Green Man Brewery | Thriller Blood Orange Saison

‘Tis the season of fall beers and while we’re technically past the Oktoberfest/festbier season, pumpkin beer abounds. Supposedly pumpkins were in short supply this year but judging by the shelves, that doesn’t seem to be the case. While pumpkin beer does have its place (i.e. Thanksgiving dinner and the 50% off shelf), it’s always great to see some non-typical seasonal beers, like this blood orange and beet saison.

That’s right, on deck we have Thriller which comes to us from Green Man Brewery next door in Asheville, NC. Blood orange, beets, Vienna, Rye and Wheat malts with Amarillo hops – quite a combination if I do say so myself. This beer pours with a red-amber hue and a persistent head. If you merely were guessing the style from appearance alone I could see how one might think it was a Framboise. Lean on in and your nose immediately is filled with citrus, yeast esters and a woodsiness that I would attribute to the beets. On the tongue citrus seems to be the dominant flavor but the saison yeast shines through bringing with it some light malt flavors and a dry bitterness that can only be satisfied with more of the same. The body of this beer is medium and it coats the palate well adding to its drinkability. At 7.7% ABV it may just be a little too drinkable!

Final snobs: Yes! This is different. This is fun. It is refreshing and unique. To the fine folks at Green Man, nicely done. To everyone else, find this beer.

Prost!