As most of you are aware, Sherbrooke Liquor and Paddock Wood Brewing have partnered to create the Beer God Series. Twelve beer honouring the beer-related gods of yore. One to be released each quarter – so three years of good beer-y fun. The first was earlier this fall with Ragutiene, a rich Baltic Porter (reviewed here).
A couple weeks ago the second beer hit the shelves. Silenus, named after a long-forgotten Greek god with a party dude reputation, is a Tripel (which, of course is Belgian, not Greek – but what would a Greek beer style be?). I got around to opening a bottle the other night.
It pours dark gold with a frothy bright white head which leaves noticeable lacing on the side of the glass. The aroma starts with a soft, rounded grain sweetness (a classic pils malt aroma), some muted earthy spiciness that reminds me of pepper, but also paprika, for some reason. I also detect some low levels of licorice and some honey sweetness.
In the taste I pick up the fruitiness of the beer first – apple, honey and pear. The spicing is more subdued than expected with some pepper but also touches of nutmeg and earthiness. One thing is clear: the 9% alcohol is stunningly well hidden. This beer presents as if it was only 5%, as all good Belgian beer should. The finish is slightly sweet and doesn’t dry out the way I hoped it would.
I am not sure where I stand on this beer yet. I enjoyed its complexity and I found myself working to identify layers of flavours and aromas. Some of the characteristics didn’t seem to fit the traditional spectrum for a tripel, but that in-and-of-itself is not an issue. We overstate the stylistic parameters of Belgian abbey ales – if you go to Belgium you taste a rainbow of tripel interpretations. The soft malt character is also wonderful, but I personally think it finishes too sweet and some of the fruitiness I detected can be distracting.
That said, I am inclined to suggest that this beer will be better in three to nine months, after a bit of time to blend and mellow. I suspect the fruity esters will subside somewhat and the pepper will come through more. So, for this one I suggest patience and pacing – neither of which I suspect old Silenus had much.
December 7, 2011 at 4:10 PM
I agree with your opinion on the sweet finish. It’s a well made beer, but I find it not quite right. But, maybe it’s just my preference. I also have some bottles cellared to compare.
December 7, 2011 at 5:08 PM
Nice review! One thing to keep in mind with all these special Sherbrooke editions that there is a background style perhaps, but it deliberately takes it off in a radical direction. What happens when you brew with white wine juice? Now I know. The first ones are actually rather conventional – just wait to see what come out later next year and the year following (10 more to go). But I think it might be best to remove the style reference, as they are going to break any listed style. I hope people can just enjoy the experiments.
December 7, 2011 at 9:00 PM
Ixion,
Thanks for the comment. I am glad you can see both the complexity in the beer and the complexity in my review. It is important to know that your plan for the beer god series is to stretch (and bend) styles a bit. I am looking forward to it. This is a great project and I am hoping that as we move along we will all be challenged and enticed by the offerings. Keep brewing good beer!
Jason