A few weeks ago I celebrated a milestone birthday and since I don't really have friends (or they're a couple thousand kilometres away right now), we decided to do a small family road trip to Regina, SK for the weekend. It was just my parents, my sister, her husband and their kids - pretty straightforward weekend.For me, it was a trip to visit all the good craft breweries in the region and sample stuff I've missed in the several years since I've properly been to Regina. Photos of the visit will be posted one of these days but today it's all about one beer.
Our first visit of the road trip was to Skout Brewing in Moosomin. Seeing that the brewery is just a bit over an hour from Brandon and approximately two hours from Regina, Skout's the perfect place to stretch out and get some fresh air before heading back on the long road.
Skout's been open for just over a year now and everything I've had by them has been absolutely solid and will soon enough become a destination itself with it being right off the Trans Canada Highway, perfect for those who are doing the long drive through Canada.
As soon as I got to the brewery, I noticed Skout had a Farmhouse Ale/Saison on tap, so being the Belgian ale snob I am, I had to try that beer first out of anything else. How did it go? Well, I picked up a can and I'll review it below! Today's sampling was voted by fans of the BeerCrank.ca Facebook page by a definite majority - but those who want me to review the other two beverages.. don't worry, I will soon enough!
From the can: Tasting Notes: a fruity and spicy Saison with a dry finish. Pairs well with: Kick the can, Family Work Bees, Saskatoon pie. Water, malted barley, wheat, rye, hops, yeast. 5.5% ABV
Appearance: The beer is slightly cloudy with a deep golden-to-slightly orange body to it, light amount of carbonation in the body and a moderate amount of off-white foam on the head. The head diminishes rather quickly to give only a faint hint of bubbles here and there on top of the beer.
Aroma: A very Pilsner like sharpness to it that gives off a graininess to it right at the beginning, then followed by notes of bubble gum, a slight sweetness that all that I can say is some sort of syrupy kind of sweet, a hint of cracked pepper, clove - so giving off a lot of the definite Belgian vibes I love in a classic Saison, so far.
Taste: Every sip I take for the first little while I'm finding something different in each sip. The initial sip was a very crisp Pilsnery taste to it, then the next sip I got the notes of bubble gum, and then the rye to give it a bit of a peppery taste to it. There's a bit of a honeyish sweetness to it, a deep floral presence from the hops that gives it a je ne sais quoi sort of taste to it, and lastly a hint of vegetal notes of cucumber (though quite faint). Quite dry on the palate and there's a bit of a leafy/vegetal aftertaste at the end.
Overall Thoughts: Props to any brewery that has the courage to do a Saison/Farmhouse ale in this day and age - it's not an overly popular style with a lot of people but I appreciate it! This one's a good one - I'm going to need to make a quick trip into Moosomin to get more soon as I shared the rest with some friends, who also enjoyed this!
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