Cherries are a reasonably common choice when brewers decide to fruit a saison, although when South Coast brewers Cupitt's Estate and Bass Point decided to conjure a collab that ticked the boxes marked both "summery" and "festive", they went a step further. Thus, alongside cherry juice from Orange, theirs also features lemon myrtle harvested from the land outside Ulladulla upon which Cupitt's brew their beers, finesse their wines, and welcome guests to their quite delightful restaurant and beer garden.
The result is a beer with the feel of a summer dessert, one that's more of a journey for your tastebuds than lighter cherry saisons. The fruit has a depth and fullness that’s more cherry reduction than faint flavouring, and the interplay with the saison spices and lemon myrtle weaves a complex bouquet throughout the sweetening malts.
I’m sure elements of it remind me of a particular dessert, or perhaps an obscure cordial or liqueur from Northern Europe but, even by the end of the glass, I couldn’t quite place it. Either way, Cherry Saison is a union that’s more than its parts.
James Smith
Published November 10, 2023 2023-11-10 00:00:00
