The Bruery
Placentia, CA
Available: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, IL, OH, OR, MD, MA, NV, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, VA, WA, DC, WI
This spring saison seasonal was brewed in two versions―one with the brewery’s house yeast and another with 100 percent Brettanomyces―which are blended before bottling.
ABV: 6.5
ABW: 5.2
Bitterness: 40
Original gravity: 1052
This 6.5% ABV American interpretation of a Belgian saison is bottle conditioned and will, the brewery says, improve over two years. It has a hazy gold color and pours with an enormous fluffy head of foam. The aroma is astonishingly complex, with hop resins, pine kernels, zesty orange and lemon fruit and rich malt. Tart hops and fruit dominate the mouth but there’s a solid malty base, too. The finish is long and lingering, with further contributions from malt, hops and fruit before the beer finally becomes dry and uncompromisingly bitter. A pail of mussels, garçon!
The pale honey-colored beer tosses up a rocky white foam. The aroma is mildly spicy, with notes of apple peel, anise, and white pepper. An almost salty dry palate opens onto malt that briefly seems sweet, before broad bitterness yanks it back to dryness. The finish is flinty and austere. The label notes a “rustic Brettanomyces character”, but wild yeast is not in evidence; further reading reveals that it is expected to emerge with time. For now, this is a tasty saison with classic structure and an intriguing future.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.
