Mandrill
MABRASSERIE

From a 473ml can, undated. Served in an imperial pint pub glass.

Pours a moderately hazy, translucent cheerful honey-gold colour with three-plus fingers of merengue-like fluff. Retention is excellent, leaving scattered plump gobbets of lacing.

A clean, pleasant aroma of eggy pudding, absolutely not what I was expecting from something labelled 'saison brett et tropicale.' In fact, better. OK, on second sniff, maybe a little candied pineapple.

Taste is not entirely dissimilar to the nose in that there is a vaguely custardy, bread pudding flavour which should probably be a fatal flaw but which, perversely, I'm kind of enjoying. The brett character which was totally lacking in the aroma is present but very subdued along with some wishy-washy tropical fruits, mostly of the pineapple and orange sort.

Feel is smooth and creamy but finishing dry, something less than medium bodied with fine, fizzy carbonation.

Overall, an interesting hybrid-type beer. It could probably be picked apart on its technical merits but, the fact is, I enjoyed it and I wish I had another.

 

 

 

Hazy and cloudy dark straw color with low activity. Foamy white 2 finger head, lasting around 10 minutes, with decent legs and swirl reaction. Flavors of sweet barley, lemon, pineapples, orange, caramel, wheat, brett yeast, and herbal hops. Slick and oily medium body with crispy carbonation. Medium to strong strength finish, a bit piney but more leafy and tropical with a soft barnyard profile. Slightly dry while the freshness is decent. Good balance between sugar and bitterness. A bit too much caramel, attenuation is not top notch, yet for a cross style (Saison/IPA) it's acceptable. Although the brett effect is too overwhelmed by the other ingredients so not enough cheesy. Overall pretty good quality craft.

 

 

Can: Poured a cloudy pale yellow color ale with a medium size white foamy head with OK retention and some lacing. Aroma of juicy floral hops notes with light spicy yeast notes and light subtle Brett notes is quite exquisite. Taste is a mix of juicy floral aroma with some light spicy yeast notes, light residual sugar notes with some subtle Brett funky notes also apparent. Body is full with limited filtration and good carbonation. Super mix of drinkability and complexity with a great balance between hoppy notes and funky saison notes.

 

Serving: Can
No date (very recently canned, though)


A:
Pours a milky peach/lichi color with a couple fingers of puffy white head. Okay retention; some lacing. (4)

S:
Phenols and tropical fruit sweetness. Chai, lichi, mango, white pepper, bread. (4)

T:
Follows the nose for the most part with more subdued sweetness. Tropical fruit, yeast zing, lingering rich bready finish. (4)

M:
Light-plus body with active carbonation and a dry finish. (4)

O:
A tasty and interesting take on a saison.
It pours fairly nice, a strange color, but not ugly or otherwise "off." The aroma and flavor follow a similar path. The two main things that stick out are an aroma that really reminds me of chai tea and a flavor in the finish that is among the most purely bread-like of all the Bready flavors I've ever tried. It is a decent beer, cloudy without being a juice-bomb, different without ceasing to be a saison.
Glad I have a couple more cans. I'm curious to see what the Brett does. (4)