Blueberry Mint Saison
Burnside Brewing Co.

 

 

 

This pours a hazy orange colour with a thick white head with lasting power. The nose leads with malt and yeast. There is a slight fruitiness there as well, but nothing that screams blueberry or mint. They do show up in the taste however. Blueberry, mint, yeast, malt and pepper. Getting lots of pepper. The carbonation was very active, slowly settling down.

 

22oz bottle - part of something called the Elemental Scale, yadda, yadda, yadda, hmmmmm, mint, you say? I always fear the mouthwash or toothpaste effect when I hear that.

This beer pours a hazy, yet bright medium salmon-tinged golden amber hue, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and mildly fizzy off-white head, which leaves a bit of sudsy coral atoll lace around the glass as it quickly fades away.

It smells of gritty, grainy pale malt, edgy yeast, dry clover honey, black and white pepper dust, muddled dark berries, and a spicy green thing that may or may not be described as mint. The taste is semi-sweet blueberries, a soft grainy pale maltiness, earthy honey, still fussy yeast, faded kitchen table ground pepper, further tart lemon rind notes, and yep, a minor (but that's all it takes, folks) spicy, and kind of metallic mintiness.

The bubbles are quite forward in their mouth (and other adjacent cavity) filling fizzy and frothy double barrel zippiness, the body an adequate middleweight, and not particularly smooth, as the carbonation really just needs to settle the hell down first. It finishes fairly dry, the blueberries singing their swan song, while the yeast and other sundry sour essences tangle with the lingering mint spiciness.

Sure, I had my unfounded associative fears coming in, but after just having battled my toddler during his nightly toothbrushing ordeal, I can state firmly that this is more dessert-friendly minty, than the ADA-approved sort. Also, the blueberries do well to perk things up, and at the same time further distance this one from yer typical version of the purported style.

On tap at the brewery restaurant. Beautiful cloudy, red-tinted amber color with a fine-grained foam. A little herbal but not too much actual mint flavor. Vague tart fruitiness. Slightly yeasty but not particularly Saison tasting. Very refreshing summer brew.

 

Beautiful pink color. Nice, crisp, tart flavor right up front. Subtle mint flavors comes at the end to refresh the palate