Side Saddle Saison
Big Horse Brew Pub / Horse Feathers & Co.

 

I’ve now had pints of this beer on two occasions separated by four months, and these two visitations couldn’t have been more different from one another. My first encounter with Side Saddle was frightening, and not just because it was Halloween. My beer was dilute and watery, with a thin body and a color resembling a mix of pale ale with lemonade. I found the coriander applied with miserly constraint while the Belgian candi-sugar contributed only a harsh diversion from the flavor. On the whole it tasted like a sparged second running of Big Horse’s La Houffe Belgian-style ale.

But the second time was a charm. My Side Saddle came served with a big bubbly head with a nose and taste that expressed full Belgian appeal. The body was clear and bright golden-pale and the taste dignified by notes of hay bale, peppercorn, and snappy yeasts. It’s still a bit timid with the coriander but not to the point of defining a flawed exclusion. A little time spent in the company of wood might round the contours a bit, but only enough to make a good beer great.