Moonlight Kettle Summer Saison
Muskoka Brewery

 

A refreshing summer style brew, but just not my style. A little too fruity and tart for me.

 

 

 

 

The Kettle Series Summer Saison is significantly dark compared to my all-time favourites; it has a solid, amber amulet-like appearance that is a far cry from the pale, bright golden hue I think of as ideal. Nonetheless, it sports the appropriate rocky head and ivory white pearls of lace.

Saisons are subject to varied interpretations. The high fruitiness of this aroma is in line with style guidelines but again is not my preferred choice; what I like best is fresh-picked orchard fruit whereas this has a cooked/mulled profile that leans more towards tropical notes like papaya and mango.

And, while we're at it, a noticeably sweet, borderline caramelly maltiness is out of place in a style that's characteristically grainy and dry as the Sahara. A trace amount of diacetyl doesn't help either. The saving grace in all this, however, is the constant eruption of spicy phenols.

The clove and pepper not only provide some crackle in the mouthfeel but also re-align the caramelly, cooked fruit-driven profile back with typical farmhouse offerings. It doesn't change the fact this is too stewed and boozy to act as summer quencher but the spice at least makes it recognizable as a Saison.

Summer Saison was the first in Muskoka's Kettle Series; a year in the bottle didn't hurt but didn't pay off either. Like many of the offerings that have since followed it, this is an alright beer in its own right but becomes more problematic when judging to style (or holding up expectations set by the price tag).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours from the corked, champagne-style bottle a dark orange, almost copper-brown sort of colour, capped by a solid three fingers of loose head that recedes gradually to a thin layer of islands but leaves a lot of lacing. Quite cloudy, bordering on opaque.

Smell is yeasty, spicy, pepper. Coriander, tropical fruits. Citrus. Slightly sour. Apple skins (green apple skins?). Sour Patch Kids. Almost . . . milky? Tropical fruit is definitely the big player here, though.

Taste is sharp, slightly acidic, lightly salty (?), with more tropical fruits, sour candies. Slightly peppery, slightly spicy. Yeasty. Another review mentioned Unibroue, and I can see where the comparisons come from. Body is surprisingly light (especially for such a high ABV), though not watery, while the carbonation is high and sharp--but not obtrusive.

I dig it. If they put this in standard bottles or cans, I could see myself buying a six-pack every now and then. As a special edition, once is good enough for me.

 

 

 

Purchased at the LCBO for just under $9.00 for a corked 750ml bottle. Served at 4deg C in a draught glass.

A- Opens with a mighty pop. Pours a nice 1" high white head that is gone in 2mins. Very dark gold color. Unfiltered

S- This is a Saison all the way. Nice yeast. Coriander, wheat, lemon.

T- Light Saison flavor and yeasty good at that! Touch of heat. I see a lot of Unibroue here. Tasty to say the least.

M- Creamy good. Enjoyably dry and tart afterward.

O- Very good brew. If it was in a 341ml bottle or cans then I'm in. With 750ml bottles I'm out!

Food Pairing

This nice little brew went very well with........ BBQ eggplant with cumin, salt, pepper and hot chili flakes. Super tasty!

Enjoy

Hazed orange/amber colour, 2 fingers of off white head that dissipates to a collar, light lace. Smell is yeast and hoppy, big spice is there off the bat, clove and pepper, fruity and lots of banana, citrusy and tropical, at times seems similar to a hoppy hefe, a bit off style perhaps but still quite nice on the nose. Taste is a mix of sweet and spice, pepper, clove and banana, sweet malt and yeast throughout, a little bit of hop bitterness is present as well but seems far less hoppy than the nose suggested. medium carbonation, a bit syrupy, medium bodied. This was decent however the one snifter I poured was all I cared to have of the bottle, simply not enjoyable enough to finish the entire large format bottle on my own, perhaps better to share but not something I will likely return to.