Roots Radical
Ratio Beerworks

 

i used to be really critical of these guys for not ever making anything exciting, but they have done some cooler beers lately, especially in the saison style, this one has beets and citrus in it, and definitely uses a french saison type ale yeast that works extremely well in this context. the beets give it a gorgeous deep pink glow, softly hazy looking, and just a short head on it. i get the esters of the yeast right away, lightly belgian and with that vinous french character too, bright and clean and not done too warm, pleasant with the beets, which arent as earthy and intense as they can sometimes be in beer, mellowed and balanced by the sweetness of the fruit in here, which seems almost more like berries than citrus, although some orange is evident to me. light spiciness to the yeast is cool with the beets too, and the citrus with the white wine notes works great. not quite as wheaty and rustic on the grain side as i like saison to be, and not as well carbonated either, but they did a really good job with some unique ingredients here, and i really like the fermentation profile. ratio seems to have upped their game quite significantly in recent months...