I managed to drink this Saison brew from
Partizan within about 6 weeks of it being brewed, so I think I got it reasonably fresh. Very hazy, crayon yellow, tropical nose. My first Saison, I couldn't isolate the components of that very distinctive taste as such: winter spices/herbs? Cinnamon? Cloves possibly? (Mouthwash??) The
Galaxy hops came through as a sort of parenthesis to the spices - possibly in the same manner that the hops accompany some of those hoppy brown ales (i.e.
Kernel India Brown Ale +
Brewdog's 5am Saint). Forward thinking brewing for sure, but if I was being uncharitable, the hoppiness might seem to be present only for the sake of it? I absolutely don't mean to say that this pairing of flavours should be frowned upon, but it did have the slight effect that my drinking ended up feeling more like an experiment than classic enjoyment. (I strongly suspect though, that this tacitly says more about my level of experience than it does anything else. Obviously, if it wasn't for experimentation with beer flavours, I wouldn't have started this blog....)
My palate was homemade fishcakes with a fresh horseradish sauce - that strength of flavour could well have influenced my tasting of this beer. Saisons aren't for me I don't think. I'll try another I think (a 'truer' example, the Dupont probably) for parity's sake, but I'm not expecting to be converted.
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