This past Monday night, I was cordially invited to Villa dello Alemonger to watch the Eagles/Redskins game on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. In preparation for the evening’s festivities, I walked over to The Foodery during my lunch hour to see if they had anything interesting in stock. I noticed a few selections from The Breury, so I picked up the Saison Rue since I am a big fan of Farmhouse Ales. The Bruery’s description of this beer is as follows:

“Saison Rue is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned, Belgian/French-style farmhouse ale. This is a beer of subtlety and complexity, with malted rye, spicy, fruity yeast notes, biscuit-like malt backbone, and a slight citrus hop character. With age, this beer will dry out and will become more complex with rustic notes of leather and earth from the contribution of a wild yeast strain. Being a Saison, Saison Rue is ambiguous unto itself as it is a different beer when fresh and when aged. We hope you enjoy it in all of its incarnations.”

How could I resist a beer with a description like that? Let’s see how it is…

• Appearance: Hazy orange color. Thick, fluffy head which dissipates very slowly and leaves a good bit of lacing on the glass.
• Aroma: Honey. Orange marmalade. Dried fruit. Yeast. Rye.
• Taste: Very well carbonated.  Very complex flavor palate! Spice and citrus up front. Dry and acidic in the middle, much like a German Riesling. Slightly sour finish.

This is only my second variety of beer from The Breury. My first was there Tradewinds, which I tasted during Philly Beer Week this past June and enjoyed immensely. I am learning to love this brewery! Like most great craft brewers, they’re not afraid to experiment. Their Saison Rue is excellent! Only one word can describe it… FUNKY! It’s not for everyone, but if you like a beer that has alot going on, then you should definitely track it down and try it for yourself. I give it a very solid A. It was a beautifully funky beer for a beautifully funky football game. The Eagles scoring 59 points in a game? CRAZY!

And speaking of FUNK, here’s a classic from Parliament Funkadelic for your viewing and listening pleasure. Enjoy!