(Picture from http://www.beermebc.com)
Four Winds Brewing is only about a year old. Located in Delta, British Columbia half way between Vancouver, BC and the border with Washington, Four Winds is already making a splash in the BC beer scene. They’re brewing a mix of traditional English and Belgian styles, including: IPA, Pale Ale, Triple, & Saison. They also regularly produce a pilsner. What I find interesting is that their using a lot of the yeast strain Brettanomyces in their beers. Like several Northwest breweries, they have a Saison with Brett, but they also do a Brett IPA! If you want to learn more about this funky wild yeast strain, you can read my article about it.
Their Wild Flower Saison arrived in a box from my beer trading friend, Heavy CF. As a fan of Saisons, I was eager to try this one. That coupled with the nice cork & cage finished bottle and the attractive label really made this beer one of the most immediately interesting beers from a brewery I hadn’t tried yet. Wild Flower Saison is brewed with dried chamomile and edlerflowers.
Appearance: Hazy gold/amber, beige head, great retention.
Aroma: Floral, chamomile, orange blossoms, honey, grapefruit peel, perfumey.
Taste: Fruity, caramel, honey, light white pepper in the finish.
Overall Impression: What a nice beer! If you like flowers as a spicing agent, you’ll like this beer. It still maintains a great Saison backbone that provides a nice counter balance to the sweeter floral character. It’s got a medium finish and leans a bit towards the sweetish side. The exceptional carbonation gives this beer a fantastically creamy mouthfeel. A bit of warning though, be careful when pouring this one. The carbonation comes out quickly and if you pour too quickly you could have a mess on your hands. Treat it like a highly carbonated Belgian beer: have your glass nearby, pour it slowly, and start by only pouring a little bit in the glass. I look forward to trying more from this brewery. This first beer has me intrigued.
Availability: In and around the brewery and southwestern British Columbia.
6.5% ABV
