Pipeworks Poivre du Sichuan (farmhouse ale)

Another one from Pipeworks.  This farmhouse ale was brewed with orange zest, coriander, ginger, pink peppercorns and its namesake Sichuan peppercorns.  I had this last August, and the cold weather of late made me wistful for this beer on a lazy summer day.  Then I remembered I never posted a review for it.

Poivre pours a gorgeous golden orange topped with a crazy crown of foam.  The carbonation in this beer is extremely lively and produces a thick, billowy white head.  I thought the foam was going to gush forth from the bottle before I even poured it.  Poivre's head retention brings beers like Duvel to mind, even if they don't taste alike.

 

 

Look at that craziness

The aroma is classic Belgian farmhouse ale.  Tangy and lightly spicy flavors mesh well with undertones of lemon and orange.  Despite the somewhat exotic Sichuan peppercorns, the flavor is pretty much classic farmhouse ale too.  Lemon and orange flavors upfront, followed by the usual funktang of saison yeast and all those spices.  Nothing overpowers anything; all is balanced well.  Mild grassy hops round out the profile of this dry, light, quenching beer.

Refreshing as hell.  This is one of the more perfect American iterations of a Belgian style that I've come across, and I highly recommend it.  I'm looking forward to trying their other "Poivre" beers next summer....which can't come soon enough right now.