Beer of the Weekend #165: Cornucopia
Today was an unseasonably warm harvest day — the perfect weather and occasion for this weekend’s beer: Cornucopia, brewed by the Peace Tree Brewing Company of Knoxville, Iowa.
Cornucopia is a saison inspired by the farmhouse versions brewed in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. According to Wikipedia, farm workers were allowed to drink up to five liters of saison a day to quench the thirst they worked up while toiling in the fields during the late summer harvest. Saison is a pale ale brewed in the autumn or late winter, and was traditionally low gravity (harvesting while drunk is obviously not ideal). When ol’ Heinie at Dirty John’s suggested I recommend a saison to the Little Village masses for October, he knew what he was talking about (though I decided not to take his advice).
This is my first experience with saison. In July 2005, Men’s Journal named Saison Dupont, brewed by the Brasserie Dupont of Leuze-en-Hainaut, Belgium, the best beer in the world. Needless to say, I am eager to see what all the fuss is about. However, Cornucopia promises to be more locally inspired. According to the bottom of the carrier:
Cornucopia is also brewed with “mild hops” and Belgian yeast to “bring out some fruity aromas and earthy flavors,” so it should be true to style in that sense.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce stubby bottles. It seems all Peace Tree beers are bottled in stubbies, which is very old school Canadian. (Stubbies were almost exclusively used by Canadian brewers between 1962 and 1986 as part of a government standardization initiative.) There is no freshness date anywhere on the label or bottle.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a light gold. Two fingers of foamy white head developed and dissipated quickly to leave a spotted lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: I could smell it from over an arm’s length away, but could not place the aroma. Up close, though, my first impression is the yeast and lemon zest of witbier. That’s the Belgian yeast at play, no doubt. It has a bready quality much like witbier, too; it smells like it has tons of body. It also has the pungent/ripe odor of a peeled corn husk. After warming, it unfortunately begins to smell like a sweet scented sty. It certainly has farm flare.
Taste: Very different. Since this is my first saison, I have nothing to compare it to. The first sip is strong with a sharp but not overpowering sweetness. The flavors that come through mirror the nose: witbier-like yeast and lemon zest. It also features the overly ripe taste of a corn husk (at least that’s how I assume it tastes), and a lot of pepper spice. Frankly, it kind of tastes like how a musty, unkempt, old farmhouse smells.
Drinkability: This is not to my liking, but it is drinkable. It is far from offensive, but it is very funky. I almost wonder if there is a corn borer at the bottom of the bottle.
Fun facts about Cornucopia:
-Style: BA classifies it as a “saison/farmhouse ale”:
-Price: $8.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: Unknown. It is not listed on BA or on the Peace Tree website.
-Food pairings: Basic food pairings for saison. Curried cuisine, such as Thai; early cheeses (Camembert, Fontina); nutty cheeses (Asiago, Colby, Parmesan); pungent cheeses (Gorgonzola, Limburger); salad; and meat (poultry, fish, shellfish).
-Since sweet corn is only seasonal, so is Cornucopia. As far as I know, the batch was brewed in August and lagered for two weeks for fermentation. According to Peace Tree, Cornucopia was bottled September 1 and the first sixers hit the shelves in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids the next day.
-Along the right edge of the label is the immortal phrase Hawkeye fans know by heart (and will be singing a lot more during the upcoming men’s basketball season): IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
Cornucopia is a saison inspired by the farmhouse versions brewed in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. According to Wikipedia, farm workers were allowed to drink up to five liters of saison a day to quench the thirst they worked up while toiling in the fields during the late summer harvest. Saison is a pale ale brewed in the autumn or late winter, and was traditionally low gravity (harvesting while drunk is obviously not ideal). When ol’ Heinie at Dirty John’s suggested I recommend a saison to the Little Village masses for October, he knew what he was talking about (though I decided not to take his advice).
This is my first experience with saison. In July 2005, Men’s Journal named Saison Dupont, brewed by the Brasserie Dupont of Leuze-en-Hainaut, Belgium, the best beer in the world. Needless to say, I am eager to see what all the fuss is about. However, Cornucopia promises to be more locally inspired. According to the bottom of the carrier:
To put a local footprint on this Iowa farmhouse ale, local sweet corn is added. Not only is the finest quality of malted barley used but the corn’s stalk too which is loaded with sugar and flavor.
Cornucopia is also brewed with “mild hops” and Belgian yeast to “bring out some fruity aromas and earthy flavors,” so it should be true to style in that sense.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce stubby bottles. It seems all Peace Tree beers are bottled in stubbies, which is very old school Canadian. (Stubbies were almost exclusively used by Canadian brewers between 1962 and 1986 as part of a government standardization initiative.) There is no freshness date anywhere on the label or bottle.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a light gold. Two fingers of foamy white head developed and dissipated quickly to leave a spotted lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: I could smell it from over an arm’s length away, but could not place the aroma. Up close, though, my first impression is the yeast and lemon zest of witbier. That’s the Belgian yeast at play, no doubt. It has a bready quality much like witbier, too; it smells like it has tons of body. It also has the pungent/ripe odor of a peeled corn husk. After warming, it unfortunately begins to smell like a sweet scented sty. It certainly has farm flare.
Taste: Very different. Since this is my first saison, I have nothing to compare it to. The first sip is strong with a sharp but not overpowering sweetness. The flavors that come through mirror the nose: witbier-like yeast and lemon zest. It also features the overly ripe taste of a corn husk (at least that’s how I assume it tastes), and a lot of pepper spice. Frankly, it kind of tastes like how a musty, unkempt, old farmhouse smells.
Drinkability: This is not to my liking, but it is drinkable. It is far from offensive, but it is very funky. I almost wonder if there is a corn borer at the bottom of the bottle.
Fun facts about Cornucopia:
-Style: BA classifies it as a “saison/farmhouse ale”:
Saisons are sturdy farmhouse ale that was traditionally brewed in the winter, to be consumed throughout the summer months. Not so long ago it was close to being an endangered style, but over recent years there's been a massive revival; especially in the US.
This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness.
-Price: $8.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: Unknown. It is not listed on BA or on the Peace Tree website.
-Food pairings: Basic food pairings for saison. Curried cuisine, such as Thai; early cheeses (Camembert, Fontina); nutty cheeses (Asiago, Colby, Parmesan); pungent cheeses (Gorgonzola, Limburger); salad; and meat (poultry, fish, shellfish).
-Since sweet corn is only seasonal, so is Cornucopia. As far as I know, the batch was brewed in August and lagered for two weeks for fermentation. According to Peace Tree, Cornucopia was bottled September 1 and the first sixers hit the shelves in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids the next day.
-Along the right edge of the label is the immortal phrase Hawkeye fans know by heart (and will be singing a lot more during the upcoming men’s basketball season): IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
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