We are incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to try the third installment of Six Mile Bridge’s “Big 5 Series” The Deviant. The series is an annual release of a single barrel aged beer with varying styles. The first two being imperial stouts aged in spirits barrels. The Deviant is a bit different…
Style:
The Deviant is an Imperial Saison Aged In Pinckney Bend Gin Barrels on 250 lbs of peaches. Imperial saisons are not incredibly common and already being a fan of Six Mile Bridge’s standard French Saison I was eager to try this. My only memorable, imperial saison, experience before this one was Tropic King and its fruited variants brewed by Funkwerks brewing out of Fort Collins Colorado. Just like Tropic King, The Deviant sits at 8% ABV.
First Impressions:
Packaging is beautiful. The attention to detail really goes a long way. Everything from their stylized “postage stamp” labels to the hand written bottle numbers on the back is flawless. After removing the tight wax job and popping the bottle I get an immediate blast of gin botanicals, oak, and sweet peach to the face. Softer carbonation on this one so a slightly heavier pour was required to generate a creamy white head on top of this pumpkin colored, slightly cloudy, beer.
First Sip:
The botanicals are lighter than I had anticipated solely based on the initial nose. Sweet peach and caramel overtakes this beer. Its mouthfeel was super creamy akin to drinking velvety peach nectar. Hints of alcohol sweetness break through the peach and remind you that this is a beer that should be savored slowly.
Warming up:
The succulent peach gets juicier by the minute as the juniper notes begin die down. The saison and its yeast forward flavors peak out at this point too. Light nutty and herbal notes are more noticeable as well.
The Deviant is to be released TODAY, November 3rd, at noon at the tasting room. You can follow the details on their Facebook page. You’re not going to want to miss this one.
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