Even though Stillwater and Mikkeller are in different countries, they have one thing in common - they don't have a home. Both breweries consider themselves "gypsy brewers", as they travel around borrowing and renting equipment from different breweries to produce their beers. Having had beers from both breweries, I was particularly interested in this one.
The beer pours initially with a substantial billowing white head. Light, fluffy, and with large bubbles. It has a dark golden hue, and is somewhat cloudy. The head sticks around for a little while, but dissipates to an 1/8th of a finger thick that hangs around for a long time. Through the glass there is some nice lacing as well. As the beer warms up, some of the haze disappears.
The aroma had a decided funk quality to it right away, with wild grassy and hay notes. Sweetness follows underneath, with an apple-like sense to it. It's almost a little woody as well, if I close my eyes I can picture standing in an area of dense overgrowth. There's a mix of flowers and dirt, although I somewhat miss the horse-blanket that sometimes accompanies wild yeast.
The first sip has a slight sweetness up front, with some decidedly funky notes and a substantial bitterness in the back. There's a bit of grass, and some citrus hop flavor as well. Lots of classic saison flavors come through as well, with a dominating Brettanomyces character. The bitterness and hay flavors linger in the mouth, leaving the flavors of this beer with you for minutes after swallowing. As it warmed up, I also noticed a little bit of a cider-like apple flavor. The presence of the hops in the flavor is probably the most unique thing about this beer, even if they mostly just boost the already classic saison flavors.
The beer is pretty strongly carbonated, which is a little much for me but not unusual for the style. The prickly bubbles tend to overwhelm my palate making it feel like I'm missing out on flavors. Surprisingly I felt that there was a bit of warmth from the alcohol in the throat, even though this beer is 7.5% and I've had much stronger ones with no trace of the alcohol.
Overall, I felt that this was a classic saison. It's easily drinkable but has some nice funk to it. The fruit flavors and sweetness add a decent balance without being cloying. This collaboration is well done, although I don't see that it brings much new to the table. The added hop quality is somewhat unique, but it doesn't change much about the style. Maybe it's just that the added bitterness seems subdued to me after so many hoppy American styles that I've had recently. Either way, this beer was still delicious and worth trying.
- Adam
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