Canterbury Brewery - Seriously Saison (Simcoe Dry Hopped)

It's hard not to like what these guys are doing, completely disregarding the fact that this beer is as pale and inviting as a welcome mat in the shape of Helena Bonham Carter, there is still a long list of easily quaffable beers coming out of The Foundry on top of some slightly more specialist stuff. I told the guys that there are a lot of breweries in Kent but none of them are doing what they're doing, none of them are making the kind of innovative stuff that they are. Gadds and Hopdaemon make some pleasant beer but I've never seen a barrel aged stout from either, I've never seen a pumpkin beer from them, I've never seen a Russian imperial stout from Whitstable Brewery and I doubt I'll even see a Chocolate Vanilla Porter from Goachers. The only brewery who are coming anywhere even remotely close to what Canterbury Brewers are doing are Old Dairy Brewery but when they try to innovate they can be a bit hit and miss.

It is with this in mind that I crack open this pale, spritzy, beauty. Maybe it's not as pale as some saisons but the saison style is very tough to define. The pour is easy to control, leaving a wafer thin head that sticks around for the duration. Of the 3 versions available to me (Simcoe, Centennial and East Kent Goldings,) I decided to go with the Simcoe dry hop and I'm glad I did because the trade mark Simcoe smell is present, the one that smells like a mix between sweets and medicine. It's not overpowering but it is active enough to be deeply satisfying.

The body is deeply drinkable, retaining a smooth refreshing quality that I've come to expect from ALL saisons. The Simcoe runs riot in this, throwing around bitterness and sweetness, sometimes covering the base hops, sometimes showcasing them. There's a lot going on at once and every mouth full seems to be different. At first the Simcoe gut punches you but now I'm tasting grapefruit bitterness, all the while enjoying the bubbles effervesce on my lip like sea foam lapping at the shore.

The first ever saison I had was Foodball by Mikkeller and it was WAY too weird for my liking and it put me off the whole idea of saisons for the longest time but they're really growing on me now. Ever since the revelations of the Grisette range by Partizan and finally getting my hands on Saison Dupont, I've been a changed man. There's no messing around with this, there's no black pepper and orange peel, there's no crushed dung beetle or horse eyelashes in this and it works well for it.

Simply a delicious beer, best had on a hot summers day or, at least, in a hot room that's suffering the brunt of faulty central heating.

Food Suggestion: It may be some sort of racial thing because I do happen to be a little Asian but I'd love to have a bottle of this and a big platter of Sushi. This needs to be sold at Yo Sushi! I would be such a happy man!

Drink this if you like: I feel odd saying it but if you like Black Betty by Beavertown and fancied something on the lighter side then you may well enjoy this. Though this may well not be the case for the EKG and Centennial versions.