Day 20: Vixnu

 

Vixnu

Origin: Cervejaria Colorado (Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil)

Style: Imperial India Pale Ale (IIPA)

ABV: 9.5%

IBU: 75

Description: I was a little worried upon first opening this beer. As I removed the bottle cap the beer was like a geyser with foam escaping from the bottle all over the table. My first thought was it was infected. Thankfully I was wrong, the beer was just carbonated slightly more than it should have been.

Upon first sniff of Vixnu from Cervjario Colorado I was transported back in time to when IPAs were a different beer than we know today. This reminded me of the IPAs my dad used to drink when the craft beer culture was just starting in the United States. This beer doesn’t have the citrus character of most Imperial India Pale Ales that we know today. The character is more focused on malt with pine and floral hops. The malt character is up front with tons of biscuit, crystal, and pilsner malt. Then hop characters of pine and herbs make themselves present. There is little hop aroma in the beer but lots of resinous pine in the flavour. The malt tends to dominate the overall beer yet it still finishes fairly dry.

If you were looking for a beer that would be similar to Vixnu I would go with No-Li’s Imperial IPA or Central City’s Imperial IPA. Both are malt forward beers with great hop character, though the hop character in both of these beers tends to be more citrus than pine.

Overall I thought this was an enjoyable beer. I can only imagine what it would have tasted like fresh. – O.P.

 

Day 11: Tropical Christmas Saison

Tropical Christmas Saison

Origin: Cervejaria Wäls (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Style: Saison

ABV: 7%

IBU: Not Listed

Description:  I have always been confused with saisons in winter. The going story is the style came from the farm for the field workers in the summer. So why make a beer like this for Christmas?

Another mystery is the ingredients: coriander and orange peel. That is the classic ingredients for a Belgian wit. Again the questions come out – why in a saison?

The beer itself pours a lovely medium amber with a thin head. The nose is fairly robust and I can pick up the raisins and figs they used coming through. Strange for a saison but I like a brewer who plays. The pepper that I expect from a good saison is missing and I get a orange gumdrop. The finish is really sweet and cloying. This is a fruit bomb and full of the suggested tropical. Good thing I am wearing my Hawaiian shirt.

For a saison try the Dupont or the Farmhand Ale from Driftwood and pair with fish or salad.

Now I think they have made a Belgian wit and done a very cool example of it. Fun to drink and will go with a big pig roast with fruit. Why they called it a saison I have no idea but I have seen enough bad translation signs that I am willing to look the other way. Hey, I am the guy wearing the Hawaiian shirt in December! – C.B.