Arbor Brasserie Greff Blonde

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottled May 2009; Sampled September 2009
This 750ml bottle has a ridiculously difficult cork to remove. The beer is quite well carbonated as an extremely careful / soft pour still yields a four finger thick, light tan, off-white colored head. The head leaves a lot of lacing on the sides of the glass and subsides with an interesting, deeply pockmarked surface. The beer is a murky amber color that shows a hazed, though not opaque, copper-amber hue when held up to the light as well as a ton of streaming bubbles. The aroma smells first an foremost of fruit (ripe pear, ripe-aromatic apples, floral plums, tart white wine grapes), there is a backdrop of oak that provides a touch of spice , an earthiness and some pepper as well as some woody tannic character and the finish has a grassy, touch of cracker-like grain to it. The nose is really quite floral and quite fruity, it is really pretty distinct; as it warms notes of sour-apple jolly rancher start to become noticeable, as does a green, unripe fruit note, a touch of mustiness and a light, musky Brettanomyces character if you dig for it. It only smells lightly tart though, and from the aroma I wouldn’t necessarily guess it was a sour beer.

Lightly tart tasting, certainly not anything near aggressive; in fact I wouldn’t really characterize this as a sour beer, though it does have a light tartness to it. Fruity tasting, as the aroma suggested, with notes of floral pear, ripe apple and some lightly tart / sweet plum notes being the most noticeable. This actually has a certain quality that reminds me of Apple Cider (I think some oxidized malt might be accentuating this). A touch of earthy spiciness in the finish shows the coriander note. Despite being quite dry, the fruitiness and floral aspects contribute a perceived sweetness. There is a touch of grassiness, and a floral note that makes me think of wildflowers, perhaps a touch of honeysuckle and some orange blossom notes (possibly brought out by the orange peel). The oak is very subtle in the flavor, it starts to come out a bit more as the beer warms; it lends to the spiciness of the finish and contributes a hint of tannic structure to the body. This is not nearly as funky as something influenced by Hanssens; there is some very soft mustiness, as well as a touch of Brettanomyces butyric character in the finish. The body of this beer is on the light side, but there is still some residual malt body as well as a touch of oak-driven fullness.

This is definitely a bit dark to be classified as a Blonde of any sort, but that is certainly a minor point and not really even a quibble. This is quite drinkable, even quite tasty, but I can’t quite help but feel a little disappointed. The description had me thinking this was going to be a sour beer, but it really isn’t. Even the funkiness is on the soft side, in fact if one had to pigeon hole this into a style, I would say it fits quite well as a rustic, farmhouse Saison; the soft tartness and funkiness seem characteristic of what can happen in this style over time. I think I would have enjoyed this beer more if my expectations had been led in that direction. The mix of fruity, earthy, spicy, musty, grassy and subtly oaky play quite well together in this beer. I find myself enjoying this beer after my expectations have been given some time to shift.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Poured a hazy yellow amber color with a small, off white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of green grapes, citrus fruits, yeast, funky barnyard, and light brett. Taste was slightly tart, with yeast, citrus, light coriander, white pepper, and moderate carbonation.