Thoughts Without A Thinker
Keeping Together Brewery and Beverage Garden

 

This was an absolute Mount Vesuvius style gusher. One to two seconds after opening it, I had beer everywhere. After a couple minutes of cleanup, it was time for the pour. Putting aside the gushing, the beer itself is beautiful. A delicate pour resulted in a couple inches of fizzy white head that eventually receded to a thin, quarter inch that would have stayed for a long time had I let it.

Aroma brings spices, floral notes, hints of orange, and golden raisins. I can't detect the tea, but not to its detriment.

Taste is really interesting. I can pick up the tea, but it's well balanced with a really nice amount of funk, citrus notes & saffron. I knew right away that I liked how this tasted, and had it at a 4.25 at first, but then each sip found me craving another, which was enough for me to jump up to 4.5. Carbonation is lively, but not over done, and this has a nice, dry finish. I'm not the most sophisticated reviewer, and I don't know much, but I do know that this beer is freaking delicious.

 

Pours a cloudy orange color - so cloudy, its actually rather opaque. Admittedly this one also gushed on opening (my past Keeping Together bottles have also gushed in spite of being well chilled before opening) so that may have contributed to the cloudiness. Lovely huge velvety white head forms, dissipates, then reforms on the top of the beer. A residual good half inch of foam remains on top of the beer. The aroma on this one is lovely - notes of lemon, an acidic funk, orange, orange zest, some light grainy notes, and a hint of tea. Really just an enticing aroma.

Taste follows the nose with that acidic funk taking on a strong lemon / orange / orange zest character. Light grain and white bread are noted underneath that funk with a very mildly spicy yeast note coming through as well. The earl grey tea comes through in a very pronounced manner on the back end. The flavors are very complex, but very bright and airy? - it allows the beer to maintain a certain lightness while having lovely flavor. That leads me to the mouthfeel on this beer - its light to medium bodied, but the carbonation is so lively and bright that it gives this beer an almost champagne like feel. somewhat drier on the finish.

Overall this is an incredible beer from Keeping Together. A perfect use of the tea and orange in this saison resulting in a memorable beer.

 

750ml bottle with silver cap.

Appearance: opaque straw pale golden yellow body with voluminous bone white head. great staying power minimal spotting or lace left by the head.

Smells like a rustic Saison with a strong orange presence. Not getting the tea. Maybe a hint of spicy saffron, but saisons tend to have a similar spicy yeast profile to that of what saffron smells like...

Tastes of tangerine forward saison. The rustic saison base pairs well with the citrus and blends together very well. Hay, well water, minerals, earthy, with fruity and spicy yeast notes. Finishes with an oragey zest spice and bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with moderate carbonation. Crisp, refreshing, sturdy, and dry finish. All perfectly to style and well attenuated. Just how saison should be in all aspects.

Overall: Another homerun from Keeping together!

No Bottling date listed but released within the past week
Consumed 5/17/20

I don't drink as many saisons as I would like, but this one is amazing. I love the champagne like feel in the carbonation. It looks gorgeous when you pour it. Smelling it I get a hint of the earl grey tea but otherwise it's obviously a saison. Drinking it the tea, orange, and saffron are subtle but they are there. Half Acre has been killing it with their curbside quarantine pick up process along with brewing some amazing beers lately. I'm excited to try more of their wyld beers in the future.