Beer buzz: Adelbert's brewer hits funky home run with side project saison

The beer: Saison Wild Farmhouse Ale

Brewery: Oddwood Ales in Austin

Style: Saison, or farmhouse ale; a fruity Belgian-style ale, with earthy, yeasty notes and varying degrees of tartness.

The pitch: This complex saison impresses with a wonderful meld of fruit, funk and sour flavors. Fermenting slowly in old wine barrels instead of steel tanks adds depth to the Belgian-style saison; but don't worry, the barrels don't impart any obvious wine flavor. The ale's pineapple, citrus and wheat aromas gear you up for that first sip. On the palate, tropical fruit flavors are complemented by sour citrus and green apple tartness, as well as nice acidity thanks to the bacteria present in the wine barrels. There's a faint oak note, too. The use of Brettanomyces yeast lends an earthy, funky farmyard character; the yeast's mingling with acid-producing bacteria creates the sour flavor. Balanced, crisp and refreshing, with a medium body, each sip of this ale leaves you eager for the next.

Fun facts: Oddwood Ales is the side project of Adelbert's Brewery's head brewer, Taylor Ziebarth. Saison is the second batch of the new brewery's first -- and for now, only -- beer. The brewer says that it is fruitier and tarter than the first batch, which was released about seven months ago. The batch number and bottling date are printed on the label.

Oddwood is dedicated to making what it calls "American-style wild ales" -- ales that are made with interesting wild yeast blends, fermented in oak barrels, and bottle-conditioned. The brewery currently operates out of Adelbert's Brewery, but plans to open its own facility and add more wild ales to its lineup this year.

Serve it: Great on its own or with a creamy, washed rind goat's milk cheese or any other European-style bloomy rind cheese, such as camembert. The brewery says that it's good paired with salads and sushi, as well as with funky cheeses.

Get some: Sold in 25.4-ounce bottles for about $10.89 at Central Market, Whole Foods Market, most Spec's stores, Pogo's, the Bottle Shop, Lakeview Liquor, North Oak Cliff Beer and Wine, Hall's Grocery, Whip In in Flower Mound, Choice Beverage in McKinney, Grapevine Beer and Wine, and Lone Star Beverages in Carrollton.

Tina Danze is a free lance writer. Follow here on Twitter @Tina Danze.