8

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

Can, dated 10/28/23, drunk 7/17/23. Clear, ruddy amber. Medium-sized, butter-colored head shows moderate retention. Quite aromatic as I'm pouring, with light acidity from the spruce and juniper. Doesn't seem too acidic nor does the specialty malt seem to be overdone. Pretty good base malt, and lovely esters from the yeast without any crude esters/phenols. Nothing like the overly Americanized saison with banana/bubblegum/clove. Soft, malty, fruity, well-attenuated with black pepper, orange-cherry-bitters-like character almost as if from an old fashioned. Not too bitter, though, and no astringency which is impressive given the list of ingredients here. I'm starting to think this can date is not a best before and was just a misprint and that this was canned Oct 2022. The mellowness seems to suggest that. Regardless, this is fantastic; just enough malt sweetness with well-homogenized adjuncts and a charming yeast.