Hoppy Birthday
Sunao Brewery

500ml draft, apparently with lactose? In a saison?

Pours a finger of white head into a nonic, I guess their stemmed glass is only for 330ml pours? Retention is average. Lacing is ok. Body is a vibrant orange, slightly hazy. Looks alright.

Nose has light doses of citrus, some malt underneath, a little bit of spice. There is an odd musty yeast character underneath, farmhouse-y, could be brett? Overall the aroma is quite nice though.

Yeah this has almost a dirty yeast flavor, tastes like bean water. Could be a wild fermentation they are going for but it absolutely doesn’t work for me. Some citrus underneath.

Well-attenuated, not getting any overwhelming lactose sweetness from this, doesn't really make sense anyways in a style that is known for its high attenuation. Light bodied, which would not happen if there were lactose here. Carbonation is medium-low. Bitterness is mild but present in the dry profile. Mouthfeel is fine.

Drinkability is, eh.

Kinda just tastes like I'm drinking a burrito for a while. Does transition to more just musty/barnyard than anything, have to assume this is some kind of wild fermentation, but again it just doesn't work for me. Modern brett interpretations may have some funk but I find they often lean harder on the brighter side of that yeast. What really threw me, and made me think it was an off flavor at first is that the nose is much more subtle than the flavor. The flavor really punches you with this. Not to mention the description has no mention of wild yeast, just lactose...I'll be generous with my taste rating because I assume this is intentional, but I have to think this could be improved upon with better culture diversity or attention to fermentation.