Can from Drankenhandel Leiden. Hoppy and peppery with grass, peppery yeast, a little citrus, grain, light herbal. Moderate bitter with a dry finish. Crisp and infinitely drinkable.

Classically styled saison - apart from the fact, perhaps, that it contains spelt and a New World hop (albeit the most classic one of them all: Cascade) - brewed as a collab between Stroom here in Ghent and Frontaal, one of the leading craft breweries in Breda, opened in 2015 and still going strong today. Can from the Delhaize supermarket at the Sterre in Ghent. Thick and bit irregular, frothy, off-white, shred-like lacing, opening but otherwise stable head on an initially clear, warm and pure old-golden robe with visible sparkling, misty with sediment. Aroma of freshly baked (spelt) bread and bread crust, dried thyme, grass, raw parsnip, old ginger powder, chamomile tea, wrinkled apple peel, mealy pear, clove, acacia blossoms, minerals. Quite crisp, restrainedly sweetish onset, green pear and slight apple peel notes with a dash of unripe peach, lively but fine-bubbled carb adding to the crispness, through a supple, herb cracker- and spelt bread-like core, becoming more dry as very little residual sugars are left, and upon which pleasantly herbal aspects build (ginger, thyme, turmeric, clove - but none of these outspoken), as a result of the hops and the saison yeast working together. Ends with confident, long-drying and quenching, floral hop bitterness bringing retronasal aromas of a spring bouquet - but apart from a hint of old dried orange peel, very little of the citrusiness I was expecting from anything containing Cascade. I think they deliberately wanted to keep this element in the background to eliminate all potential IPA associations - rightly so, because the end result is something much more akin to Saison Dupont, which is about as classic as it gets for a saison. Elegant, very 'authentically' saison-like, with entertaining herbal and grainy elements so that it does not become boring: this is the kind of light-hearted summer ale I like. Whether this is Frontaal's merit or Stroom's is something I will leave in the middle, as both to me seem equally qualified to come up with a beer like this...