As part of Ferment Brewing's recent Spring release, they launched White River Saison, Hana Pils, and Holy Citra IPA. The brewery sent me some samples and I'd like to share my thoughts on each. While this post is terribly...
As part of Ferment Brewing's recent Spring release, they launched White River Saison, Hana Pils, and Holy Citra IPA. The brewery sent me some samples and I'd like to share my thoughts on each. While this post is terribly late, the good news is that you may still be able to find these! Text in italics is taken directly from Ferment's beer descriptions, followed by my impressions.
Hana Pils
Hana Pils is a 4.8% ABV Japanese-style lager brewed with toasted rice, which gives the beer a slight
nuttiness while keeping it light and refreshing. French Strissel Spalt, Slovenian Celeia, and German Hüll Melon hops layer on aromas of wildflowers, fruit blossoms, melons and strawberries.
My thoughts: Super clean, crisp, and ideal for summer! I didn't notice a lot of the fruit flavors mentioned by the brewery. However, the toasted nutty notes came through nicely and made Hana Pils a distinctive thirst quencher.
Holy Citra IPA
Brewed with pilsner malt, malted and raw wheat, and oats to establish a light and soft base, Holy Citra
IPA is brewed with no hops in the kettle. A cool whirlpool allows the loads of Citra and Amarillo hops to retain their aromatics while denying them the chance to become bitter.
My thoughts: In recent years, IPAs have tended to become less bitter and more flavorful. Brewers accomplish this by using less hops in the boil (where maximum bitterness is extracted), and more hops in the whirlpool, where aroma and flavor are extracted--but without the bitterness. I'm not aware of other IPAs that fully omit hops in the kettle. Anyway, I tasted plenty of juicy grapefruit and light notes of melon. It had lots of flavor and very mild bitterness. The soft and creamy mouthfeel was unexpected, but pleasant.
White River Saison
Ferment’s White River Saison is released every year in limited 500 ml bottles with a recipe that changes
year to year. The beer is a classic saison, highly effervescent, 5% ABV, and inspired by the small
farmhouse breweries of Wallonia.
My thoughts: When I first read the news release from Ferment Brewing, I was most intrigued by this beer. The vast majority of beer is fermented with commercial yeast cultures--which lead to highly predictable and repeatable end product. This beer is unique because it uses a wild yeast. Like nature, wild yeast strains are highly unpredictable and the resulting beers can be delicious or a disaster. In the case of White River Saison, the wild yeast harvested from the Mt. Hood National Forest works beautifully. The aroma and taste are full of spicy and herbal notes. It has an effervecent mouthfeel and finishes dry. The simplicity of White River Saison makes it shine! Pair it with heartier fare and it will serve as an excellent palate cleanser.
