Hay Fever Spring Saison
Parallel 49 Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

Pours a hazy golden-yellow with a foamy white head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of grain, earth, spice, and yeast aromas. Taste is much the same with sweet grain, fruit, yeast, and spice flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of yeast and spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp but sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a great smell and tasty flavors, but it is much sweeter than I was expecting it to be.

Serving type: bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

called a spring saison, but recently picked this up. No date. I def get plenty of hayfever myself so this works well.

Pours a large fizzy bubbly head that hits almost 2 fingers before fading back fairly quickly, mild soapy lacing, mostly clear slight chill hazed golden yellow color.

Nose brings typical saison notes, plenty of wheat, creamy like wheat, tons of coriander and orange peel, hint of a grainy husky note, mild fluffy wheat too, little lemony and grassy. Bit too heavy on the spices, and average.

Taste is more of the same, a typically over spiced and over flavored saison that almost has a fake flavor to it. So big on the spices, coriander, little clove, peppery, some phenols, etc, with big orange peel and lemon, citrus all over, a touch acidic even. Mild creamy fluffy wheat base with a little grainy grassy malt character. Semi sweet, with a little bitterness from lemony grassy hops, and that bitter citrus rind and lemon. Finish is still a bit sweet and sticky, more lemon rind and citrus, lots more coriander and spices, phenols, even mild fruity esters in there lingering, with a bit of bitterness.

Mouth is med to lighter bod, tons of fluffy carbonation almost distracting.

Overall OK, but nothing special. This is like the Americanized overly spiced overly citrus rind overpowering almost fake tasting saisons, where the brewers feel like they need to amp up a saison so much in order for people to like it that they just destroy all the things that actually make a saison nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parallel 49's current seasonal offering, bottle snagged from a six-pack and poured into a goblet. A cloudy light lemon yellow brew with a notably rich and creamy white head, releasing an aroma of fresh navel orange (probably the most obvious feature), coriander seed and clove, faint honey-like malt, and very fragrant grassy hops. A wonderful bouquet. Tastes like fermented honey, orange liquor, a decent dose of horse blanket funk, thistle, unripe pineapple, sour lemon and pincherry, and just a little aromatic alcohol. Rather tart, green, and full of citrus rind character, but featuring no shortage of spicy medicinal phenols and just the right amount of funk. Moderately chewy body and moderate to high carbonation, with a tart, earthy, herbal finish. A killer thirst quencher and true to style, if weighted towards the sour fruit as opposed to nutty malts. The malts are uber-clean and there's a boatload of citrus. A decidedly "North American" saison.