French Fog
Cushwa Brewing Company

 

definitely more of a dry hopped saison here than a belgian pale as its listed, but i guess there are some similarities between the two. personally, i thought this was more like a supper dry hopped hazy east coast pale meets a clean french saison, more hops than the style usually allows i reckon, nothing delicate about it, but its a nicely selected hop mix, and it works great with what i gather to be 3711 french ale yeast, pretty identifiable it seems if my senses recall. simcoe isnt a hop you usually see in this sort of thing, mosaic and amarillo maybe a little more expected, but i think the hops come together well in this, once i accept it as a very american take on the style. i like the pineapple and pine together, both fruity and botanical in aroma and flavor, very fresh to me, not green or bitter or vegetal or anything either, despite this obviously being robustly dry hopped. the base saison seems somewhat interesting too, lots of wheat to it, maybe some unmalted, its got a slight raw or even doughy character about it that i like, the yeast likes it too. there is a lot of body here and its silky smooth and pillowy soft, love all the little bubbles too that never quit, lots of life here, but the hops seem overly intense, kind of takes away from the saison overall i think, the base beer is close to overwhelmed, although i still get plenty from this familiar yeast, subtle pear and green apple to it along with the citrus and canned pineapple of the hops. i like this for how unique it is, my first beer from these guys, and a huge thanks to my buddy from back east for including this in some very special beer mail this week, i am so stoked to be able to try all this new stuff he sent, its great to have friends!