Tired Hands, the small local brewery that is gaining much attention from beer geeks everywhere, recently released their bottled Guillemot beers this past Sunday. As unfortunate as it was I could not attend, my friend Jason did and he graciously opened one of the beers. The Guillemot Nebula is blended barrel aged, soured Guillemot (dark saison), with 50% aged in Jim Bean bourbon barrels and 50% aged in Chaddsford red wine barrels.
After a recent visit to the Victory brewpub in Downington, PA – I picked up a growler one of their brewpub exclusive beers, the Biere De Garden. This is a Saison/Farmhouse style beer that clocks in around 4.6% ABV. I’m hoping for a lighter, crisp and easy drinking beer, even during these cold winter days.
For those who don’t know, Tired Hands Brewing Company in Ardmore, PA has to be one of the best local up and coming breweries in the Philadelphia area. Their focus on Saison/Farmhouse style beers, and the quality and craftsmanship of them set them apart from others. HandFarm is their first bottle release, a wine barrel aged Saison, coming in a waxed 500 ml bottle.
I have walked by the classic Saison Dupont from Brasserie Dupont time and time again without trying it, but recently decided to pick one up to sample. This beer is readily available in most areas I have visited year-round, and is relatively inexpensive compared to a lot of other bottles on the market. Shane and I split the 750 ml bottle one night last week during a tasting, and served into two tulip glasses.
Since New Beligum made its way into my area I have been seeking out every beer I could find. Many of these beers have been from the Lips of Faith series, and they have been hit or miss so far. Today I have the Prickly Passion Saison, which is brewed using prickly pear and passion fruit. These two ingredients don’t make their way into beer often so I’m excited to see how it turns out.
