Cheerful

ARTWORK BY TINTIN

WINTER SAISON
9.2% ABV
SEASONS CHANGE

Decadently smooth with warming gingerbread notes, Cheerful is a luxurious 9.2% Winter Saison bound to put a smile on you and your pal’s faces. Notes of sticky banana bread drizzled with fresh lemon juice come to mind alongside cracked toffee apples with a dusting of that famed Saison pepperiness.

Now here’s the geeky part: a farmhouse-saison yeast blend was put to work at warmer temperatures (26C) to attain all those spicy esters. Then 67g/L of silky all-natural plum purée was added very close to the end of fermentation for jammy aromatics and a plump fructose sweetness. A small addition of specially kilned Belgian malts balance the fruitiness with richer caramel and raisin like flavours.

When drinking the warming dryness arrives at the finish and stays with you in the aftertaste. The complex spiciness is there too, created by the yeast, grains of paradise, spelt, and English hedgerow hops. Like every good Saison, it is difficult to pick out a singular spice from the mix. Although the grains of paradise does give the beer a pleasing gingery undertone.

Many thanks to @tintinart for the most fun-filled and awesome artwork. It resembles the best Christmas card never made, makes you Cheerful just looking at it and it even portrays a couple of festive doos!