Houblonio Arruda

(32oz growler from La Duchesse d'Aiguillon, Quebec City) Pours lightly hazy deep gold with a decent white head and spotty lace. Aroma carries the expected blend of saison and IPA qualities, leaning on the former with notes of rustic cereals, some fruity bubblegum esters, touches of herbal phenols, augmented by some orange peel and subtle tropical fruit and even some floral accents. Flavour is quite dry in a classic 'Brett-in-primary IPA' way with little residual sugar, some cereals and a little white bread, tropical flowers, orange peel, leafy hops, peppery phenols much more in evidence in place of esters, especially in the bone dry finish where they play with the hop bitterness. Balance is crisp but not mineral. Light to medium bodied with average plus carbonation. A nice blend of saison and IPA with the high attenuation from Brett. Good with food, good on its own.