Stillwater Artisanal Ales existent

Beer: Stillwater Artisanal Ales existent

Aroma: Getting some roast and dark coffee. Kind of strange how it pairs with the really mild estery saison aroma. There is also a really strange aroma in the background… coca-cola smell maybe? Some sort of weird sweetness.

Taste: I have a lot to talk about. I am not sure I can pinpoint it all, since theres a bunch going on. First off, I get some sort of grapefruit/orange flavor that isn’t hops but more of a sweet tangy citrus. Then comes a chocolate and toffee flavor. The aroma was pretty strong toward roast, but the flavor is more chocolate, coffee, and toffee. I am really searching this thing looking for the saison and I’ve come across a small amount of hops, kind of piney and hidden beneath the coffee bitterness. After swishing it around in my mouth for way too long I finally got some damn saison esters. I wish you could taste as many esters as you smell, which still isn’t many. Another thing about the beer is it kind of has some hot alcohol flavors. The aftertaste of this beer had a little twang to it at first, but that seems to have mellowed as the beer warms and I drink more of it.

Mouthfeel: A full-bodied beer. Nothing like an oatmeal stout, but for a farmhouse ale it definitely has some gravity on it.

Worth a try?: I am enjoying this for sure. My first thought when I took a sip was how complex it was, but its pretty strange. I do like strange though. My pint and 9 oz. bottle was perfect for me, but anymore would be way too much. I did notice that the alcohol content was not hidden at all by the dark malts in the beer. Last night I had a biere de garde that was 7.2% and I tasted every bit of its alcohol content too. I wonder if biere de garde and saison style brews just don’t lend themselves to high alcohol content? In any case, It was a good beer and I’m glad I bought it and have tried it, but I don’t know that I would buy it again.