"...and a little more than enough to drink, for thirst is a dangerous thing."
Written: Feb 12 '01 (Updated Feb 12 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fantastic summer dust-cutter, reasonably priced, sure to be fresh in season.
Cons: Gotta wait for warm weather.
The Bottom Line: Rarely has a necessity for summer survival tasted so good. Fill your fridge with this stuff and you won't notice the sweat.
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| beerfly's Full Review: Flying Fish Farmhouse Ale 2404b |
Picture this.
An unseasonably hot May day in Philly. A brewer's wedding, attended by just who you would think would be there, in an un-air-conditioned church. Whew. Then... three hours till the reception! The wife and I walked down to a local UPenn campus bar, Mad Mex, with three other beer writers, three brewers, and a brewpub owner with his wife, looking to slake our savage thirsts.
After eyeing the multiplicity of taps, the wife and I and one other writer come to a quick conclusion: Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale. The brewers are still wrangling over what to get ("I haven't had this!" "That guy can't brew worth a damn!" "That stuff sucks!") when our Farmhouse Ales arrive.
Mmmmm, is that good. Pale yellow with a frothy, wispy, flyaway head of purest white, this beer looks like Lite Ale. Surprise! It's got a crisp smell of lightly tangy citrus, tart and spritzy. You don't sip it, you grab it and get it in you.
YEAH! Drink more! It goes down so easy and cool you can almost hear the hiss as it soothes parched throats. Our end of the table grows silent with the calm of relaxation. The beer is tartly refreshing, that slightly bitter sourness that makes watered wine such a great thirst-quencher, a "dust-cutter," as my grandfather used to say of the weak lemonade he favored in great quantities when painting barns in the summer. There's a slight hitch of that sourness in the finish, a hit, a cut that makes you go for more.
The waitress comes by again, and we're ready for another as three more people join us in the Farmhouse. The brewers have finally decided and order up robustly hoppy IPAs and a viciously big stout (Neversink Oatmeal, check my review). When this round is served the air is rent by grousing; seems the big beers haven't been moving too well at this college bar and they're quite a bit past their prime. Ahhhh, too bad, so sad; this Farmhouse Ale is delightful.
You can guess the end. Within 40 minutes, we were all drinking Farmhouse Ale. The wife and I would go through three or four cases that summer, and shuttle more cases to her brothers in New York and Virginia. It's just really, really drinkable beer with a good shot of flavor to it. The zest comes from a small amount of wheat and a sour mash technique, and man, does it work.
I'm looking forward to this part of summer. Farmhouse Ale is a great aperitif beer, goes well with shrimp dishes and most cold summer dishes.
Note: this is one of the rare reviews I've done without the beer in hand. Believe me, I've drunk enough of it in the past year to know it well! It's that kind of beer, one brewed to be quaffed. I hope Flying Fish makes a lot of this beer this summer; they're going to need it!
Let your boat of life be light,
packed with only what you need--
a homely home and simple pleasures,
one or two friends, worth the name,
someone to love and someone to love you,
a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two,
enough to eat and enough to wear,
and a little more than enough to drink;
for thirst is a dangerous thing.
--Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
beerfly
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Member: Lew Bryson
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 82 members
About Me:
One bourbon, one Scotch, one beer, eh? I'll take Kentucky Spirit, Scapa, and HopDevil.
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