Main Street Brewing Company--Rye Saison with Saaz

While in Vancouver, I joined some pals for a couple of pints at the Main Street Brewing Company. Given that it was my second brewery of the day, I opted to review only one beer, lest my already questionable impartiality and objectivity slip too far toward loving everything.  I settled on Main Street's Rye Saison with Saaz and had a 12 oz pour. According to the board at the brewery, this stuff contains 6% alcohol and a solid 30 IBUs. It was also a cask ale--my first foray into cask saisons.

When it arrived, I was pleased to see a very cloudy golden ale. It was topped with a thinnish white head. This beer had a very unusual aroma--there was a cacophony featuring sweet hay, a grainy rye spiciness, and a touch of apple. There was a very mellow mouthfeel that somehow managed to be syrupy and thin at the same time. I was expecting a bit more carbonation and life. This beer was sweeter than I'd hoped for, but its flavour was oddly beguiling. There were apple and grape notes, as well as some gentle spice.

This was definitely not a beer ale at all, but I'm not sold on the idea that saisons are well suited to delivery via cask. I later had a pale ale that I didn't review, but which I enjoyed a lot more. I would eagerly return to Main Street, and encourage my readers to check it out.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.