Actually I decided to not be lazy and go through previous emails, here are the beers allocated for the Hive for this past year.
Wood Shed: A 100% NY ingredient ale, fermented at warm temperatures by our honey yeast ( collected from our raw honey). A yeast forward beer, though it features a small amount of 8 varieties of local hops. Aromas are sweet banana, pineapple, pear, bubblegum, honey- Juicy, but very dry- ABV is 6.5%
Flower City ($10): A very balanced orange/yellow ale showcasing our honey yeast & a rich NY base malt from Flower City Malt Lab a new maltster in Rochester, NY. Floral honey, esters, biscuity, it's an excellent table beer. 4.5%abv
BOTTLE LIMIT = 2
Tree Beer ($20): Sour ale brewed with local Crown organic maple syrup aged In 2nd use whiskey barrels for months. This year's batch was fermented with our wild yeast and mashed on top of spruce tips from our surrounding forest. Aroma is caramel, oak, pine, earth, maple, balsamic... Taste is tart and slightly acidic, strong oak, light maple. 6% abv
BOTTLE LIMIT = 3
"Narcissus" is a golden sour, oak-aged ale, contains aromas of pineapple, custard, chardonnay, lemon bread, & earth. Flavor is similar with slightly richer notes of oak and a stinging tartness- bone dry- Fermented with both our house honey yeast and our FarmStand Ale muscadine grape yeast...5%abv & $15/bottle- It pairs with the Vernal Equinox and finding eggs.
"Sterling" ($15) - a super unfiltered yellow/orange hued ale- balanced evenly between top cropped house yeast fruity esters & zesty Sterling Pellet Hop spice. The hops were harvested & Pelletized at Gro-Moore farms in Henrietta NY. Sterling hops are a lower alpha hybrid of saaz hops (used predominantly in pilsners for zest/pine & delicate bitterness) and Brewer's Gold ( an early aromatic strain known for its floral qualities w/ slight fruit). The malt is mostly "special pale" from Flower City Malt Lab in Rochester, NY along w/ a hand full of unmalted NY white wheat. Aromas of pineapple, wheat, pine, green, yeast. Flavors of pine wood, clove, banana, and fresh cut flowers. 5%abv.
"FarmStand Ale" The first beer fermented with a new yeast culture collected this spring from our raw honey comb. In order to showcase the subtle complexity of this new yeast strain this ale was brewed with A light NY base malt and almost no hop presence. Aromas are hay, lemon, musk. Flavor is subtle with slight fruit, then grain. An slight acidic tartness & prickly carbonation make this low ABV (4%) beer pretty damn crushable. It's simple. $10- limit 3bttls
KärnL- the first fruited sour offering of the year. A tart & funky orange-red hued sour ale partially aged atop of NY Montmorency Cherries in a Hillrock Double Rye Barrel. "Montmorency" cherries are lighter in color, sharp, tangy, & slightly sweet; the preferred baker's fruit, due to their delicate balance between tart & sweet. The aroma is oak, sharp cherry pie & a little farmhouse funk. Flavor is tart cherry, grain, rye, oak, funk, finished with an acidic palate cleansing complexity. 6.5%ABV limit 2btls
Dandeliaison- a straw-colored ale brewed with dandelions & raw spring honey. Dandelions are our first harvest of the year. This super light farmhouse ale utilizes a small amount of fresh dandelion root & leaf in the boil; dandelion flowers + honey are added post boil. It pours brilliant yellow with hints of gold- crisp carbonation with a big pillowy white head. Aromas are of subtle dandelion flower, bread, dry mead & lemon. The flavor is lemon, mead, light grassy bitterness, very dry & nearly tart--- very refreshing. 5%ABV limit 3bttls
"Bouquet"- a very effervescent, slightly sour ale brewed with homegrown chamomile, lavender, & partially aged oak. Huge floral potpourri aroma (mostly lavender) & a pleasing honey-blossom/flower-petal flavor sparked by light acidity. Finishes with a light farmhouse funk. 4.5%ABV -$15 (LIMIT 1)
"Comb"- Seasonal blend of sour ale. Light brown in color, this year's comb contains a blend of 4 different barrel aged beers including a sour beer aged in a peat-smoked whiskey barrel. Toffee, tobacco, white grape, oak staves in the aroma. Hazelnut, peach, sour grapes, peat smoke, light-roast coffee flavor. Fairly sour, but not as bracingly sour as last years offering. 5%ABV- $20 (LIMIT 3)
"Pickle"- this is NOT the same beer as the FarmStand pickle. This sour ale has been aged in our solera sour barrel with collections of local microflora from 3 years. After 8 months of aging we added local cucumbers & dill. The aroma is cucumber, melon, dill, mineral water... Basically a pickle. Flavor is outstanding (even for non-pickle fans)- refreshing juicy cucumber-melon flavor is wiped away by a tart acidity and lingering refreshment and flavor of dill. This beer is fantastic for the dog days of summer.
5%ABV-$20 (LIMIT 3)
"Amour"- my favorite annual sour offering- Handpicked & Homegrown Strawberries are daily shoved directly into oak barrels of sour ale as they mature throughout the season. This year's batch is even juicier & fruited than last year & the funk and acidity is much more balanced this year. Huge strawberry juice aroma with slight custard & funk. Flavor is lightly acidic, rich berry & a bit of barnyard.
5.5%ABV - $20 (LIMIT 3)
"Coppersea"- collaboration sour ale w/ local master distiller Christopher Briar Williams at Coppersea distillery. Chris is hardcore, he floor malts all his own barley and rye- & now he's growing it too. He came over last sept. and we brewed a very wild/sour beer with his floor malted barley as an homage to Flanders style brown beers. This winter I helped him empty a small barrel filled with green malted barley whiskey (un-kilned floor malt that has to be milled with a sausage grinder it's so wet)... The whiskey is unlike anything you've tasted- super umami, soy sauce & shiitake, earth & germination- immediately filled the barrel with our sour beer collab and allowed to age until now. THIS BEER IS EXTREME. It's aromas are sour teriyaki & rye whiskey. Flavors are intense sour mash whiskey, mushroom, Worcestershire, but become subdued after the first few sips- might be a winter beer/fall beer & should be treated like a whiskey. 8%ABV??? - $20 (LIMIT 1)
We are doing a special release of a collaboration beer we did with Newburgh Brewing Co. Would anyone be interested in these bottles as the last Hive beer? This beer is 100% NY with Flower City malt, rose hips and red grape must. We split the batch and fermented half in our house yeast and Newburgh fermented half in their house yeast. We are selling the bottles in pairs only, so two (1 pt. 9 fl. oz.) for $25. There are no limits.
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