Category Archives: farmhouse ale

Sofie 2017 – Goose Island Beer Company

by Mike

From Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago Illinois comes their “Sofie” 2017 a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale barrel aged in white wine barrels. The beer pours a cloudy golden colour with a white head. The aroma consists of wheat, grain, peppery, fruit, sweetness and some floral hops. The flavour is of grainy, wheat, citrus, lemon, orange peel, peppery, yeast, vanilla and sweetness. The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 20. Once again this one was quite enjoyable.

Commercial Description:  Our sparkling Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale is wine barrel-aged with an abundance of hand-zested orange peel. Spicy white pepper notes contrast the citrus tartness. The light, refreshing, creamy vanilla finish will excite those fond of Champagne.

Goose Island Beer Co is owned by AB InBev

Fortunello Farmhouse Ale – Four Winds Brewing

by Mike

From Four Winds Brewing in Delta comes their “Fortunello Farmhouse Ale” a beer aged in a Foeder for 6 months.  The beer pours a orange brown colour with a beige head.  The aroma consists of orange peel, anise, herbal, sweetness wood and a floral finish.  the flavour is of orange peel, kumquats, herbal, anise, candi sugar, generic fruit, wood, spices, mild bitterness, mild brett and some malts.  The alcohol content comes in at 8.3% with an IBU of 15.  This beer is one of the more unusual releases from Four Winds Brewing and may be challenging to some but is quite enjoyable.

Commercial Description:  This herbaceous farmhouse ale was brewed with dark Belgian candi sugar and bay laurel, then aged over kumquats and bitter orange peel in an oak foeder for six months. Delicate aromas of citrus and annise precede notes of dark pit fruit, settling into a mild Brett funk.

Hiatus Summer Farmhouse Ale – Category 12 Brewing

by Mike

From Victoria’s Category 12 Brewing comes their “Hiatus Summer Farmhouse Ale” a beer with Cucumber and Lemon.  The beer pours a cloudy golden colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of cucumber, lime, coriander and some grassy hops.  The flavour is of cucumber water, lime, lemon zest, earth, mild funk and a hint of bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 5% with an IBU of 16.  If you enjoy a good cucumber water on a hot day this beer should definitely be up your alley.

Commercial Description: A welcome break from the tedium of both work and weather, this beer evokes memories of Scandinavian farmhouse ales past with its dry, rustic, and earthy character.  Balanced by the refreshing brightness of fresh cucumber and lemon zest, you’ll find Hiatus is best enjoyed on a sunny day as you leave your obligations behind.

Raw Ale – Category 12 Brewing

by Mike

From Victoria’s Category 12 Brewing comes their “Raw Ale” a beer brewed without boiling the wort.  The beer is a Westcoast Farmhouse Ale with Brettanomyces & Red Cedar.  The beer pours an orange colour with a white head and lacing that sticks around in the glass.  The aroma consists of brett funk, tropical fruit, citrus and some sweetness in the finish.  The flavour is of citrus rind, cedar, brett funk, tropical fruit, lemon, spices, resin, earth and mild bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.5% with an IBU of 13.  I don’t know if I have had a beer quite like this one before.  I hope that Category 12 Brewing makes more like this as it is a great beer and very unorthodox.

Commercial Description: Reaching back across the millennia, we’ve recreated our version of an ancient ale that is fermented without ever being boiled. This Scandinavian-inspired farmhouse raw ale combines the heritage of our brewing “family” by infusing West Coast red cedar from the workshop of local Coast Salish artist, Chris Paul, who also contributed art to our label.  Primary Brettanomyces fermentation, merged w ith the benefits of refermentation in the bottle, results in a deliciously light, crisp, and complex beer that encapsulates our Elemental Series’ commitment to experimentation and innovation.

Norwegian Wood Dry Hopped Farmhouse Ale – Four Winds Brewing

by Mike

From Four Winds Brewing in Delta comes their “Norwegian Wood Dry Hopped Farmhouse Ale”.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with a white head and a ton of bubbles.  The aroma consists of oranges, orange peel, oak, pepper, spices and pineapple.  The flavour is of lots of oak, tannins, resin, pepper, citrus rind, mild citrus, pineapple, mango and some bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.2% with an IBU of 35.  This was a really tasty beer and well worth being a 4th Anniversary release.  Keep up the great work Four Winds Brewing.

Commercial Description:  4th Anniversary Ale.  Norwegian Wood was fermented warm with Kveik (traditional Norwegian farmhouse yeast) in French oak barrels and bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces claussenii.  They say that this ale sings brightly with notes of pineapple and citrus, balanced by a pleasing mineral dryness. It was hopped exclusively with Enigma and rounded out by naked golden oats.