Saison Lacombe
Blindman Brewing

 

 

When I think of the qualities of a Saison, this beer fits the bill. I like the copper color, clove odors and malty pepper flavor. The off-dry finish is lovely and very true to the working class roots of this style.

In the battle of Central Alberta saisons, my preference lies with Troubled Monk's Homesteader. But this may very well be the more faithful version of the style. Whereas Homesteader has some Belgian dubbel/trippel tendencies to it, this one is more straightforward and workmanlike: both dry and sweet with a slight fruitiness, a wheaty character, a bit of spicy bite. Slight sour tang. Colour is gold and clear, not offering up much head or lacing. Moderate body, moderate mouthfeel.

Worth pointing out that the brewers have said they're planning to brew a variation on the saison style for each season; this is the "Saison L'autumne," and I'm looking forward to trying whatever comes next.

16oz, rather strangely contoured American pint glass at the Underground in DTYEG.

This beer appears a clear, bright medium bronzed amber colour, with one skinny finger of wispy, weakly foamy, and somewhat bubbly off-white head, which leaves some low-lying calving iceberg lace around the glass as things quite slowly dissipate.

It smells of grainy, slightly crackery pale malt, mildly phenolic yeast, dried lemon and banana chip esters, zesty white and black pepper grindings, a twinge of played-out bubblegum, and plain earthy, weedy, and dead grassy hops. The taste is barely sweet, gritty and grainy pale and wheat malt, a muddled drupe and pome fruitiness, muted peppercorn spice, still zingy yeast, and more understated earthy and wan leafy hops.

The carbonation is fairly mild in its wallflowerish frothiness, the body a so-so middleweight, and equally indeterminate in its yeast-afflicted smoothness. It finishes off-dry, and very, um, saison-lIke - peppery, yeasty, and weirdly beguiling.

Yup, even if this comes from the boring confines of Lacombe, Alberta (a place that I've been to all of a single time), Blindman has done well by the style standards, at the very least. Maybe a tad thin, but an otherwise worthy entry into the Alberta Beer lexicon.