Norsemen Ravenous Horde Rye Saison
Norsemen Brewing Co.

1L howler from Sherbrooke Liquor store - a Saison where the yeast were apparently particularly ravenous, hence the name.

This beer pours a clear, bright medium golden yellow colour, with three fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly off-white head, which leaves a bit of streaky low-lying banded lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of gritty and grainy pale malt, a lesser spicy wheat and rye character, muddled domestic citrus fruit, Low Countries yeast, generic black pepper, and a wee sense of alcohol unloved. The taste is bready and doughy pale malt, wet rye loaf, wheat crackers, rainbow peppercorns, some earthy and gently phenolic yeastiness, still hard to pinpoint citrus pith, a further indistinct spiciness, and very tame leafy, weedy, and somewhat perfumed floral verdant hops.

The carbonation is average in its palate-supporting frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and mostly smooth, but for a wee touch of spice intransigence messing about 'round these parts. It finishes trending dry, the mixed graininess, citrus, and pepper essences lingering on like there's no end in sight.

Overall, this is a pleasant enough version of the style, as long as you're ok with a dearth of sweetness - yeah, those yeast beasties really went to town. The extra citrus flavours go a long way in ameliorating that for me, so I shall have no problem enjoying the remainder of this big-ass 'bottle'.