The Dominator
Central City Brewers + Distillers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

330ml bottle, day 4 of the 2015 Craft Crossing Calendar, a 'collaborative' effort once again between Parallel 49 and Central City brewing. So named in honour of a past Central City brewer, it would seem.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, medium golden yellow colour, with one skinny finger of weakly foamy, and mostly just bubbly dirty white head, which leaves some low-lying wavecrest lace around the glass as it gently subsides.

It smells of grainy, lightly crackery pale malt, red apple skin, lemon rind, a slightly phenolic funk, muted white pepper and coriander spice, further earthy generic yeast, and perhaps a touch of paint thinner astringency. The taste is grainy, lightly bready pale malt, mixed fruit bowl esters, subtle, and almost ethereal Brett funk (so, um, yay!), nicely even black pepper mill dust and crushed coriander seeds, and a gentle, if somewhat still estery booziness.

The carbonation is quite low and inoffensive (or merely supportive, depending on how you look at it) in its meek frothiness, the body a sturdy middleweight, and way more smooth than I might have predicted at the outset - so, thank you, timid guest bacteria strain! It finishes off-dry, and mostly malty and fruity, with just a hint of lingering yeastiness, sans the funk.

Overall, not a bad version of the style, with a Brett essence that seems like it clocked in, walked through the paces in rubber boots, and punched out early to be someplace else. And so what? I'm tired of this Brett-led funk craze anyways - bring back the normal-ass Saisons!