Name: Black Dog Brewery Estate Hop Saison

Style: Saison

Country: Australia

ABV: 6.8%

Beer description: Black Dog Brewery is a small brewery out of Victoria in Australia. Black Dog have some great flagship beers ranging from an ale, to an IPA, to a stout. Their Estate Hop Saison is a branch out from the regulars and it’s always good to see a brewery take a risk, especially such a young one.

The beer pours with a lot of head, even when poured slowly, and it sticks around. The head is a yellowy white which is typical of the saison style. It’s very basic and farm farmhouse looking. This is also reflected in the colour of the beer being fairly yellow and tan.

The beer is called a hop saison and this comes out in the smell. There’s an overall citrus and pine aroma about the beer, with a general fruitiness. Being a saison, there’s a bit of yeast smell, or “funky yeast ester” as the bottle puts it. The clean smell of the citrus works well with the yeasty funk which makes it quite nice to smell.

The beer is a little thin on the front, but the body thickens up quickly reminding the drinker that this is a beer pushing 7% alcohol. There is a slight egg taste about this beer, which would come, once again, from that “funky yeast ester.” It’s part of the quality of a saison.

Following all of this, the citrus comes back from the smell. As the beer thickens up, the malt really comes out and gives this beer just the slightest hint of sweetness. The sweetness has a little bit of fruit to it and some sourness. However, this quickly ends with a dry and slightly bitter finish. It’s a mild bitterness and that’s probably a good thing.

There are stranger saisons out there, but that’s not always the point. This would be a good saison for people first learning about the style. Black Dog has done a good job here.

Check out more saison reviews.

See other reviews of beer by Black Dog.