The Wandering Mercenary
Three Magnets Brewing

gosh i love these guys, especially when they tackle these saison styles. this is really fabulous, a beer i have been waiting a little while to drink, looking at the can and hoping it would be this good! share it with my wife last night over fresh fish tacos, a nice compliment, if not so traditional. the can says its a dark rye saison, but i was surprised to see it pour no darker than copper colored, and it gives rise to a high white head, fluffy and peaky and with great retention. the beer is almost clear, bubbly, and has some shine as well, nice looking in our stemmed glassware. the aroma sucks me right in, grainy in a unique way, earthy from some rye but also sweet to me, honey maybe, almost like a belgian tripel, especially with the esters of the yeast in this, harvest timey and old worldy, but not funky or really rustic at all to me on the fermentation, especially compared to some of their bottled more wild saison types. the flavor is just as good as the nose, really fresh to me, lightly grassy and summery, with the pep of the rye along with some heartier wheat malt. its sweetness is nice, which is odd to me, usually not something i like in saison, drier the better, but the linger this has is great with our food, and on a night where we are only having one beer, this seems to almost extend the experience. its so smooth in feel, a little weighty in body but i like the heft, and the flavors remain lighter. no sign of its alcohol strength at all, and with some more hops rising up as it warms to help it finish. the carbonation never fades, the malt complexity is awesome, and overall the quality and subtle uniqueness are both very impressive. i loved this, and i love three magnets!