Cerveza Sin Frontera coming from Jester King/Crooked Stave/Trois Dames

Image credit: Jester King (click to enlarge).

A beer that's been well over a year in the making, Jester King has just received federal label approval for Cerveza Sin Frontera, a farmhouse ale created in a joint effort with Crooked Stave of Colorado and Brasserie Trois Dames of Switzerland.

Sin Frontera, or "borderless" as the Spanish phrase translates to English, is meant to take consumers on a journey to an abstract land called Swicolotexeradoland, which brings together features of the Texas Hill Country, the Swiss Alps and the Colorado Rockies.

According to a post on the Trois Dames website, the idea for the beer came about after representatives from the three breweries met at the 2013 edition of The Festival in Portland, Maine. The concept being to brew the same recipe, but ferment the beer at each location separately to see how it would develop under the influence of each brewery's unique yeast culture. Fermentation was to occur over the course of 6-to-12 months in 70-80 year-old sherry barrels from the Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera.

The Jester King version was brewed in October 2013, with the second batch created at Crooked Stave the following April and the final one in May of 2014 at Trois Dames. As Jester King notes on a blog entry of their own after the first brew day, the collaboration was intended to be a long-term fermentation project, but it would appear the time has come to finally taste the fruits of that labor. At least based an event listing in Portland, Oregon (of all places), it would appear the beer should be out sometime in late April. Of course, this may all depend on the timeliness of TABC approval.

Shiner farms out FM 966 in cans

Image credit:  Spoetzl Brewery

Say what you want about Shiner, but you have to give them credit for being consistent. Explore beyond that bock beer, and time and again you'll find a good, easy-drinking brew that leans towards the milder side of the target style guideline. Their products have, and probably always will appeal to their core consumer, that being the opposite of the über beer geek.

Shiner FM 966 Farmhouse Ale is no exception to the above-defined rule. It's the kind of beer that doesn't have too much of this, or too little of that. Whether or not that means it's "just right", I'll leave that for you to decide.

The brewery's spring seasonal has a fair amount of complexity with hints of spice and funk to go along with some light florals. Clove-like phenols are more evident in the aroma, masked off somewhat in the taste by the enduring flavor of bread yeast. There is a faint bitterness, but no real tartness despite having a sort of lemon drop candy character in the background. It's a refreshing beer, with ample effervescence and a light-to-medium body.

Like most other Shiner products, if you're already a fan of the brewery you'll probably enjoy this one too. It's not a spot-on saison, though, due to being somewhat yeasty and not having an overly forward fruit character. Still, it's a good, easy-drinking brew that leans towards the milder side of the target style guideline.

Wait a second...didn't I already say that?

See? Consistent.


This year, FM 966 Farmhouse Ale is being offered for the first time in 6-packs of 12-ounce cans. Find it through March wherever Shiner beers are sold.

* Samples provided courtesy of Shiner/McGarrah-Jessee.