Wild Beer Co: Wild Goose Chase (England: Saison: 4.5% ABV)
Visual: Lemon juice look, with an inch of white head. Some evident sediment at bottom of the glass.
Nose: Gooseberry. Crisp hops. Buttery shortbread. Lemon. Vanilla. Hop oils. Light cream.
Body: Lightly tart. Apple. Gooseberries. Vanilla custard. Some hop bitterness. Tingling.
Finish: Crisp apple and gooseberry. Moderate bitterness and mild hop character. Wheat touch, or possibly oats. Pineapple. Apple.
Conclusion: While this is good, I am actually disappointed, but kind of disappointed in a good way. That may require some explanation. Or maybe I just talk some shit some times. Give me a mo and we shall find out.
First impressions were awesome. A spot on, crisp hopped saison in Dupont style, but with added gooseberry. It actually added to Dupont! That was awesome, but I was nervous – could this be the next all time great?
I shall save the wear and tear on your nerves. It isn’t that. So, yeah, disappointed. I shouldn’t be, it is actually a good beer – tart, full of crisp apple and gooseberry juice for the main body and with moderate hop character. More tart that your average saison, but considering the ingredients that is not a surprise, and it gives it it’s own unique character. Despite that the finish fades out into a more grounded and rustic saison character, bringing you back to more familiar territory. Despite not being full Dupont epic throughout it still has notes of that beer – from a familiar note to the sweet malt backing it, to the good use of crisp hops, it manages to add a bit of old school authentic character to the wild beer twist.
It does lean more towards the gooseberry twist side of things, as might be expected from the name, resulting in an almost sparkling feel to the beer. You get a beer emphasising the wild tartness and full fruit. While I am disappointed that it does not overtake Dupont by taking that beer’s style and using it to make the new greatest saison in the world, the fact I even have that disappointment is basically first world problems.
A tart beer with solid hop saison backup, and not too high abv either. Wild beer co continue to rock the style well.
Background: Ah, Wild Beer Company – you and your obsession with saisons. Not that I’m complaining at all. This time packed with gooseberries, and dry hopped to match. Which seems almost normal for them. Drunk while listening to some of Scroobius Pip’s solo work, awesome and intense as always. Picked up from Independent Spirit – my Wild Beer Co addiction suppliers!
