Marks & Spencer - Sorachi Saison
Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

330 ml bottle M and S Bristol, Pours cloudy amber with a medium white head. Medium carbonation. Smell - light citrus, orange and lemon. Taste - Citrus with a lingering bitter finish. Drinkable saison more bitter than lemon.

 

33cl from the local M&S. Pours a hazy golden, with a tall head that gives way to a thin white lacing. Smells leathery and a bit acrid, with some fresh hop feeling too. The taste is very bitter, with some nice saison notes - leather, salt, barnyard. A good beer, not necessarily my style, though.

 

 

 

 

 

pale amber body with big frothy white head
nice whiff of lime on the aroma
This really works with taste
the subtle nature of Saison really helps bring out the delicate sorachi flavours, palm & lemongrass
good amount of carbonation
I really like this & think it's worth seeking out

 

Yellow, frothy with a haze of carbonation.
Freshly mown grass.
Earth, spice and straw.
I was somewhat surprised that Adnam's could produce such a refreshing ale.

330ml bottle served into a tulip glass - brewed by Adnams for M&S.

Look: Straw yellow pour with plenty of carbonation and a well-retained, thick white head which leaves some lacing behind after settling back to a half-fingers width. Plenty of bubbles lurking at the bottom of the glass.

Smell: I've heard a lot about the Sorachi Ace hop but I think this is the first beer I've had which has it front and centre. It's quite unlike the Cascades and Citras of this world, with a heavy bias towards grass/hay and lemon. There's a certain spiciness in there too, sort of like lemongrass. What is notably absent, however, is the barnyard funkiness that Belgian saisons are noted for.

Taste: To sum it up in one word it would be 'interesting' - obviously the flavours of the Sorachi hop dominate, and whilst it lacks the resinous flavours of other hop types it has it's own citrus-spiciness which is rather hard to pin down. Even so, whilst it won't be to everyone's tastes it isn't unpleasant. Whilst the barnyard notes of a typical saison were absent in the smell, they're certainly there in the taste. Grassiness is a bit on the heavy side, though.

Feel: Quite refreshing in an odd way - there's a good bit of carbonation, and whilst Sorachi doesn't seem to be as bitter as other hop types there's definitely a lingering astringence and bitterness which sticks around for a long while.

Overall: Again, I'd sum it up as 'interesting' - Adnams have a pretty decent track record and this isn't going to do it any harm. Granted, this is probably the first 'British style' saison I've had but given that Belgian saisons are one of my preferred styles I've got to say it's not half bad, with the use of the Sorachi hop giving it that extra bit of interest. A little bit rough round the edges, perhaps, but definitely worth a shot - a good summer beer.

Pours straw with a thick white head with some lacing. It is a fresh beer, so the sorachi is nicely present in the nose with some hay and fresh cut grass. It almost has my seasonal allergies going. Flavor is not what I would normally associate with saison, but it is such a broad category I can't fault them there. Quite a bit of bitterness, and a great deal of that grassy flavor. Too much really. Finish has some lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue. Overall, decent, refreshing, and interesting, but could use a bit more work to round off the rough spots.