One tin saison

There's something quite intriguing about a traditional Belgian brewer like St Feuillien putting its Saison in a can, and dry hopping it to boot. But so it is, and four for a tenner in Redmond's too. Not to be passed up.

Mind you, leaving it on its side in the fridge was a mistake. The "unfiltered" warning is there around the rim for all to see. The end result was a glass of beautiful sunshine-yellow beer, disfigured by huge yeasty flakes suspended through it. I'm not sure that any hop character has been lost, however: the aroma is still lightly melony and similar fruit salad chunks, while the flavour offers just a gentle citrus, akin to a witbier, but still very much crisp and saisony, and I don't think that's the fault of the floaters.

Overall, trendy packaging and anglophone hopping techniques notwithstanding, this is a classic understated Belgian saison, with all the thirst-punching power that goes with. And still perfectly quaffable even at 6.5% ABV. I'm impressed, I'll be buying more, but I'll still be storing the next ones standing.