends for a while about brettanomyces when they certainly didnt really care. Lime, nectarine, light band-aid and just a hint of honeyish malts in the background with a massive and lingering strength. This is right up there with Orval, Redemption, et al....
Flavor dosent disappoint, as a tight, engaging carbonation, with light doughy malts produces a soft, but supple mouthfeel and the brett just goes wild. All the tartness you could want, lime, lemon, light horseblanket, fresh hickory nut skin and a touch of banana. It’s spectacularly well-attenuated, but not too much so to compromise the body. Not that I can hold off guzzling this stuff, but with some restraint, the carbonation falls off a bit, leading to some crackery malts, subtle leathery/basement-like sacchoromyces notes and more balancing honey-dough on the finish. No alcohol notes, no flaws and very few complaints from yours truly. Perhaps could have a touch more complexity in the malt department and I could see it being even a touch more dry. But that’s just nitpicking. Simple in what it sets forth to accomplish, but highly, highly successful. Along with Victory Helios, Guineu Riner and Jabby Brau, one of my favorite beers of the past 5 years (and probably my favorite of these 4). Cheers to Brian!
Nice brew, however I think I’m not objective on this because of the many imperial stouts that I had before. This is like a puppy after the nuclear bombs that I had, like Black Tokyo Horizon. This feels sour. There are some malty notes with shot of hops, however it feels watery after the imps, again sour.
Ehh. .this one is really nice quality brew, thou cant rate it objective after having some aroma bombs =]
Quite weak aroma, some maltiness, light hops, bit fruity, bit yeasty. Sweetish with notes of sour and light bitterness. For 4.5 ABV quite complex, but if I can choose.. uhmm :D I would choose this only if I would like to taste some good quality brew, but I should stay sober
750ml bottle. Light brown color. Tiny to almost no head. Sourish, malty, fruity aroma. Grapefruit, grainy, wheat, sour notes in taste. It’s not you its me. You just can’t arouse me :(
My Bottom Line:
Flowers, lemons, cereals and brettanomyces ride boastful effervescence in this otherwise dry and quenching Wild Ale.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-A stable pillow of foam sits atop the cloudy pale whitish yellow.
-Corn and rice add just enough depth without taking too much room in the flavour profile.
-The brettanomyces and resinous hop finish are well levelled with the agreeable intensity of the flavour profile.
-The flavour profile could be a bit better polished (if I need to find something to improve somewhere).
Bottle.
Color oro palido turbio con espuma blanca algo jabonosa. Aromas herbales de levadura muy potente y fresco ligeramente afrutada. En boca es ligera y bien carbonatada con toques afrutados ligeros pero sobre todo el toque herbal. Buena.
Bottle, shared with Parksy. Very pale lemony yellow, very hazy, topped by a lively white head. Beautiful funky Brett and light citrus, with pungent green potty hop character. Dry and light, but beautiful flavours. Love the Brett in here! Outstanding.
pours hazy very pale yellow with a tall frothy and creamy white head, excellent retention and lacing. leathery bretts-plenty, citrus and tropical, dusty and floral, light and soft pils and pale bready malts, some white grapes, cereals. lively carbonation - foamy, crisp light body, very dru herbal-grassy-bretty finish. could grap a sixer of this every summer week. solid..
3/31/2012. From bottle. Pours cloudy golden yellow with a white head. Funky, yeasty aromas with hay, bread and light fruit. Tart and sour with fruit and herbal notes. Good stuff!
Bottle sampled at Cajun Cafe Fall Fest 2013. Pours a hazy yellow-orange with a white head. Nose is huge yeasty brett with hints of sweet malt. Flavor is big brett- tropical fruit, pineapple, barnyard, burlap, and sweet malt. Flavor finishes with fruity and barnyardy brett. Light to medium in body with lingering brett in the finish.