Tasting : Saizacca (Oxbow Grizacca clone)

I'm writing this post while the pain is still fresh in my heart.

Let me say that I really loved how this beer, my clone attempt of Grizacca from Oxbow in Maine, came out. That's correct, I'm using the word "love" in the past tense, even though the beer has only been kegged and carbonated for a few weeks at the most. When I started drinking it, I was quite impressed with what Azacca brought to the beer. Sure, I threw in a bit of Simcoe, too, but I could tell this was something I hadn't had before. I wish I was better at describing different fruity characteristics... but I'm not. It just had a very over-ripe fruit aroma to it (but not in a bad way), that followed in the flavor; a friend insisted it reminded him strongly of clementines. Combined with the Saison yeast fruity/spicy flavors and aromas, it was a really interesting combination.

I even took a trip to Portland last weekend, and went to Oxbow's new "Blending and Bottling tasting room". Very cool spot; something like 6-7 of their beers on tap, lots of swag for sale, a couple of bottles, growlers, etc. Very large warehouse-like area that had the tasting room on one side (picnic benches and a bar, basically), and a whole lot of barrels on the other. There was also some brewing equipment over there as well...? Not sure what they have planned for the future. We were able to try several new Oxbow beers (to me) on tap, and I of course had Grizacca again. I thought it tasted quite similar to my clone, but theirs was definitely smoother and more-refined, I'd say. I had bottled some of my clone before the trip to drop off for owner/brewer Tim Adams, at his request. I'll be interested to see what he has to say about it. (UPDATE ALREADY: He said he and some other employees really enjoyed it...)

SO. When I got home, I checked on my keezer and hooked up the beer line for my Brown IPA that I had brewed and started carbonating. I tested it out, and that was that. The next afternoon, I decided to go down and pour myself a Saizacca. The towel on the floor, beneath the taps (a temporary drip-tray, I guess) was sopping wet. It was not like this the night before. When I opened the keezer, there was a good inch of beer on the bottom. Crap. Crap. CRAP. I don't know how I knew, but I pulled the Saizacca tap, and only CO2 came out (with a bit of beer left in the line).

Some slight cursing may have followed.

You know what's REALLY frustrating about all this? It's not just that there was still more than half the batch left (I had only poured/sampled it seven times myself), it's not only that I really liked this beer (more than the other 2-3 beers on tap at the time), it's that I still have no idea exactly what happened. I tested the keg for leaks, it's fine. I filled it with hot water and ran it through the same line, the same tap, the same QD, everything shortly after... and there was no leak. And I hadn't opened that tap before the leak began, either. One homebrewer suggested that when I hooked up the beer QD to the Brown IPA, maybe something jostled against the Saizacca beer QD, and it started a slow leak? I dunno, maybe; that's as good an explanation as any, other than there's an evil beer fairy who hates me.

Therefore, please excuse the lack of a photo of the beer in this post (the first time I've done that). Instead, I'm including a couple of not-fantastic-quality pics from our visit to the Oxbow tasting room in Portland. Luckily, I DO have my tasting notes on the beer. And also-luckily, I picked up a pound of 2014 Azacca hops on the trip, that I had ordered a few weeks ago. Maybe this is a sign?

Oh, and don't ever let anyone tell you that kegging is always better than bottling.

Appearance: Pours with a medium-sized, white fluffy head that shows some good retention. The body is a pale yellow color, and quite hazy.

Aroma: Huge ripe (over-ripe?) fruit aroma... really nice. Very up-front. A few more sniffs shows a bit of Belgian phenolic character coming through; very familiar to me after using this yeast many times.

Taste: Again with the ripe fruit. There's a lot going on here, I'm just not eloquent enough to say exactly what it all is; but there's lots of citrus and tropical fruit. Kind of reminds me of Nelson Sauvin, but it becomes clear after many sips that it's set apart from Nelson. Finishes with a moderate bitterness; perhaps a bit too much, and definitely more than the commercial beer has.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied, with moderate carbonation.

Overall: It was a very nice beer. If I brewed it again, I'd cut back on the IBUs for sure. Definitely gives me a very good idea of what Azacca brings to the table; I'd like to use it in a beer with a more-neutral yeast, maybe an APA or IPA. I think it would pair nicely with other hops, as well.