Website: http://www.nogne-o.com/
Brewed in: Norway/Austrailia
Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale
HOPS: new Australian hop varietals
ABV: 7.5%
I’ll admit that I picked this one up based on the fact it was Nogne O and had the word saison on it. Nogne O is a small brewery in Norway that I became familiar with during Philadelphia Beer Week. I had several varieties at a wonderful little bar, the Farmers Cabinet. This however is not a pure Nogne O play, but a collaboration with Bridge Road Brewers out of Australia founded in 2005. The other item that seemed a bit odd was that it was called India-style Saison. This lived up to the oddness in the mixing of styles.
As you can see from the photo it pours out with a vigorous head. The first pour was nearly a foam over as it came out with such intensity it caught me off guard. I really only had 2 inches of bear and 6 inches of foam in the beginning. The lacing and head retention was consistent throughout the experience. I also was careful on repours as each nearly came out of the glass.
The color was a very cloudy honey and the scent was pretty consistent with the saison/farmhouse varietal. The taste started out with your typical wheat saison fruitiness featuring apricot and belgian yeast funkiness. This fruity/funky blast is almost immediately supplanted by a grapefruit style IPA bitter blast. It sort of caught me off guard and kinds of underscores what styles are all about. Somehow this combination clashed a bit out of the gate. It did improve as the beer warmed, however I do not think this will become a new style. This is also a beer that is a one and done in terms of production. I recommend trying one if you get a chance because I feel there is such a clear distinction in the styles that were combined to mixed results.
3.25 out of 5
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