Fresh 2015 can, drunk 6/23/15
This beer pretty much epitomizes the "How closely do I rate to-style?" dilemna. Reason being, it’s a fantastic pale ale. There’s an afterthought of Belgian character (very light Belgian esters) but I think it would be a stretch even to call this thing a hoppy Belgian ale. Perhaps that’s just because it’s so hop-forward and being so low gravity, the yeast nuances aren’t exactly bursting through the seams. Maybe if you aged this thing six months, and the hops died down, more Belgian character would emerge? I don’t know. I do know that the tropical fruit and light bread/honey malts are done wonderfully in both aroma and flavor. Soft, but tight carbonation and no huskiness/yeast blandness/astringency create a comforting texture and the beer is dry, yet not too much so.
It’s an interesting question: Do I rate this poorly because it is very un-saison-like though knowing that I’m rating an otherwise great beer poorly? I think most would be quick to eschew style-guidelines and rate a great beer appropriately. But what if this were marketed as a German Helles? What if a beer marketed as a Belgian Trippel tasted more like an American Double IPA (yet a delicous one)? No easy answer, as I do feel there is some value in keeping brewers accountable to some degree. It just so happens that I love hoppy, non-resinous, light APAs, so I was pleasantly surprised with this. But what if the purchaser dosen’t like American Pale Ales and was buying this because they really wanted a Belgian saison? They’d be disappointed to find very little saison quality to the "saison" they just purchased. Always good to think about these things....

16 oz can purchased at Tully’s in Wells, ME. Poured the entire 16 oz. into a 20 oz. glass, completely hazy gold with a active carbonation level. Aroma is just awesome! Traces of pine, mild grass and grapefruits.

The yeast is hard to find under all these hops but no worries... It has a big hop profile. Lots of citrus right upfront with the grain giving an attempt to balance. Nice long lingering floral notes after the sip. The aroma overall maybe a tad stronger then the actual flavor, just a tad. Even still, just a Wanderful brew to sip. (see what I did there). Glad a grabbed a entire four pack!