Three Floyds Rabbid Rabbit Saison

The other Sunday found us in Wisconsin, Hudson, and that classic store, Casanova's. I hadn't been there in a while, and was delighted to see some new-to-me Three Floyds bombers in the coolers. It's been a while. Perhaps because we don't stop in Casanova's anymore due to the increased number of beers available in MN, and that I usually stock up pretty strong at Oliphant when we're in Wisconsin.

Rabbid Rabbit Saison was one that I had a question about, though. Had I had it? A quick look on BeerAdvocate show a review in June of 2004, 14 years ago, from a growler sent to me from someone in Indiana going by "cretemixer." I probably sent him some Masala Mama in exchange, for those were the days when I did that.

So, here's what I'll do. I'll open the bottle and drink it, post that old review for old time's sake, and see if I have any counter-arguments against my old self. Here we go....

Three Floyds Rabbid Rabbit Saison. 7.4% ABV. 25 IBU. Three Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, Indiana.

Lovely, luminescent amber/orange color, head is a tight 1/4 carpet of whitish fuzz, and there's active carbonation, bubbles rising perennially, a ripe appearance.

Warm, beatiful spices greet the nose immediately, is it cinnamon, aniseed, clove? Coriander, cardamom, lavender? I'm not so sure, nor does it matter, it feels most like pumpkin pie, or gingerbread cookies, or mulled cider, you could be at Grandma's house on Thanksgiving Day with this beer and not know which is which.

I pull my snoot out of the glass and drink at last...bold, bright, brisk hops storm the palate, buzz the tongue, set it stirring. Malt is luscious, and hops are high, lasting long in the mouth. Flavor is fantastic and in copious supply. I'm utterly enamored of this beer.

I had some Dupont before this, reacquainting myself after too long with this classic exemplar of the saison style, and eager to compare the two. There is no comparison, two different animals altogether, the Rabbit owning a unique claim on a particular spice blend, and possessing a fruity profile that goes beyond the citric character of so many others.

Yum. I feels so fine, fresh and fruity in the mouth, with each new swallow, and then the spicy kick rushes in, and it's just an extraordinary sensation.

I'm going to relax with this one, and pretend like I deserve it, it's that kind of brew.

So, here's the thing. I took out all of the exclamation points, a hallmark of my youthful days (of 36-years old), but everything else remains true. Would I have written the same today? Not the same words, but the same feeling and taste perceptions, surely. It's an excellent saison, and this is my first bottle of it. I still can't believe how lucky I was to get a growler, back then.

Little John’s local bees create a spring wildflower-honey that lends a sweet, earthy complexity to a traditional style of beer with a balancing snap of ginger in the finish.

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This Franco-Belgian style Farmhouse Ale has an effervescent body and a light straw color. Rabbid Rabbit, with its light malt body augmented by spices, is a complex and frothy beverage with a deceptively high alcohol content.