Well, today marks a big milestone for BeerCrank.ca - this is the 1000th post I've made on the website since I started this website back a million years ago. I never expected it to last this long, I honestly thought I'd give up and let the site rot but nope.. I'm still here somehow, mainly because of you still reading my column! Another milestone will be happening sometime this or next week but you'll have to wait for it until it happens!
For numero 1K, I decided to re-review a beer that I've already had before, Saison du Pinacle by Brasserie Dunham out of Dunham, Quebec. I reviewed their Saison du Pinacle Réserve Batch no. 6 VRAI back around this time in 2016. I picked up that beer right at the brewery and seeing that this beer is now available in Manitoba through the Quality Beer Store, I felt that this was a good beer to review again after 3 years. Some of you would think "Well, Cody.. I assumed you would review something by Unibroue" but I have nothing new to review so why not review something I actually have my hands on now? For those who have been following BeerCrank.ca / Cranky Beer Blog for forever, you're the reason why I still write even though I've mostly lost my passion for writing in recent months.. but you're pushing me to keep doing it and I thank you for that, it's the only thing that's keeping me sane right now haha!
Saison du Pinacle is a hoppy Farmhouse strong ale that's 6.5% ABV.
Appearance: Saison du Pinacle pours a very heavy and cloudy lemon yellow. There's a good amount of carbonation in the body but it's mostly masked by the haziness of the beer. The head.. definitely not a gusher like the Réserve edition I had three years ago but it's very carbonated to the point that half my glass was foam at a point.. but like anything, you have to be patient! Once the foam goes down, it has a light amount of lacing on the side of the glass in nice little clumps.
Aroma: Lemon zest, a certain barnyard funkiness that reminds me of Brett yeast, bit of straw, bubble gum, some herbal notes that I'm thinking is coming from the hops.. a bit of pine but mostly herbal. This beer honestly brings me back memories to 3 years ago at Dunham. There's also a hefty fresh dough presence and an ever so sweet presence at the very end.
Taste: The first thing I get is the yeast, whether or not if it's Brett.. it has a funkiness that has a taste of straw, saddle and overall just reminiscent of being in the barn as a kid.. in a good way, not in a shovelling cow/horse manure like I'm used to as I grew up. There's a bit of a doughiness to the grain and yeast, a good amount of lemony citrus. It has a herbal, floral yet vegetal taste that I can't describe... maybe like a "walking in the forest" sort of vibe to it? It's mildly sweet but definitely more bitter and yeasty than that.. the sweetness has a hint of a nice blonde ale to it - a tad grainy.
Overall Thoughts: Definitely hoppier than I would expect from a typical Saison as it's a very distinct taste that's floral, bitter, piney and has notes that reminds me a tad of some Gruits I've had in the past.. a very forest-like presence to it.. I think it's this why I like this beer as I've been craving this. exact. beer. for who knows how long but I had no idea which one it was.. I think it's the Brett (or Brett-like) yeast infecting my mind plus the crazy herbal/hoppy/foresty hop presence to it that I haven't really seen in many beers. The beer is dry and leaves behind a bit of an herbal and bitter piney aftertaste at the end. This is seriously bringing me back memories of my visit to Dunham 3 years ago - I can't wait for Brasserie Dunham's Foudres Unis next year, that was easily one of the funnest beer fests I ever went to.. and THEIR OWN beer stand had no lineups.. too bad as they are definitely one of my favourite breweries out there. I hope this beer sees a good amount of distribution in Manitoba but knowing the MLCC lately.. it'll be only at the Quality Beer Store in Winnipeg, but hey.. they will continue to be the best place to get beer in all of Manitoba then!
Cheers to all my friends, readers and brewery peeps who have been following BeerCrank.ca and pushing me to do my best!
Check out my review of Saison du Pinacle Réserve Batch no. 6 VRAI
Also, check out my visit of Brasserie Dunham in 2016
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