Pour is a pale yellow, somewhat cloudy affair with a nicely formed, mid-density head. Retention isn’t great, but the lace is good.

Nose offers way too much acidity for me. Even though the initial tastes back-off from the nose a little, the taste are, IMO, too acidic for the style. Can there be some sourness amongst the funk in a Saison? Of course, but the balance doesn’t seem to be here. The oaky dryness starts to come through as it warms, but the beer feels thinner than it should be.

It’s OK, but this just isn’t a quintessential Saison in my book. There’s far more acidity than there should be, and the beer lacks depth in terms of the mouthfeel. Plenty of bitterness in the back end that is likely from the dry-hopping but the beer feels thin and just too sour. Although not a very sour beer per se, the acidity drowns out any funk and yesty goodness that should be present.

If you had told me this was an American Kettle Sour I’d have likely believed you, and there’s no way on Earth that it’s passing for a quality European Saison. If it were a kettle sour it wouldn’t be sour enough, as it is, it is kinda “balanced”, but the “balance” is wrong for a Saison.

The label gives the history of the beer – when it was brewed, how it was oaked and when it was bottled – but it also gives a somewhat ironic nod to “heavy handed American brewers”. I don’t know if that appears on all Tired Hands labels, and I assume it is connected to their name, but boy oh boy does it fit here, as this “Saison” seems unable to be a subtle one, and the acidic elements are simply too great for me. This isn’t a “bad” beer as such, it’s just not a good Saison.

I will add that I’ve learned something whilst drinking this beer and writing this. Since my days on BA I’ve learned that a style called “Speciality Saison” has been added to that particular site, in addition to what they are now calling “Belgian Saison”. I think this style designation bogus TBH, but when you read the description below, it certainly would fit this beer perfectly. Ironically, it’s currently in the BA database as a Belgian Saison – it isn’t!

Specialty Saisons maintain the dry, effervescent farmhouse backbone of classic, Belgian Saisons, however, they are increasingly defined by contemporary brewing techniques that emphasize experimental expression. Common methods and ingredients may include: dry-hopping, mixed-culture fermentation, wood aging, kettle souring, or the addition of special yeast strains, dark malts, fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, sugars, or other adjuncts. These approaches combine to create a layered complexity that transcends the predominantly yeast-driven profiles of traditional Saisons.