Beer of the Week! 06/14/22

Väsen Grisette

Regularly $12.99 / Now on Sale for $11.96
Grisette Style Ale

Stand back. Richmond’s Väsen Brewing Company would like to make its bid for Your Next Summer Beer with their Grisette!

Grisettes are a type of farmhouse ale that originated in the Hainut province in Belgium, just southwest of Brussels. Where Saisons, famously, were brewed on Belgian farms for seasonal farm workers, Grisettes were brewed for mine workers. So, like Saisons, their actual makeup varied widely, but they had to be refreshing and not too alcoholic … at least we think so. By 1960, the style had gone extinct in Belgium, only to be recreated (or maybe, more accurately, reimagined) in the 1990s. Today’s Grisette is light-bodied, with a higher hop presence than Saisons, a hop presence that’s floral, herbal, and citrusy.

In this latest version of their Grisette, Väsen doesn’t relegate itself to traditional Farmhouse hops, but they stay true to the style’s intention. After fermenting their wort with French Saison yeast, Väsen hops it with Styrian Celeia (from Slovenia), Barbe Rouge (from the Alsace region of France), and Lemondrop hops (from the U.S. of us). All these hopinations impart cherry and kiwi notes on the nose and deliver a palate profile that is so lemony, the beer starts to imitate a sour.

It never gets to a sour’s tartness level, though, staying squarely in “the Refreshing Zone.” Farmhouse ales, by design, were summer beers, and Väsen finds its own way to put the Grisette right in that tradition.

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause a beer in the hand is worth two if they’re not Busch!)

Mustang Sally Folk‘n Around

Regularly $12.99 / Now on Sale for $11.96
Hazy Pale Ale

From Chantilly, VA (just north of Centreville, west of Arlington), Mustang Sally Brewing Company gives us this hazy American Pale Ale. For the past few years, Mustang Sally has been offering a double IPA with Citra, Simcoe, and Comet hops named the Good Folk’n Time. Now, they’ve put the big boy aside and have released its more modest little sibling.

Continuing with the flavor trio of Citra, Simcoe, and Comet hops, the Folk’n Around is juicy as well as hazy. Moderately hopped, it presents orange notes in a smooth and creamy package.

Remember!

You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!