Sound Brewery Mortal Kombat X Raiden Imperial Saison at 8% ABV (C$10.19 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 25-Sep-2016)
Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: cloves/coriander, apples and pears, bubblegum, citrus, wheat? (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)
Look, I know railing against high ABV Saisons is something of a hobby horse of mine, but seriously, doesn’t an Imperial Saison make about as much sense as an Imperial Kölsch, or an Imperial Pale Lager? … aaaand of course a quick search reveals that there are lunatics out there making both. All right, fine, I give: go ahead and swig 8% beer as a thirst quencher while working in the hot sun. I’m sure those furrows don’t actually need to be straight. And, yeah, the fact is, this is actually good – a little heavy-hand, perhaps, but still quite good. To the point where I’m actually looking forward to the Imperial Stout from the lineup – but I’m not about to crack that just yet. I’m still working up my courage for the inevitable onslaught of oktoberfest and pumpkin spice beers that the next four to six weeks will bring. Come talk to me about Imperial Stouts in November. And December. And January, March, and April, actually. Assuming I haven’t actually eaten my gun in response to the iron grey skies and sideways sleet by then, I mean… :/ (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
