Trinity Brewing One Ear
I’ve been enjoying the Trinity Brewing beers that have been showing on northern Virginia shelves over the past several months. Each has been unique, thought provoking and just downright fun to drink. One Ear, a 6.5% ABV saison, hits all those same marks with its varied malt bill, complex yeast profile and a touch stronger hop profile than expected. Barley, oats, and rye comprise the backbone while a combination of yeast strains — purportedly a Brasserie Dupont descendant and Fantome strain — combine for a flavor profile that doesn’t need any additional spice additions to compensate for any lacking.
One Ear starts off funky and, for lack of a better word, juicy. It’s not overly fruity by any means, but the beer just comes across that way as an amplified hop profile provides a good bit of lemony citrus and a gentle bitterness. The yeast profile is funky from start to finish, offering a light to moderate level of sour tartness that makes this beer quite playful and refreshing. A gentle peppery rye tingles while the oats add to the juiciness by adding some fullness to the body. Everything comes together smoothly and completely before fading to an extremely long lasting finish.
As far as saisons go, One Ear is far from traditional, but that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying the hell out of it. I love the complex yeast profile which, had I cellared this one, should develop nicely over time. And that slightly amped up hop profile offers just enough fruitiness to balance out the pucker. I could certainly go for a couple of these.