I still remember my first ever Brasserie Nonsuch review.. it was late 2017, a Saison and it was a gusher! Well, gusher is an overstatement because I've had Belgian ales and Sours drench my clothes from being over-carbonated, Nonsuch's first Saison was a delightful one that was just over-carbonated, there was a good trail of foam coming out of the beer the entire time, no matter how much beer was left! Today's sampling is a Red Wine Barrel-aged Saison with a 2023 Vintage. It's been two years since I've had any variation of their Saison.. The world needs more Saisons, that's the true reason why none of us are happy anymore! 8.4% ABV
Appearance: Quite a carbonated Saison with a bit of a peachy-golden body to it, kind of clear - lots and lots of carbonation in the body, and as for the head it's a nice and incredibly thick beige head. This isn't a gusher in any sense, thankfully! The head is kind of going down a tad, leaving behind a lot of lacing on the glass.
Aroma: This beer is for sure aged in Red Wine barrels.. that's all I'm really getting from the beer initially - it's a potent, strong, red wine presence with oak and a very tart aroma that reminds me of sour cherries, hint of vanilla. As the beer warms up a tad, I get a bit of soapiness to it, a slight sour candy vibe (Sour Patch Kids?) and a squirt of citrus at the end. Not really getting a Saisony vibe but I'm 100% intrigued.
Taste: My first impression was "..well? We're waiting" as I really couldn't decipher what I was getting. It takes a good three to five seconds for me to get notes of the Red Wine barrel that give off a tart and very dry red wine presence to it. There's a good deal of oak in there, a bit of lemon citrus, and well.. that's pretty much it.
Overall Thoughts: I didn't really get any Belgiany vibes in here, I'm likely skipping over something but it's pretty much oak, red wine, citrus and a bit of graininess... that's it. It's tasty but I'm not excited.
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