Snowball Saison Ale
To Øl

Copenhagen 29/1 2017. 75 cl bottle from Meny, Østerfælled Torv, Kbh. Ø. Label looks like conceptual art with different takes of a snowball doing different kinds of recreational things. Some of the snowballs are pitch black - just for the hell of it.

Pours hazy orange with very big white head. Stable and fluffy. Settles as a thin creamy layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is tart and fruity. Dominated by citric notes. Lemon, citrus and gooseberries. Not very Christmas-like - but not surprising considering the style.

Medium strong carbonation and slightly thick palate. Lightly tingling texture.

Flavor is lightly sweet followed by a very dominating tart sourness. As the beer warms up the not insignificant amount of alcohol becomes evident. Aftertaste is sourish.

Quite strange choice for a Winter Seasonal - but It might go well with the Christmas Roast. It would certainly be a change.

Poured from an undated bottle pulled from the basement, into the big tulip
A - Orange blossom honey color, excellent carbonation feeds a resilient frothy cap. Carbonation has a champagne quality in size and activity.
S - Cadied orange, must, dry dirt basement. A touch of aspirin and sulphur nothing offensive.
T - Dry hoped with a variety that pushes the orage, set against the Brett/Mix yeast turns out a great candied orange flavor. Then the earthy grains, and yeasty esters add a delightful thread. There is a white pepper aspect and some clove as well
M- Medium in body, carbonation is prickly and moves the sweet start along, through each of the palate phases.
Linger is dry and a bit acidic, quite nice.
O - A good take on the style, with the push and pull between the citrussy hops and the base grains with the yeast/Brett acting as conductors

 

 

Hazy brass; petrol + rose petals; cracker, some orange, white pepper, some peach melba, star anise + oregano end; crisp.

4 3.5 4 4 4

Smells boozy at only 8%. But lots of nice spice in the event. Can't say I noticed the Brett. Like the label says, good food beer.

 

This double dry hopped saison is perfectly in style with a strong peppery and herbal character. Quite dry, the mouthfeel is juicy. Nice look with hazy golden body and nice white head

 

 

 

To Øl. I love saying it. It rolls off the tongue: To Øl... To Øl... actually I lie: I’m still a bit fuzzy on the “Ø” pronunciation... I’ve heard that it’s said like “or”, but then “or” doesn’t work with an “L” after it... “To Orl”? (someone from Scandinavia help a brother out here!). ANYWAY I’m expecting another tasty drop from this gypsy brewer - To Øl certainly doesn’t f**k spiders (to coin a popular Aussie bogan euphemism) when it comes to brewing, so I’m expecting BIG flavours without compromises. Their DIPA Underground was like a punch in the pancreas for me and I’m hoping this being 8% ABV (instead of 8.5% of the DIPA) will mean that the sugar content isn’t so diabetes inducing... here goes!

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Spectacular cloudy Harvest gold body with a firm and slightly creamy half centimetre white head that leaves some lace scrawl on the side of the glass. Bit darker than the average Saison, but this is To Øl so all bets are off. 8/10.

S: Brett funk from the get-go which leads on into a floral/earthy and an acidic noted aroma. There’s nothing outstanding about the character of this Saison, it could be a Belgian Saison if I was blindfolded. Waiting for something to jump out I noticed a slight hospital disinfectant touch lingering in the background... weird or am I overthinking it now? Perhaps that’s the band-aid smell other craft beer reviewers have noticed - I’ve never noticed it before, huh, I get it now. 7/10.

T: That acidity noted above is ever present here - herbal bitter lemon throughout the profile. Starts out with a hint of Brett funk (barnyard character as I like to call it), follows through to pepper/floral/earthy notes... actually this is one of the easiest drinking 8% brews I’ve had. Balance is sublime and no alcohol noticed in the profile. Pretty damn tasty... too damn tasty! Aftertaste has a slight menthol note - Aha, a hint of alcohol! 9/10.

M: Medium bodied with a nice dense/creamy carbonation, goes down like liquid-silk (patent pending). 9/10.

D: Kinda glad this doesn’t come in a 500ml can (or 750ml corked/caged bottle!) as it’s dangerously easy-drinking this one. I finished the bottle like it was a soft drink, I’ve struggled more with light beers than this one. If you’ve ever liked a classic Saison and thought “I need to get drunk a little bit quicker” then this is the meal ticket for you. To Øl nailed this one. 9/10.

Food match: Chicken is your main meat with this bad boy.

 

 

From Labirratorium. In Teku glass. Playing The Last Door Season 2. Funk notes noticeable but kept to a low level, behind citrusy hops. Very refreshing, with alcohol really hidden. Very foamy, requiring 2 pours

Huge hop nose with notes of funky brett mixed in. Very piney hops. I also smell what seems to be spices of some kind.

Golden in color with some haze, lots of sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Carbonation higher than average.

Solid mouthfeel and a nice full body. You can really roll the beer around in your mouth.

Nice dry finish with some lingering bitterness and funk.

Overall a unique beer.

 

L: Slightly hazy golden color, three finger white head, messy lacing, good carbonation.

S: Wit, hops.

T: Slightly hoppy, slightly citrucy, slightly bitter.

F: Full flavored for a saison. Silky smooth for 8.0%

O: Very good saison.

 

 

L: Golden orange with an whipped egg white consistency head.
S: Hints of cherry...or maybe I've just been primed to smell Christmas.
T&F: Rounded flavour, sweet and fruity with a definite marzipan candy taste to it. Very, very pleasant - almost like drinking a classy soft drink compared to a strong IPA. Soft carbonation. High alcohol content not noticeable.