BindleStick
Carter's Brewing

a sorachi ace hopped saison, one of my favorite hops and a brewery i trust to make this type of beer well, so i was jazzed to see it on their menu! its a cool beer, simple, less exciting on the fermentation side and on the malt side than some of their others, pretty straight ahead stuff, but drinkable and solid. golden in color, lively headed from the tap, lots of fizz and rising bubbles, decently well refined looking. aroma and flavor show the hop pretty obviously, but its not as distinctive and pungent as i know it to be, almost a sort of muted expression of it, but what i think is happening is that the esters of the yeast are kind of interfering with the nuances of the hop, like i get more pear and bubblegum belgian tones than i do the usual lemon curd or lemongrass and dill character i look for in sorachi ace. i also think these are being grown more widely now, and maybe arent as complex and distinctive as when they came from japan. i like the beer though, light and summery, subtle white pepper and earthy spiciness, almost more of a pils than a wheat vibe to the malt, and the hops make it fresh and herbal and distinct without any bitterness. i think the yeast and the hops do go well together, but i also think they cancel each other out just a little bit, resonate a little too close to the same note. clean and good, floral and hoppy, this would love a brett pitch i reckon!