Marañón Predator
Off Color Brewing

 

 

Initially pours a crystal clear golden color. Very effervescent. Thick, pillowy, four finger head steadily collapses and dissolves until just a ring of white foam remains on the outside of the top of the beer. Lots of sticky white lacing coats the glass as the beer is consumed. Pouring the last bit of the can into the glass does result in a cloudier appearance.

Aroma has notes of lemon, lime, floral hops, white bread, pilsner malts, light green grassy notes, lemon grass, and some light honey sweetness.

Taste follows the nose with notes of white bread, pilsner malt on which there are notes of lemon, floral notes, lemongrass, green grass, and some light sweet honey. Very slight green bitterness on the back end.

Feel is effervescent and bubbly. Somewhat drier throughout.

This is really a very nice saison - I was surprised by how much I liked it ... Must be my natural distrust of saisons in cans. But seriously, a really nice saison and well worth trying.

 

Looks like a mimosa, hazy saturated pale orange with a momentary patchy fizz of bubbles that disappear fast. Rapid rising carb trails visible.

Smells like regular Apex saison yeast, slightly earthy and phenolic.

Taste is juicy and fruity initially with a mild citrus that segues into the phenolic saison yeast from the aroma. Tastes basically like a splash of tart orange juice in Apex Predator. Yeast tends to linger and nearly dominates the taste. Medium bodied, prickly at first, yielding to a mellow suppleness.

Overall it’s pretty good, though not a huge step in a new direction. It actually reminds me of the early test batches of Troublesome straight from OC’s “horny tank” at the brewery.

I don't want to disagree with the Venerable StonedTrippin who is everywhere (and who added this ale brewed in my backyard. But, I am rating Maranon relative to other saisons. Maranon clearly follows the Predator line of seven saisons I've tasted. While Maranon does have this mild, subtle wild yeast added from the cacao, I'm going to re-taste next to another Predator.

But for now, this is another excellent saison for the table. While Maranon loses its foam like many other Wilds, its Smells attack like a champ; full of lemon and a tad of funk. A malted medley of grains, Tastes are nicely tart and are just enough to clean the palate; but not so tart as to steal the show from the food. Bubbly and balanced, Maranon asks me to let it sit in my mouth for long savor.

I had this can with a make-shift dinner and Maranon made it an interesting evening. As owner of a 4-pack purchased at Off Color's brewhouse, I will pair this with better prepared meals and report back. My affections for Off Color have muted as they opened their pub with foeders and saw some tart Wilds evolve into too sour Wilds. If Maranon actually be a Wild, this is how I prefer they make them.

super inventive and unique stuff here, a light and delicate saison base fermented with a yeast strain that was isolated from some rare type of cacao, never heard of such a thing before! its really neat, and it might have been my favorite beer i had during our recent visit here. upon first sip, i immediately was sort of let down, like i wanted it to be more different and dramatic right from the start, but its with careful contemplation, time to let it warm up, and getting hip to the nuances that makes this special, its real subtle, and at first sort of presents itself as a lightly tart saison, nothing real out of the ordinary, nothing really identifiable from cacao, and sort of simple beer. however, once i really get into it, i start to pick up some really interesting funkiness and earthy almost musty character behind the tartness in the fermentation profile. i also start to get some curious cacao elements, a thread of bitterness, buttery sort of smooth feel, not sure than can all come from yeast, but somehow it seems to. i get some lime and light citrus here too, an earthy and very very dry grain base, if its wheat its delicate, seems more pils malt type to me, and a soft white wine element as well, but its the mellow yeast that is the start of this and what makes it so interesting. hard not to be blown away by this, its really unique and really good, and i like it more and more each sip i take. champage sort of carbonation and a ton of character by the end. this is the kind of beer that makes off color so special! dont overlook this one if its a little underwhelming on the first sip!