Oak-Aged Malbec Saison
Sovereign Brewing

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pour a medium to dark golden orange with a one finger white head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, brett, grapes, white wine, light berries. Flavor follows with moderately tart grainy malt, brett, grapes, red wine, currants and a touch of barrel oak. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. I have watched Sovereign for a while looking for a style of ale that would suit my palette; they were known for wild ales and saisons that leaned to the tarter side. With the last bottles now available from them, I decided to try this barreled wine style saison as my best chance. It's a little too tart for me, but not in the same intensity as a wild ale. I liked the grapey wine component that tasted more like a dry white wine than a red one like Malbec. Clear brett character and solid grainy saison malt. Beautiful looking. Not my core style of saison, but interesting and well made.

This beer is amber, with a lacy head that disappears pretty quickly. The taste is winey, and just a bit sweet. It's got a good yeasty character. It's the most complex of the handful of beers I've had from Standard. Recommended.

Or should I say, from Sovereign? I guess that the owner had two related operations going, Sovereign and Standard. As I understand it, Sovereign is now closed. I had this beer on tap at the Standard brewpub.