Crooked Stave Colorado Wild Sage Saison at 7.2% ABV (US$7.99 at Knightly Spirits Orange Blossom Trail, 375 ml, packaged on 1-Jul-2015, acquired 15-May-2017, reviewed 16-Mar-2018)
Appearance: crystal clear pale straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: sage, floral, earthy funk, light zesty lemon. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild peppery spice and funky tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry light tart finish. (4/5)
Not the first time I’ve had savoury elements in beer, and to some extent I remain somewhat unconvinced as to how well that approach works. That said, it probably works somewhat better here because of the inclusion of Brett – there’s still a lot of sweetness and fruit present, but the dry funky Brett character works well with the herbal sage. At least, as far as the aroma goes, it does. There’s an interesting disconnect between aroma and taste here, with a bright tart citrus coming through on the tongue but nearly completely absent on the nose (or maybe it’s just completely overwhelmed by the sage sledgehammer). Really pretty beer, though I’m fairly sure that’s a happy accident and not filtering: I poured the tulip full, and the last half inch or so remaining in the bottle had all the lees that had settled fairly hard during the 10 months or so this thing has been sitting undisturbed and waiting for tonight. An interesting beer, if not overly approachable. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
