Incredible Brewing Co: Patersbier (England: Belgian Ale: 4.9% ABV)
Visual: Pale lemon juice. Thin white head. Some sediment and a small amount of carbonation.
Nose: Palma violets. Sugar dusting. Ryvita crackers. Dry malt. Marzipan. Banana. Lemon.
Body: Fruitcake and port. Marzipan and sugar dusting. Orange zest. Candy floss and banana.
Finish: Sultanas. Dried dates. Fruit sugars. Dried orange. Palma violets. Port.
Conclusion: Patersbier! Been a while since I’ve had one of these. Don’t think I have ever had one in the tasting notes queue. Turns out this, more real ale, take on the style is still sweet as hell. Who would have thunk it?
The thing is, this is real mixed up sweet beer. On one hand it is all sugar dusting, lemon fresh and banana sweetness – Lots of bright orange and yellow notes with a bit of Belgian yeastiness and sugar shock sweetness. Something of a sweetened up Belgian blond basically.
Then there is the other hand, the hand that holds what is hidden underneath but pushes through if held on the tongue. This hand holds sultana fruit cake, port and feels more like a thicker ESB in how it carries on.
These are both the same beer. It is basically the Two Face of beers, minus the coin toss gimmick. Yet somehow they become one beer – sometimes with one side showing in the body, and a different one in the finish – sometimes one style shows the whole way through.
Overall, while, yes it is a tad over sweet it does manage to temper that with the slightly dry malt, and the robust real ale texture, and the influence of funky yeast tricks. Still sweet, but manageable. Refreshing but with depth. Not quite “Incredible” but I am taken with this beer and its charm. An unusual take on an uncommon style and well worth a try. Will have to check out more from the brewery.
Background; Another brewery from Bristol. This one doesn’t seem to have much web presence, especially not for this beer -a Belgian style brew. I had picked it up from Corks Of Cotham on a whim to try something new. Both in brewery and in that I have tried very few patersbiers. This frothed up quickly after I popped the lid so I had to pour it quickly to save the precious liquid. Drunk while listening to some Alanis Morissette – used to love the Jagged Little Pill album when I was younger.
