My annual stop at Crown Liquors in Indianapolis was a bit disappointing this past August in that there were precious few lagers and no local brews really jumped out at me as being something that merited purchase. There just seemed to be more IPAs than ever before. I didn't drive several hours just to hang out with tens of thousands of stinky gamers and so I found something that I wouldn't ordinarily seek out. It was La Maison by Taxman Brewing Co.
Taxman does mostly Belgian styles or Belgian-inspired ones. Belgian beer is fine. Not my favorite but I am pro-Belgian. I mean, this is the country that gave us René Magritte and the guy who invented the saxamaphone. Methinks I had too many tripels and quads put before me and I found their astringency just a bit too much. I am more at home with a blonde or wit.
As if on cue to contradict myself, La Maison is called an "American Farmhouse-style Ale with Clover Honey". Well, so much for the Belgian predictions. It's is also described as a "tribute to the French farmhouse style" and since France is closer to Belgium than Indianapolis I think we're in the ballpark. Truth be told, I am unsure why I picked this one. Perhaps its 7% A.B.V. was a bit more potent than I normally partake in or maybe it was the addition of honey.
I will also admit I don't really know what a farmhouse ale is supposed to be like. Presumably they're brewed with whatever grains are lying around at the brewery just as the farmer brewers of old did. To me, they're fruity and funky.
I poured my La Maison into a tumbler that was given to me by a friend who felt sorry for this soon to be divorcé and the paucity of drinking glasses in his cupboard. I think the thick glass distorted the beer a bit. Refraction or not, I got a decent white head of loose foam that lasted an average amount of time, I'd offer. The beer was of a lovely light amber hue and was more or less clear. There were some bubbles inside.
The aroma was all over the map with a honeyed sweetness, bitterness, funk, a herbal thing, and a banana-led fruitiness. My first sip began well with a nice fizziness which helped moderate the medium body and a rather pronounced honeyed sweetness which could very well have been cloying. There was a piney bitterness which made me wonder if some Cascade hops helped make this an American ale. In addition, there was a big fruitiness that I tasted mainly as pineapple.
I am ambivalent on honey in beer. It can be used for good or for evil. Sometimes it lends a "dirty" earthiness to a beer and I do not care for it that much. Here, though, the honey was sweeter, brighter.
As I am accustomed to with Belgian ales, there was a prominent astringency to be had.
My notes pronounced this to be "good". It wasn't overly sweet nor was it heavy. Instead I found it to be fleet of flavor and nicely balanced with the piney-fruity flavors in harmony. While it may be 7%, it didn't taste like it was going to give my liver a pounding.
Junk food pairing: Grab a bag of Mrs. Fisher's Dark Jalapeño potato chips to go with your La Maison.
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