Beer Review: Cigar City Sea Bass

Kick his ass...

I got this bottle of Sea Bass from my friend Greg in a trade about a month ago during our epic beer weekend. It's been in the fridge in the on-deck status since then. This only the second brew from Cigar City for me. I pulled this from the fridge on Friday evening as my wife requested a Saison. She's a big fan of the style, and I have become rather fond of it recently. I figured that this would be a nice refreshing treat.

Poured in to a Duvel tulip. It appears brown, slightly translucent with a mega foamy off-white-almost-tan head and constant carbonation streams coming from sediment. The carb streams continued heavily throughout the entire tasting, about 30 minutes. I was disappointed in the extremely subtle aroma. I was expecting more of a spice presence and got some light sour fruit aromas.

On to the tasting. Whoa. Crazy funky tart from the very beginning, almost from before it even hits the lips and tongue. I was definitely not expecting that. I was picking up tart cherries, sour grapes and bitter grapefruit. The bitter citrus note surprised me quite a bit. As it warmed it got kind of a creamy smooth middle. It finishes with a long and sour tart aftertaste. I would not recommend drinking this cooler than 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit. I found all of the flavors much more enjoyable as it warmed. I should not have stored this in the fridge, rather I should have cellared it and chilled for 20-30 minutes prior to the tasting.

This beer really threw me for a loop. As I said before, I haven't had many from Cigar City so I'm not sure if this is standard practice for them. I'm a long time fan of the loose style of the Saison. But, from the very beginning of the pour through the end of the last sip I struggled to find any obvious saison characteristics. If you go in to this tasting with the same mind set that you would an American wile ale, you will love it. For that style I thought it was very good. I know nothing on the background of this specific brew, but was something wild let loose inside?