Jester King Noble King Hoppy Farmhouse Ale.

Aside from Shiner, I think Jester King is the only other brewery I've had from TX (Austin). I picked this up during a bottle sale at least a month ago, just now getting around to it as I haven't been motivated or cognizant enough to work through some of the bottles I've picked up over the summer. I did get several from Jester King though because they have fairly elaborate labels.

An overly aggressive pour for a very rambunctious beer. The head came up stiff and light. Nice strong pils-y nose. Despite it looking high carb, it's surprisingly mellow. Similarly, it's a saison with a strong pilsner character from the noble hop(s) (East Kent Golding, Czech Saaz, plus others [as available]; Saaz is the only named noble here.). It's fairly dry, light bo

died, and pretty cleansing. And, at only 5.9%, it'd be a nice table beer.

Goose Island Pepe Nero.

Saw it on tap, so I had to try it. I was really surprised to find out this was a saison. Very dark pour, but notably brown. The taste was actually somewhat bland. I'd have to liken it to how I feel about Guinness these days. It's not bad, not great, just not terribly interesting. I couldn't find much to focus on, but it was surprisingly light-bodied considering the color.

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace.

Had this on tap at a local bar a while ago, so it was nice to try it out of the bottle.

The taste was pretty refreshing, lemon-y and sour. The nose was an intense, bitter hop smell, but not unpleasant. It drank a little too heavily for my taste though. Very airy and some headiness that didn't die out.

Southern Tier Cherrry Saison.

Aged with either French oak staves or aged in French oak barrels. It's not clear from their description, but from what I know of their brewery, I'm betting it's the former.

The oak and fruit gives a kind of wine-y taste though it finishes with a tart cherry. I found it a bit too heavy and sticky towards the end to be so refreshing as a summer workday ale.

8%ABV.

Goose Island Sofie.

80% Belgian-style ale, 20% Belgian-style ale aged in wine barrels with orange peel.

Given its young age (bottled July 17), I wasn't sure what to expect. In short, it's a Hoegaarden. Spicy nose, very frothy head, light body. The barrel-aged ale comes through clear. It's not bad now but a few years in the bottle (good sediment at the bottom), and I bet it'd be awesome.