Farmer’s Delight - Roughhouse Brewing Review
Roughhouse Brewing out of San Marcos, Texas, has bleeped on our radar and we are excited to give their Farmer’s Delight farmhouse ale a try, and not just because it’s a local but because it sounds amazing.
Roughhouse started with Texas-grown Pilsner malt, dry-hopped with the very amazing and very American Centennial, Cascade, and Amarillo hops, and took this beer over the top with the addition of fresh Texas grapefruit. Roughhouse uses their own yeast strain, native to their Pasternak Ranch in San Marcos, and they ferment their farmhouse ales in oak. This results in 7% ABV and one intriguing beer.
Now that is a process to get excited about. Let’s test it on the senses in our first impressions.
First Impressions
On the Eyes -- Light golden in color with a hazy body (likely from the dry-hopping), and topped with a thick cream-colored head.
On the Nose -- The Cascade and Amarillo jump out of this Farmhouse ale. The grapefruit citrus is fresh and the beer is inviting with a lot of character. It makes the mouth water like a sweet and sour chunk of citrus on a hot day.
On the Palate -- The citrus and floral notes pop with a formidable grapefruit flavor at the forefront. It has a great bite on the tongue that I love from these funky farmhouse ales. It tastes aggressively (and smartly) hopped with the citrus-packed and distinct Cascade and Centennial hops and the lively punch of the Amarillo hops. Each of these hops brings its own citrus characteristic that blends really nicely with the fresh Texas grapefruit. The yeast character tastes quite clean to me with a pinch of spice, but I will have to try more Roughhouse ales to get a better idea of their selected yeast. Farmer’s delight goes down with little resistance, finishes dry, and preps the drinker for another swig.
Final Thoughts
Roughhouse says Farmer’s Delight is “a delightful end to a hard day’s work!” And they are correct. Roughhouse aggressively hopped this farmhouse ale with complementary hops to blend nicely with the fresh grapefruit. This beer is about as Texas as a beer can be, from the malt to the grapefruit to the yeast, and as a Texan, I admire the heck out of that. We paired our Farmer’s delight with fried chicken and a bitter green salad dressed with a homemade grapefruit vinaigrette. Try it if you have a chance, or go pair it with the atmosphere and food at Roughouse’s taproom in San Marcos.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew