Midwest Charm Farmhouse Ale

Filtered by yours truly. We spent all Saturday canning this beer. Fortunately, we had a persistent flow of volunteers to help can and sleeve the Farmhouse, while sleeving the stout as well. I reviewed this in a Snifter later that night after running home, a brief session of yoga and while waiting for our dinner party guests to arrive.

Appearance: Bright clarity with a crystal amber quality. Certainly darker in color than my perception of a Saison Carbonation looks to be very consistent and prominent. The head takes on a 2" character with a foamy off white consistency. Lacing is wet and speckled. Carbonation persists long after the beer has sat.

Aroma: There is a very apparent funk about this beer, similar to goat sweat, but not with a negative connotation (it's a present quality of saison). I don't get very much ginger. Some floralness to it, and a minimal element of phenols from the yeast of cloves.

Taste: The front is sweet with a brief note of kilned amber and Munich. Lacking in any fruit esters. This beer falls within a parameter of dryness with hardly any malt to the backbone. Attenuated entirely. The second half really packs the complexity. I find notes of banana and clove from the phenolic byproducts of the unique strain of Saison yeast, complemented with a barnyard funkiness that remains interestingly attractive. I even can draw subtle hints of bubblegum, though that's negligible. The finish finally exposes some of the hops, fuggle or northern brewer, perhaps; taking a rather neutral flavor, though tannic.

Mouthfeel: Light body and overtly dry, but sufficient in flavor. Carbonation is strong, but balanced to the extent that it provides a nice parallel between the phenolic end and the hop bittering dryness at the finish. Very crisp and refreshing!

Overall Impression: I actually liked this beer the best out of the four Boji beer's I've tried. This may be because it's out of season or it's because it has been a while since I've had saison. However, with the ample amounts of ginger we added to this beer, I'm surprised it is so masked out by the farm funk yeastiness. Nevertheless, hellofabeer!

Boji Beach Golden Rye

Tasted Saturday evening during a beer tasting event I hosted at the house. Complete with an organic Indian dinner prepared by Josh, such featured beers included Roller Dam Red, Powder Hound by Big Sky, and Old Chub by Oskar Blues. Got around to finally jotting down some notes on Monday afternoon on my day off following a yoga session with Matt Bowman to help him with his hip problem for his last track season.

Served in a Pilsner glass.
5% ABV

Appearance: Brilliantly clear with an enticingly appealing golden color. The head is fluffy and white, emitting a pillowed peak texture and equally sustained, standing for a good 5 minutes. As is, the carbonation looks to be very strong (2.9) as the bubbles consistently rise from the depths of the glass. It looks like something of a Coors/Bud product from its pristine look.
Aroma: Brief notes of biscuit and 2-row malt. Very clean smelling. I don't get too much of the rye, but it is present. Some floral notes alongside a woody nose. Overall, it's difficult to draw a lot from the scent.
Taste: The flavor on the other hand hold a more complex profile. Initially one can acknowledge a formidable biscuit,bread and malt based backbone up front, without any corn/rice sugar adjuncts. Sweet and even a bit zesty. I think of dried straw and grass. The midtaste introduces a mildly zesty, yet unique flavor in conjunction with an emerging rye flavor of wood, whisky undertones (no burn) and clean grain. I found this to balance the initial hop dose very well. Finally the finish leaves one reminiscing of a lager but no sooner are they deceived (it's not). I think Hallertau easily would give them this impression. The rye at the finish leaves a bit of a cracked nut, grain flour quality along with a faint yeast flavor. Aftertaste lets a lot of the rye come through.
Mouthfeel: Right out of the can, the beer has a biting texture, but allowed to sit and settle, it achieves a perfect feeling of both light and bubbly but refreshing and foamy as it leaves the palate. The front of the mouth is left dry, while the roof of the mouth achieves a strong cloying texture.
Overall Impression: Unexpectedly flavorful. I've never come across a beer of this clarity and color made with RYE! For one thing, it isn't lacking in flavor, or texture. I brought this to a party and it was devoured. A unique style in and of itself and I dig the balance between being a lager and ale and the different hops. For the first amplified homebrew batch to a commercial scale, I'd say it was a success!
Available in 4-packs

91/100

Boji Blue Pale Ale

Brought home a couple leakers after a day of canning a full 20 Bbl batch last week. I took the best of the cans so as to preserve an optimal carbonation (around 2.5). Tasted Saturday afternoon after an intense yoga session and an attempt to run. Pint glass served and reviewed prior to having lunch of leftovers from last nights curry dinner.

Appearance: Brilliant amber with the numerous bubbles rising to the surface of the beer. The head is made up of a scattered film across the surface, but otherwise very minimal in stature. Very attractive and clear, especially for doing a rough filter.
Aroma: Caramel and biscuit malt come through at the front while the hops make for a zest orange peel scent. Some notes of citrus (from the huge dose of late addition cascade). As the nose adjusts, I get a rich bready backbone to this beer, while the hops don't stray too far behind.
Taste: Bready and biscuit malt are present for the foundation of the beer. More sweet than a lot of pale ales, but still relatively balanced. The middle of the beer begins to develop a transition into the hop bitterness which isn't substantial, but isn't lacking either. Finally One can easily draw a minute amount of grassy bitterness with an orange zest character. The carbonation really helps push this through. As the beer warms, the grassiness becomes more apparent, especially in the aftertaste. Alcohol is well masked.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with a bite from the carbonation that spreads evenly over the tongue. Drying finish and resinous
Overall Impression: It seems that this beer, for being a pale ale, has a lot more emphasis on the malt bill than most pale ale's. I think this beer could use a helpful hand from dry hopping, but then again I do not see it completely necessary because it still has a palate of one that could be used to entice a wider public. A great basic American pale ale.


85/100