Red Hill Brewery, The Bloody Plums Farmhouse Saison

My brother currently resides in Melbourne and he regularly sends me updates about the local brewing scene and some of the stand out beers he's sampled. One in particular he mentioned was this fruit saison by Red Hill Brewing. He brought a bottle all the way back from Down Under for (swapped for a Kernel barrel aged saison). I wish he had brought a case! A truly world class beer. The plums come from the tree on their land and a bumper crop one year led to this beer.

Looked a slight pink in the glass? A big fruity nose. Authentic saison high carbonation. The fruit was certainly up front but at the same time quite subtle, lending a key element to the beer rather than defining it. It's hard to find the words that do justice to just how well intergrated the fruit element in this was. I'd had the Ilkley Siberia on tap a month or so after this, prompted to do so primarily because it was the only other saison I'd seen made overtly with fruit. That beer was too sweet and consequently, I'm afraid to say, the little rhubarb there was came across as nearly sickly and almost artificial.

The Bloody Plums was the antithesis of the Ilkley. Following the fruit was a Fantôme-style orange hoppiness and that strong, saison yeast centre. Finish bitter and mildly drying. Some of Konrad's photos from his visit to the brewery are below. Check some of this other images here.