If Sante Adairius is the clear west coast analogue to Hill Farmstead, then Holy Mountain must certainly hold that banner for the PnW.  Some pundits will chime in and rattle my cage yelling about Upright, or if they suffered a recent head injury, Commons.  Upright is phenomenal and I intend on seeking out more of their continually awesome beers, but Holy Mountain is up to something…else.

This consistently awesome farmhouse/wild purveyor leaks out hot lil 300 bottle release gems on the regular, and locals selfishly drink them: WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ALL ABOUT?  Let’s catch up with them to see if things are still clipping along at the same high quality tenor from when we last checked in with them.

Misere Au Borinage

So this is a wheat grisette, foudre fermented with mixed cultures and then foudre aged.  I will allow your tumescence to subside before I continue.  If you walk into this thinking it is some Clara Chanel knock-off, you can have a seat and wait for the complexity of this gristy gem to set in.  This is at its core a table biere with a lightly lactic tartness, and this creamy brie spread to the coating that is endlessly fulfilling.  There is a jazz apple rind dryness to the light acidity that makes this frustratingly crushable, but the ample carb serves as a roadblock to all out decimation.  If you liked Lucybelle, you will love this.  It takes the accessible character and clean profile of Clara and adds depth and cheesy layers.  A lemongrass lingers on the bitter zones and begs for another sip like when you eat hot Cheetos and the only way to complete the flavor profile is with yet another handful of fiery decadence.

Good lawd.

Witchfinder

How ironic that a beer named Witchfinder tastes like a jankier version of Dorothy. Perhaps in this beer were aged in a Tin Man it would have more depth or nuance to speak of.  This was a let down in the scope of a brewery with an insane pedigree, that is to say, still above-average.  When you reach the point that you are a let down because the rest of your catalog is so damn good, you can cop that Tesla knowing your legacy is secure.  This is soft, boring, bitter, pilsner malts and some fucking Saaz. I don’t know what you were expecting.  Maybe you came in hoping for the Dry Hopped Dupont Cuvee and left clutching your ticket stub harder than when you saw MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2.

It is vegetal and crackery, it is not poorly made nor is it a benchmark of anything that already exists, it just isn’t that good.  You can seek out a Jester King Noble King and do far better without bruising your areolas from hop twisting.

BUT HANG ON:

Clarette

This right here though, this is some next level.  Rose stones in the bezel lookin like framboises. If last year’s show stopper was Barrel 7, this is the new hotness that essentially no one knew about except those covetous locals who smashed all of these low key and saved Clarette in their phones as a different name.  Side chick status to what should be a dime piece fruitbae.  This is a wild ale with cherries and raspberries done in an way that I have never encountered.  There is this crispness like sparkling mineral water added to Hommage.  It has the acidity and berry profile that is all skins, zero sugars left, depleted in that fantastic Appreciation way, but date I say, even better.  This has a chewisness and frothiness to balance its more acidic endeavors and in that way is akin to Casey Blackberry Cut in that it demonstrates about depth and restaint, like a well endowed berry burster that knows the inner staves of the tank all too well.

It’s almost a de facto punchline to tell you to seek out this marvelous 250 bottle release.  If you live and breathe in the Framboise realm, you will absolutely love this berry juicing, intensely dry Rose romp through the rose petals.  This is one of those must-obtain-for-completionist-sake bottles that you would be wholly negligent to overlook.

Also, have fun landing Clarette after this janky ass post.