Brewery: La Socarrada Cervesa Artesanal De Xativa
Beer: Valencia Saison
Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 7%
Character: Brewed with Valencia orange peel, rose hips, orange blossom honey. Brewed in collaboration with Beancurdturtle Brewing
Ratings at the time of Review: BA: n/a | RB: n/a
Metal Connection: AVULSED – Blessed by Gore
BeerMetalDude Rating: 4/5
Every now and then I find some unique beers in the import section in my local beer stores. I was visiting a Total Wine location here in town one day, and I found this little gem there. I am glad I picked this one up. Read on to find my thoughts of this beer.
Of course, the label is a big part in my decision to buy a beer when browsing at the stores. This label is nothing really special, but it has character. The colors really pop off the label. The main color on the label is white with a bright orange border, and a large fancy black cursive font spelling out “Valencia Saison” complete with a sliced orange as the letter “O” in Saison. Those words are outlined in the same bright orange color as the border of the label. A description and the specs of the beer are below the name, along with the collaboration brewery, Beancurdturtle Brewing’s logo. Nothing fancy at all, but it works.
I used a tulip-style glass for this session. Valencia Saison poured a cloudy bright orange color, looking a lot like orange juice. The beer was topped with a large 1.5 inch white foamy head with a very faint orange tint to it. There was good retention, the head stayed a thin layer, leaving lines of lacing down the glass.
The aroma of the beer was at first full of orange peel, and orange juice. That was quickly followed by a smell of honey, some floral notes, wet grass, biscuit bread, farmhouse funk, hay, a little grapefruit, and ending with a slight tartness, and acidic citrus. The lingering aroma was mostly all orange peel and honey, like orange blossom honey.
The taste of the beer had all the same characters as the aroma, but my palate picked them up in a different order. The farmhouse funk, and hay was picked up first, then followed by the orange peel, acidic citrus, grapefruit, floral notes, wet grass, sweet honey and a bit of an orange juice flavor. The aftertaste was that of like orange blossom honey.
The body was light in size with a slick mouthfeel with a bit of an acidic tingly bite. Moderate carbonation. Valencia Saison had a dry finish.
Overall, I was very happy that I purchased this beer. For me, this was a unique find. I love finding beers like this at my local stores. I highly suggest that when beer shopping, you search the entire section, event he dark corners, and end of the isles. There just might be a hidden gem like this one in there. Cheers my friends!
Metal Connection: I knew finding a song with similarities to the beer name would be a difficult task, so I went with a band from the same country as this beer, Spain. Yes, there is a high number of bands I could chosen here, but I went with a band that was riding along my Metal journey dating back to my High School days. I am speaking of the Death Metal group, Avulsed. I remember getting their CD for their 1994 EP, Carnivoracity back when it came out. I followed the band since then, and they are still active to this day. Their latest recording is an EP titled Altar of Disembowelment. For the Metal Connection I went with my favorite track, “Blessed by Gore” from their 1999 full length album, Stabwound Orgasm. This album had a better production sound than their previous releases, so it really helped Avulsed gain more fans with the release of this album. “Blessed by Gore” is a very catchy tune that will have you head banging the whole entire song. There are simple, heavy riffs, no blast beats, as this is more of a rocking tune, and of course this song is complimented by Dave Rotten’s brutal, ultra low vocals. Just listen for yourself…
Beer Metal Media 