I mentioned in my recent round-up (here) that Village Brewing’s latest seasonal release is Village Gardener, a community-collaboration beer where the ingredients, including hops, honey and lavender, were grown by local communities and farmers. They called Community Involved Ale.

No question this is a pretty cool project. I love how they link actual Calgary community leagues, as well as local growers into the project. It is the best form of community involvement by a craft brewer.

Well, as it works out I happen to be in Calgary at the moment and stumbled across a bottle of Village Gardener at a local beer store. How could I resist? In their promotional material about the beer, Village never really hinted at the style they were aiming for, but I knew to expect honey and lavender.

It pours light gold with a touch of haze. It builds a tight, dense, blanket of white head. A very attractive beer, I must say. The aroma immediately exposes lavender floral notes along with touches of earthy honey and accents a generic light malt sweetness. The lavender really carries away the nose.

The flavour offers a similar interplay. The front is fairly light, offering summer fruit, some gentle soft malt and a meadowy honey sweetness.  The middle develops a bit of soapiness but that is quickly replaced by a floral, rustic earthiness and perfume character of lavender. I get a mix of perfume and dried grass and dusty wheat fields. The finish hands itself over to the lavender, with honey chasing behind saying “wait for me!” No particular hop character jumps out, although there is enough there to offer a solid back up. The hops in this brew are acting like the stay-at-home defenceman, who are best doing their job when no one notices them.

I am pleasantly surprised by this beer. I went into it really not knowing what to expect. Lavender can easily be overdone, but they find a way to walk that line. The flavour is confident without being exaggerated. The delicate body holds the summer-y flavours well. I find the effects of the lavender remind me of heather, but with a more perfume character. Sometimes I wonder if the bases beer in  Village’s experimental releases need a bit more oomph to create a fuller over all effect. Not this time. The delicate, fruity malt base is exactly the way to go to support the lavender and honey.

A very interesting beer. No question. Both intriguing enough to ponder, but still very quaffable.

Amazing what can happen when an entire community gets involved in making a beer.