I took a gamble on a 750 ml bottle of Noble Oaf Rye Saison from Refined Fool Brewing Co out of Sarnia, ON this weekend. A gamble, since I usually like rye beers, but I’m pretty on the fence with saison style brews. The fruity notes don’t always mingle well with the spicy notes, and it’s hit or miss for me. I’d never heard of Refined Fool Brewing before seeing a $9.00 bottle at the LCBO. The label lists this as 7.3% ABV with 25 IBU. Now, $9 is a bit heft of a gamble for me, but in the name of research, I decided to give it a go since I liked the name Noble Oaf. Refined Fool started out as a bunch of local homebrewers, and now they are operating a nano-brewery in downtown Sarnia. Are you guys OK out there? I see there was a tornado watch in effect on Monday.
We enjoyed this on the patio in a balloon glass.
Appearance: Unfiltered light brown and cloudy, like unfiltered virgin apple cider from the farmer’s market. Fast diminishing white head.
Aroma: Sour cherry and sour peach aroma. Spicy notes from the rye malt. Barnyard aroma from the yeast.
Taste: Peppery flavours on the palate from the rye, slightly sour notes.
Aftertaste: Finishes sweet and peppery.
Overall: A decent example of a saison, since the style can be hit or miss. We don’t recommend pairing this with food – some flavours will just clash on your palate.
Shawna has visited vineyards in 8 countries on 3 continents, and has a knack for finding the hoppiest beers around. A dedicated Booze Hound, Shawna completed the Wine Specialist Certificate at George Brown College in 2018.
She can be found drinking alka-seltzer and coconut water in the morning.
Email: [email protected]
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