Poured at 6°C from a 750ml bottle, split across two wine glasses. Cloudy gold, enormously foamy, the head still there when the glass is half empty.
Sante Adairius have built this on pils / wheat with Sterling in the kettle. 6.0%, 18 IBU: unremarkable numbers on paper, and the beer is better for it.
The aroma writes a cheque the palate very nearly cashes. What arrives is drier and quieter than the nose promises, and while the finish is clean, a point of the score disappears into the gap between the two.
It holds together across a second glass, which is not guaranteed at 6.0%. The bitterness accumulates rather than fatigues, and the aroma is still doing something by the bottom of the second pour, which is the real test of a barrel-aged saison.
The brett is present and behaving, which is not something to take for granted. Pineapple and old leather at the edges, no nail varnish, no wet dog. Whatever the house culture is, it is under control.
Against the rest of the saison shelf this holds its own comfortably. It is not the beer that will convert anybody to the style, but it is the one you reach for once the converting is done, and at $26.00 / 750ml it is honestly priced.
Bought at Brewery allocation (rare at the time of writing). Wine glass, 10°C. A pint glass wastes it.
Pair it with something salty and eat while you drink. It rewards the company.
