"So what's Wai-Iti like?" I asked Dave of BBNo."It's lemony, low alpha acid, really lemony." Was the reply.
"And you paired that with lemon?" There was a slight pause "ALL THE LEMONS!!! THIS CAN'T FAIL!!!"
Some of those words may not have actually been said. Regardless! The lovely folk of BBNo gave me a couple of bottles of their newest brew, a 6.2% saison, a few days before its grand unveiling. I sure am a lucky little scamp, huh?
The instant comparison would be with Limoncello IPA by Siren, another relatively new beer that tastes like ALL THE LEMONS!!! Though that was rather more beefy in structure and broad in the way it casually performs chiropractic adjustments on your face. This, on the other hand, seems somewhat more measured, more subtle and, dare I say it, ever so slightly more refined. I would also imagine that a light, spritzy, saison also suits the flavour of lemon more than a thicker, heartier, IPA (though I love the Limoncello IPA.)
The head is wafty and cloud-like, sitting unevenly on an equally cloudy body, which sits on just the right side of gold for it to be easily confused with yellow from a distance. The aroma is soft and inviting. Lemon? Yes, of course. Anything else? Aha! Yes! ... Saison yeast smell! (Obvious things are obvious.) So far it's doing everything it says on the bottle. I like that in a beer.
It tastes deeper and richer than their other Saisons, which can probably be credited to the 6.2% volume, however it still retains the refreshing qualities and playful zing that have become synonymous with Brew By Numbers. Is there a lot of lemon? Yes and no. There's enough lemon so that it is not over powering, letting the textures of smooth malt and the hoppy zing shine through. It plays with the other elements, complimenting them and reminding us that we're not drinking cold lemsip, we're drinking craft beer.
The smoothness, the sweet maltiness, the saison spring and the round lemon flavours make this beer a tough one to put down, especially when it's cold. It doesn't matter what the weather's like outside, I'd drink a cold one of these even if I'd just been snowed in.
Food suggestion: Chicken! Specifically Lemon Chicken. ALL THE CHICKEN WITH ALL THE LEMON AND ALL THE LEMON CHICKEN!!! ... LEMONS!!!
Drink this if you like: As I mentioned earlier, if you were a fan of Limoncello IPA by Siren you'd probably be a fan of this. You'd also love this if you liked The Trooper by Robinsons, you know, the Iron Maiden beer. This one isn't made by the lead singer of Iron Maiden but it does have the distinct advantage of actually being a good beer.
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