REVIEW: #61 Jolly Roger (Rye Saison)

It is getting warm outside, the sun stays up longer, the days are brighter, and my skin is tanner.  My yard has never looked better after all the work we've done on it in the past few weeks (now to keep it alive with all these warm and dry days).  It is the perfect time of year to grab a cold glass of Saison and a rake.  Designed for field workers to refresh them and keep them hydrated during the Summer heat, a Saison should be light, dry, crisp, bitter, refreshing, and hoppy.  Of course all of this is a showcase for so much yeast character.  For this Saison I used a combination of yeast I stole from a bottle of Allagash's Confluence.  They use their proprietary house Belgian yeast from their Wit, and a proprietary house Brett strain that they isolated from their coolship.  After stepping up this yeast blend I added it to my Rye Saison wort and the outcome is very pleasing.  1.004 FG, 4.7% ABV, 24 IBUs, and so much flavor.

Aroma:  10/12

Calypso dominates the nose with pear, apple, and an odd herbal note.  Still not a fan of Calypso, even though I dry hopped with Amarillo alone, it still dominates.  Past this is tangerines, flowers, geraniums, spicy phenols (can't put my finger on what though), light Brett funk, esters, plum skin, mild tropical note.

Look:  2/3

Pours a stunningly clear pure gold with a big thick moussy white head.  Fades slow to a thin ring.  Lacing a little sparse, needs better cling, could be the glass.

Flavor:  13/20

Spicy phenols hit the palette first, pepper and a touch of clove.  This is followed by pear and citrus rind, herbs, and a floral note.  Biting rye and a touch of bready malt in the background.  Light funk.  After taste is clean and bitter, with lingering rye.  It's all there, just needs a little more punch to it.

Mouthfeel:  4/5

Light refreshing body gives way to a dry and bitter finish.  Carbonation is bubbly on the tongue.  Not thin for such a small beer and low final gravity.

Overall:  6/10

The Calypso dominates in this beer like the 3 others I have done before, thought it might work well in this beer, but I have to say, I am still not a fan.  Beyond that, the nose is a complex blend of fruity hops, spicy yeast and Brett funk, flavor is there, but needs a boost.  Super easy drinking and quite refreshing.  Needs a touch more bitterness and funk, but it is still quite young and I rushed it into the keg for consumption.  Need to work on the lacing.

35/50