I received this Farmer’s Ale from Alexei Axel, the director of the Volkov Brewery. The beer has only recently appeared and there is hope that it will be available not only in the bar on Armagh and brand stores, but also in some chains. Repeatedly told that the Volkovo brewery exists in different hypostases. This is a large production at MPC and a small production in Moscow at Arma, also in St. Petersburg and absolutely tiny production at 100 liter microbrewery, as well as under contract.
Most of the contract beers were brewed at Palchevsky Brewery (Ignatovo village, Moscow region). Farmer’s ale, on the other hand, is brewed at the “Visit” brewery in Kuznetsk, Penza region. It’s also where some of my ID Jons beers are brewed, by the way (the cider came out recently). “Vizit, it’s a medium-sized regional brewery, so they can provide volume.
Farmhouse Ale (Russia, Penza region, Kuznetsk) – 6.5/16.5 Farmhouse Ale, a style that came to us from Belgium and has rather blurred boundaries. Basically it is a beer that was brewed on farms both for workers and for own consumption. There are many variations of farmhouse (aka saison). The variation in alcohol ranges from 3.5% to 9.5%. The Farmhouse Ale style often combines several sub-styles – saison, Beer de Garde and Sahti. How does Volkowska understand this?
The aroma is floral, slightly yeasty, and raw (incidentally, a “cellar” and even “musty” aroma is attributed as a must to many farmhouse ales). The flavor is soft, full, malty, with a bread-like touch. There is a bit of caramel in both the taste and aftertaste. In the aftertaste a little bit of stale grass, spices and all the same flowers. I would put it closer to blonde. Kind of unfiltered blonde. Except that the spice notes are a little out of this range. Otherwise, a very drinkable and balanced beer in spite of the 6.5% alcohol. Rated B+.
