Thursday 10 May 2018

#351: Mother Derp

Summer is upon us, which in Ireland means it's nearly springtime, which means it's time for saison. This from Glazen Toren arrived in the shop last year alongside three or four stablemates, and is presented in an attractive and only slightly annoying paper wrapping. 

Saison Dupont is still pretty much my touchstone for the style and, as well as matching its abv of 6.5%, Saison d'Erpe-Mere has a similar white pepper-laced wheat biscuit character. This is further improved by a big, pillowy and fluffy body, enhancing those estery qualities before finishing peppery and dry. 
This is endlessly drinkable, like a saison should be, even if that abv would suggest otherwise.

In a completely different vein of saison is Northern Monk's Patrons Project 7.01, a DDH Saison. I was hooked by the label, which is as good a reason to buy a thing as any. What I didn't know until I had the beer in my glass and the label peeled back for info is that this is a New England saison. IPA had it coming, but who knew they would do this to a saison. As such, the beer pours pale and milky as you'd like and gives plenty of sweet and thick citrus fruit, as well as  the also anticipated savoury edge that has flashes of wild garlic. However, these boffins know what they are doing and the Wallonian yeast brings maturity in the form of pepper and, more importantly, does a great job drying the beer up and keeping it sharp and bright above its dank depths.
New England is not really the place I want my saison to be going but, for all my aversion to Brewer's Armpit™, this works rather well and puts to the sword many recent exercises in gluey, sweaty dankness chucked together by the best and brightest in modern craft brewing.

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