Brewed using foraged rosehips and, not foraged, Hibiscus, Hiver is a Red Saison that I fell in love with almost immediately.
The toffee apple and earthy damp undergrowth of the aroma reminded me of days spent running through the woods around the foot of The Wrekin as a child, wild garlic wafting up from the fringes of the streams, crushing rosehips between my fingers to look at the shaggy seeds within.
This beer is very much an afternoon in the damp shade of English woodland, honeycomb and cinder toffee from the malts providing a lovely warm sweetness while the Bramling Cross hops give you aniseed and nettle tea, hazel leaves and a twist of lemon.
The rosehips provide a little tart fruitiness and the hibiscus adds a depth of colour to the beer as you pour.
What a brilliant beer this is.
Source: Pop’n’Hops