Ballarat's Red Duck is showing no signs of slowing down in 2014. Already, a number of limited release seasonals have hit shelves, with more coming, including sours, barrel-aged beers and the like. The most recent three to appear are the Supa Nova Australian IPA, Saison and Saison Bee. The Supa Nova features just the one hop, the ubiquitous Galaxy, and despite tipping the scales at 7.5% ABV isn't particularly fierce, instead allowing the familiar citrus and tropical hop aromas obtained from the use of nothing but hop flowers, to shine. The straight Saison is light and refreshing, as you would expect from the style, with a sharp, zesty carbonation, some spiciness and citrus on the nose with some orange citrus flavours that linger afterwards too. It's not as dry or tart as some Saisons; in fact, not even as dry as its stablemate, the Saison Bee. This honey saison is lower in alcohol, yet has a fuller body and some distinct honey aromas too. All in all, a rather sane trilogy from Red Duck; who knows what lurks around the next corner...
Published February 7, 2014 2014-02-07 00:00:00