Beer Review: Sa!son

OOH LA LA: Invercargill Brewery's Sa!son French farm house ale. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The training wheels are officially off and I must admit I am a little bit proud of my latest beer reviewing effort.

My beer guru was out of town and I was all alone with a style of beer I had never tasted before, sent here by the lovely people at Invercargill Brewery.

So, while at home watching some cricket, I got stuck in.

I cleared my amateur palate with some water, prepared the favourite glass and poured.

What I saw was a cloudy, golden liquid which was quite fizzy leaving a decent bit of head at the top. A bit of a swirl, a taste, some more swirling and some more drinking.

Going well so far.

I tasted a tart, yeasty and wheaty brew. Quite bitter, quite hoppy - but I do prefer a strong pale ale - so that was not surprising.

I tasted a touch of pepper and some orange zest, but it was clean and refreshing. The word rustic springs to mind.

So, I got out my beer manual, was I on track? Were my tastebuds deceiving me?

To my surprise, no. Reading down the list I was actually tasting what I was supposed to taste.

Medium hops, yeast, tartness, bitterness, spicy and crisp. I just about nailed it.

And no, I didn't cheat.

Sa!son is Invercargill Brewery's take on a French farm house-style ale, saison meaning season in French, usually brewed at the end of winter to be drunk at harvest time.

It's always good to try something different and this was a very nice brew. I certainly won't be waiting another 40-odd years to try a Sa!son. Salut!

Beer kindly supplied by Invercargill Brewery. Check out their full range at www.invercargillbrewery.co.nz.