The Million Dollar Shag (I)
5 Paddles Brewing Company

 

 

 

Bomber received back in June through an intra-province trade - thanks Chris! Served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy pinkish-apricot colour, equipped with one finger of puffy, bone white-coloured foam. It fades off over the next couple of minutes; a frothy collar remains, but little in the way of lacing is generated. Sour raspberry and flowery hibiscus leap out on the nose, looming over top of suggestions of strawberry, wheaty malts and some very faint funk.

An enjoyable beer, but the raspberry (and to a lesser extent, the hibiscus) kind of dominate the other aspects of this saison. Bready, wheaty malts do manage to pierce the surface at times, but for the most part it's all red berries; maybe a few hints of stone fruit (e.g. apricot). Herbal, floral hibiscus notes start to rear their head on the back end, with a subtly sweet/tart, fruity finish. Light-medium in body, with moderate carbonation levels that lighten up considerably as you make your way through the glass - it feels crisp at first, but softens and smooths by the time the glass has reached room temperature. Quite quaffable and refreshing.

Final Grade: 3.87, a B+. The Million Dollar Shag definitely measures up as a fruit beer, but as a farmhouse ale? I'm not so sure. The fact that I happen to love raspberries makes up for that somewhat, but regardless, I do feel that this beer is a little lacking in complexity - the raspberries kind of blot most of the other features out. Does that make it bad? Hell no! It's actually a pretty yummy little fruit beer - but it could be even more delicious with just a little bit of tweaking. Worth a pick up; I'd get it again if the price was right, but as far as saisons go, I think I preferred their Chant des Wallons by a slight margin.

Raspberries and hibiscus can each turn a beer rosy. So it's no surprise The Million Dollar Shag, brewed with both, looks correspondingly like pink lemonade. This lovely colour has a flushed, frothy head and brilliant complexion to match, as well as bubbles that shoot up as if spring-loaded.

One sniff of it conjures the simple joys of summer's gentle breeze, hot sun, green grass and colorful flowers (so I write at the end of December, with a blanket over my lap, staring out the window at a grey sky and snow). Seriously though, this splendidly fruity and lightly sweet bouquet is an easy one to like.

However, it's not all flowers and berries fruit. The grainy and barnyard notes typical of a Saison may be subdued but they aren't buried; funk can be noted throughout. Almost like little sparks, peppery spice or overripe orchard fruit flare up. The crisp, dry, straw-like presence of wheat malt is noted too.

What ultimately makes it so pleasing, however, isn't the Saison - it's the raspberry and hibiscus. There are subtle yet faintly jammy notes that resemble strawberry, as well as floral and herbal flavours that mimic a perfectly steeped blend of chamomile, lavender, rose petal, and red rooibos.

Although a mere 6.5% alcohol, this beer has held up remarkably well since being brewed in late summer/early fall; a few months in the cellar has taken none of the fruity, floral shine off it. It's as pleasant now as it was fresh, despite the relatively delicate profile. That's sign of a well-made beer.

The Million Dollar Shag may not be worth *that* much but it's certainly as good as the six dollars I spent for the bomber. Is it a night you'll never forget? Probably not, but it's still very good as far fruit/herb infused beers go. In a summer where plenty of local breweries did this kind of thing, few did it this well.

650ml bottle from brewery.

Murky blood orange with large but quickly subsiding head. Minimal lacing. Strong raspberry aromas. Berry flavours with raspberry dominant. Very dry, and lightly tart. Hibiscus is not prominent. Enjoyable raspberry saison, but not something to seek out.

 

Package: 650 ml bottle.

Appearance - Ruby red, cloudy, dense.

Smell - Raspberry citrus notes.

Taste - The saison breaks through at first then you are hit with the raspberries, and hibiscus, but then are smooth and not over powering. Surprising.

Mouth-feel - The tart is mellow, nice, enjoyable, easy on the palette.

Overall - Honestly surprised. I am not a person to enjoy fruit beers, I don't like sour. This is incredibly well balanced. The ras/hic is well planned and don't outweigh the saison. Bravo.

Picked up in 650 ml bottle from brewery. Advertised as a raspberry-hibiscus ale. Poured berry red with airy foam which disappeared after a few minutes. Nice organic raspberry scent. Taste was fruity, not overly sweet, with some tartness, just like a pint of fresh raspberries. Really nice fruit ale, I would recommend.