Saison Alexanders

Strong saison with foraged herbs
Bottle conditioned, in 375 and 750 ml bottles, crown capped and corked with cages.
Release date June 2015.

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Brewed on: 12.3.2015 Vatted 3 months. Bottled: June-July 2015.

In the depths of winter, even at Christmas time, the first green leaves of Alexanders appear beneath the bare hedgerows. By March they are exuberantly green and coming into flower with their yellow-green efflorescence. Every part of this plant can been eaten and so I thought I would employ the pungent aromatic flavour of the leaves, stems and flowers to add some spice to the phenolic flavours produced by saison yeast. I believe the marriage has been very successful and will certainly do it again. Next time I think I will try a lower strength beer. This one at 8.5% is a sipping saison with a wonderful complex character.

On a sunny morning the day before brewing I picked a large carrier bag (4 kg) of leaves and stems from the top of the cliffs at Tower Lane, Sidestrand. This is the very heart of Poppyland, close to the spot where Clement Scott stayed with Louie Jermy at the Mill House in the 1880s and close too to the site of the lonely tower of Sidestrand church that once stood on the precipice.

Tasting notes

These tasting notes come from Simon Williams of the Campaign for Really Good Beer:

"Brewed with Alexanders, an aromatic coastal herb, gathered on the cliff tops surrounding Cromer, this Saison is something else. It pours a deep amber with a big fluffy head and smells of honey, straw and meadow flowers steeped in white rum. The malting is thick and gloopy, all toffee, caramel wafers and bread dough, and the hops are green herbal foliage with a good lemony kick right at the end. As for the Alexanders, they give a lightly salty, celery like flavour and the addition of coriander adds a good snap that cuts through the boozy heat as you head towards the pithy dry finish."

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Free-from

This beer is produced without the use of any finings, filtering or pasteurisation, so all the flavours of the ingredients are preserved for your enjoyment. Also, it is gluten-free (tested <10ppm) for the benefit of those who suffer from gluten intolerance or who wish to reduce their gluten intake.

Martin Warren, The Poppyland Brewer