Emporium Rapscallion. It’s the Beer Jerk beer of the week, and although I don’t usually write about these beers, we are of course in differs times, where the next craft beer, particularly the keg versions might be few and far between. So a break the rules night where I sit down and have beer and music.
Breaking from the rules
Emporium Rapscallion is served as a 330ml bottle of a beer that is 6% ABV, making it 1.6 standard drinks in NZ. The bottle is about 180 calories.
Emporium Brewing Rapscallion is a beer in the style that is of a Saison / Farmhouse / Grisette and they are based in 🇳🇿 Kaikoura, New Zealand
Breaking from the rules, this saison has been dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin & Enigma to add a fruity nose to the traditional spicy base of a Saison.
Rapscallion
Rapscallion is a distinctly modern take on the style with ramped up abv and a big dose of Nelson Sauvin & Enigma dry hopping. It has a light malt base which allows the yeast and hops to shine.
The Saison yeast gives the beer a dry finish and spicy, peppery flavour notes.
It’s softly carbonated with a pillowy head, medium body and it’s beautifully refreshing.
The heavy hopping introduces another layer of aroma and flavour with tropical fruits and white grape nuances.
So, What could possibly go wrong?
That’s a lovely aroma, right on the the money as the cap pops off with a lively accompanying hiss.
The pour is lovely straw coloured with at first a lively and full head, which falls away quickly to a desultory film on top.
Aroma in the glass is still that lovely faintly woody note with a hint of sweetness.
That’s really very. very interesting and delightful drinking, there’s an understated dryness or woodiness about the mouthfeel, and this is underneath quite a bright and lively sweetness and very flavoursome note. It’s quite sparking at the finish, bright and lively on the palate.
The Second mouthful was much the same, you’re taken along on quite an exciting journey when you drink this a lovely sweet slightly peppery party over a solid and consistent base.
The finish begins to develop its own dryness as a note, which is ok by me.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 out of 10 on the arbitrary scale of things. This is lovely beer that hits many of the things that I’d be looking for in a Saison, hopped or not. This has got a lot of different levels none of them overly complex or difficult, none of them demanding, but all of them doing their bit to pull this beer in the right direction. Get in!
The double dip review
Music for this: ”Station To Station (2016 Remastered Version) by David Bowie on the Spotify player
Whilst I have this on Vinyl I’m listening to it on the Spotify player because of no reason other than lazy