Our first brush with this saison was in the company of an avowed saison fanatic and genuine hard-guy-to-please, someone only too eager to pick holes in a beer. "That is a fantastic saison!" he declared after a swirl, sniff and sample. And who are we to disagree, with a beer that delivers so much complexity in its enticing 6 percent package. Simultaneously herbal, spicy and fruity, it has a surprisingly full and initially sweet malt backbone running through its heart around which the combination of American and European hops, the wattleseed and locally roasted coffee are allowed to play, before bringing the curtain down with a drying, tart and peppery finish.
There's a school of thought that saison, with its refreshing nature but immense complexity, is a style that should be well suited to Australia's climate and if it is to ever take hold it's beers of this quality and intrigue that will make it happen. That said, we're evidently not quite there yet: despite being a critical success – Long Trip won the trophy for Best French/Belgian Style beer at the 2016 Craft Beer Awards – it still wasn't enough to keep its place in the core range and was moved to a limited release from 2018.
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 6.6%
