Wild Beer Co: Bliss (England: Saison: 6% ABV)
Visual: Hazy orange gold. Loose off white bubbled head.
Nose: Slightly funky. Dried apricot. Tart apple undertones. Slight fresh lemon. Slight hop character.
Body: Cheese crisps. Apricot. Funky yeast. Wheat character. Peppery. Gooseberry touches. Touch of syrup sweetness.
Finish: Bitter hops and yeast character feel. Dry. Light oak. Peppery. Slight sour grapes.
Conclusion: It is odd having this one back to back with their “Best Saison”. They have very similar characteristics in the yeast funky texture and light tartness. When you get a bit more of a feel for the beer you find this has more bitterness, with a quite dry hoppy feel to the end of it which was distinctly not present in the first beer.
There is also a bit more fruitiness mid body. Light apricot, though matched with a similar peppery character to the prior beer. Combined here I get the feeling they would go quite nicely with a cheeseboard. I didn’t get the chance to try that at the time though.
I’d call this the better beer of the two. That bit of extra sweetness, though not heavy, gives it moments where it rises above the base beer. This mixes with the funky yeast character, contrasting and then letting you down gently into the bitter finish.
The abv is a bit higher, so it does not quite work as a “table beer”, but the flavor benefits well. It gives an extra lightness of touch in the very middle that makes it a lot more interesting.
Not the best Saison, but interesting enough. By memory Ninkasi is still the best from Wild Beer, and the Epic Saison bests it out at similar abv (I’ve grabbed a bottle of Epic Saison to check if my memory holds up there). So, a nice enough beer, but not Wild Beer Co’s best.
Background: Oddly Rate Beer list this as a Belgium Ale. From both flavor and brewers description I’d go with Saison which is what I’ve listed above. This has had Brett yeast and Roasted Apricots added. Drunk as part of the taps that were brought in for the Wild Beer Co tap take over. I missed the main event but got in the next day to try some of the beers. I stuck to thirds so I could try a nice selection of the range without it going to my head too quickly.
