Beer - #255 - Pretty Things - Jack D’Or

So the second of a pair of beers from Pretty things - this tbe Pretty Things Jack D’Or.

From the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project Brewed at Buzzards Bay Brewing this is in the Style of a  Saison and as you know they are in the lovely Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

In a 650ml bottle, 6.4% ABV or around 3.3 standard drink units,  and calorie lite at 195! and 57 IBUS. - High IPA, High Irish Stout,  Low Barley Wine bitterness.

Inspired by some of our favorites like Saison DuPont, but also DeRanke’s XX Bitter, De Dolle’s Arabier, and local IPAs like Smuttynose, the Jack D’Or starts off with North American Pils, Vienna, Wheat and Malted Oats (among others) and is hopped with a combination of four hops, finishing with Palisade and Nugget. The bitterness is the real backbone of the Jack D’Or.  It’s a proper “plant-like” bitterness with all of its jagged edges, beginning deep in the soil, then to the stem of this beer and up into to the very tippity heights.  Fermentation-wise we use a blend of four yeast strains to give Jack D’Or its refreshingly dry character.  Finally, despite all of the spicy flavours in this beer it contains no actual spices – only malt, oats, rye, sugar, hops and yeast.  One more time: there are no spices or citrus in Jack D’Or. Wheat lends acidity at Jack’s edges, then rye and our blended yeast character come into play for a bit of polyphony, displeasing the notion of “balance” and creating the fire in the belly of Jack D’Or!

Ok I brought this based on the label, as I did the last beer, shoot me.

Sugary malt aroma on opening. Pours really pale yellow, almost cloudy, with a skerrick of a head. Looks like it has some bubble action going on but it's not an excitable amount.

Has the aroma of a Belgium type beer, the musty yeast thing. Has a bunch of sweetness like a Belgium beer too, and some astringent alcohol in there.

Of course a Saison would be "Fruity esters dominate the aroma. Clarity is good with a large foamy head on top. The addition of several spices and herbs create a complex fruity or citrusy flavor. Light to medium bodied with very high carbonation. Alcohol level is medium to high."

A very light beer to drink, and one that reminds of other beers of similar style. Not a beer with it's own character then, which would mean you'd overlook this for any of the other beers the same.

As it warms there is a much more pronounced malt warmth, and you're lead to believe this is a very competent beer, which it is.

I'm a bit green on this, but I have no idea why I would choose this instead of a Belgium Beer, for instance, to me they are a bit similar.

What I know is that I like it, a bit goodly, and I would suggest that the pdubyah-0-meter is being a bit light at 8 very good. This has happiness and Belgiumness about it and that is a thing to behold.

Having boldly said that this wasn't special or standout I sit here feeling a bit betwixt and between, I'd actually like another of these and would probably really enjoy it a lot more, which leads me to suspect that the pdubyah-o=meter isn't reliable :-)

I'd be bold enough to suggest that if you see this you should carry two words of advice from me... get in!

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• Beer - #254 - Pretty Things / Yeastie Boys - Our Turn, Your Turn (pdubyah.com)


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• Dish of the Day: 5 Belgian Beers (blogs.independent.co.uk)


• Beer Review #51: Saison Dupont (lamontagneraymond.wordpress.com)