Right up front, I am not a man for all saisons,* but I do respect the genre. I give every brew a fair shake, which sometimes leads to a messy pour but so be it. I am a Gateway fan, and had sampled and enjoyed a previous GC saison, so who knows, maybe another saison of the season? Maybe.
We have seen triticale (tri-tuh-kay-lee) sprout up so to speak in various brews in the past, including a Gateway winner. The love child of rye and wheat, it can feed hungry cattle or add a rye flavour with the wheat lightness to your brew. As if saisons aren’t complex enough I hear you saying, and I can only nod my head in agreement.
They propose this as a summer beach saison, which is more outside of the can thinking, as I always saw saisons as a fall harvest type of brew. Silver Beach is a popular North Bay destination in that blistering hot +25 degree C sweltering heat of the day in the Bay. But would you really reach for a saison to quench your mid-day walk on the sun thirst? More questions than answers so far, I know. Here come the answers.
No. You wouldn’t.
But it’s football season (CFL) so a brew with the game seemed to make more sense than an on the beach farm ale. I am holdin’ a golden brew here, head bright and inquisitive, a born to be in pictures pour. Malt rye on the nose, with some spice undertones. What does triticale smell like anyway? The taste is an interesting malt and spice combo, a lager saison, the aftertaste is spice. A fall drink for sure, I will pretend this is an NFL game, other than the extra ten yards and the complete passing offense. The rye malt combines well with the saison spices to start with for a nice one two punch. The triticale adds an interesting dimension to this spice saison.
But what’s this? Now a floral with the spice finish, not a good look unfortunately. A tale of two triticales, a change in the saison, and not for the better. What started out as fair to middlin’ turned into less than middlin’. Complex and shape shifting. This is not my summer beach go to.
0 Comments