7.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

12 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 10/2019. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep ruby red, light pink/purple color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. No lacing and a light amount of streaming carbonation on the glass. Good appearance. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy black currants, fruit skin/seed, cranberry, pomegranate, blackberry, hibiscus, strawberry, lemon, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, red apple, red grape/wine, peppercorn, clove, coriander, cardamom, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light banana/bubblegum, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, black currant, hibiscus, grains of paradise, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/tart/tangy black currants, fruit skin/seed, cranberry, pomegranate, blackberry, hibiscus, strawberry, lemon, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, red apple, red grape/wine, peppercorn, clove, coriander, cardamom, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light banana/bubblegum, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate peppery yeast spiciness, and hibiscus/currant tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy currant/skin/seed, berries, pomegranate, hibiscus, lemon, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, red apple, red grape/wine, peppercorn, clove, coriander, cardamom, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light banana/bubblegum, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, black currant, hibiscus, grains of paradise, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/tangy/spiciness balance; and no puckering, astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering tart/tangy/spiciness and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth and moderately grainy/acidic/tangy/tannic/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.3%. Overall this is an excellent fruited/spiced saison. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, black currant, hibiscus, grains of paradise, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/clean/refreshing to drink with the modestly spicy/acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish. Awesome balanced juicy/jammy currants/hibiscus, spice, and Belgian yeast complexity; with a solid pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example as expected. Not any better than the base beer, which only had the hibiscus.