Style: Triple orange chocolate saison
Brewery: Den Bryggande Hollandaren
Origin: Sweden
Size: 33cl
Alcohol: 8%
Price: 38kr
Systembolaget: 36983
When I was searching for chocolate inspired beers for this tasting, I hoped I could find some beers that weren’t just porters and stouts. I wanted to find something that people wouldn’t expect, and so I was extremely lucky to find this strange beer indeed! I have never heard of a saison with chocolate notes before, and I was pretty sceptical at first. Furthermore, I thought that it would be worth buying in though, as at the very least it will be something interesting to discuss. After tasting this though, I’m still not sure how I feel about it!
This was burnt amber with a big white head and haze. There was also a large amount of sediment noted in the bottom of the glass, which I presume is spent yeast. The aroma was a strange mix of cardboard, coriander, orange and cooked vegetable, which was a bit worrying to be honest. I was sad to find that the chocolate wasn’t present at all in the aroma. The body though was surprisingly creamy for the style and really coated the tongue. The body helped to give a definite milk chocolate tone to the beer, along with copious orange hits and a big herbal edge. The aftertaste was hints of marmalade, citrus, salt and yeast, which lingered for a fair time.
It’s hard to rate this beer as it’s such a strange mixture of components. I’ve never had a chocolate saison before, and I’m not quite convinced it works as a style, but it was interesting to try at least. It’s always fun to try something new, good or bad. I think I need to file this one under the “strange” category though!