When Bridge Road Brewers use the tag "de Wilde", it means you've got a bit of side-by-side experimentation ahead of you. In this case, it's four saisons side by side once you've opened up your four-pack featuring the original Chevalier Saison then three other versions barrel fermented with wild yeasts sourced from active chardonnay ferments at three of the brewery's favourite wineries then aged in oak for 12 months.
Chances are you know the original beer well, but what of the others? Let's start with our favourite, the one featuring A. Rodda. It's vinous on the nose, with lean, grape like aromas, while any malt sweetness is lessened by a gentle and smooth acidity on the palate. There's a delightfully textural weight too, with a touch of stone fruit and pear completing the picture.
The Sorrenberg variant is the most similar to the A. Rodda, albeit with more oak character accompanying its lean, gently acidic, wine like character. There's good length on the palate and a touch of funk in the backend to boot.
The saison featuring yeast from Giaconda stands out from the crowd as the base beer has taken on the most colour over the 12 months and is richer and sweeter on the nose yet, counterintuitively, lighter on the palate. Like the others it possesses an acidity and a dryness but lacks the depth and texture of its stablemates.
James Smith
Read our feature on saisons here
Published June 7, 2019 2019-06-07 00:00:00