Given they brew on an island (well, a smaller island than most other Australian breweries anyway...), Ocean Reach have no shortage of opportunities to really understand what beers work after a long day in the surf or sand. With two quite different limited releases, the Phillip Island brewer seem to have captured those lessons, even if one beer takes the mind to the Tropics and the other is inspired by fuel for farmers.
Dreamy Daze is a hazy pale ale that’s soft and fluffy but still quite dry and filled with new world hops that provide a substantial hit of pineapple, passionfruit and sherbet or candied orange. In other words, if a day at the beach brings to mind memories of enjoying a tropical icy pole while drying off, Dreamy Daze might take you back there.
When discussing saisons, whether Brett-filled, barrel-aged incantations or the global standard-bearer of Dupont, it's quite possible you're more likely to think of rolling European hills, the farmworkers they were made for, or an urbane bar in which you might enjoy one. But with Goldie Saison, Ocean Reach have brewed a classic in the style of Dupont that beautifully suits a warm early autumn afternoon in the sun. Even from a visual perspective, it feels almost impossible to pour the beer without a fluffy, perfectly white head rising, and with that rise comes the classic combination of light spice, notes of pepper, yeast esters of cloves and a bone dry finish. It all makes you wonder if a style rebrand is in order: saison? More like surfs on. (I'll see myself out...)
Willl Ziebell
Published March 7, 2022 2022-03-07 00:00:00
