Elegant Ego
Benchtop Brewing Company

The version I had differed from the other reviewer's below and I think it was a bad batch (or the basil element just doesn't age well) so take this review with grain of salt (if this was a gose beer that would've been a half-decent pun). Poured a light yellow body with minimal head and lace. The aroma is real funky and sour and at times offputting like it's spoiled/canned veggies. The beer is real funky to the point that at times it's a sharp, pungent biting sourness that hits me; however, retains a smoothness to it so easy to drink and the funk/sour mellows a little as beer warms and there is a bit of cloying fruit ester sweetness on end. Not bad but in the end just off for me.

Benchtop Brewing Co. "Elegant Ego"
32 fl. oz. crowler / $11.50, 3 days old at sampling

Elegant Ego is a Citra Basil Saison done in collaboration with Smartmouth Brewing which is right down the street. It combines Benchtop's Elegant Titration with Smartmouth's Alter Ego.

It pours a hazy yellow gold body beneath a short head of bright white foam that holds fairly well and leaves some nice lace behind.

The aroma is herbal and you can pick out the basil, and a little bit musky, but also fruity. There's a citrus and lightly tropical side from the Citra hops, and some more apple and berry-like fruitiness from the yeast. As it warms, some more peppery character appears and the tropical notes widen.

The flavor is fuller than the aroma suggests with a lightly sweetish golden malt base, but also a light touch of acidity. It's initially fruity, and then immediately the herbal component steps in as well. They don't blend, but remain separate. The basil appears and lingers in the finish while the fruity notes seem to fade. Some of the fruity notes include peach, lychee, gooseberry, lime, and mango. A firm bitterness balances it, and along with the pepperiness and gentle acidity from the yeast it finishes dry.

In the mouth it's medium-light in body and quite smooth despite a tiny-bubbled effervescence that gently tingles the tongue.

Overall it's quite an impressive beer with an exception balance, mouthfeel, and roundness of character (meaning the malt, yeast, hops, and herbs all show in and of themselves but never step on each others toes or overshadow one another, and that there are no sharp points or empty spots).