A Steady Speed at Singlespeed

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Click photo for link to SingleSpeed website

I sure was swept off my feet when I walked into Singlespeed brewery for the first time. As I opened the door the first thing I noticed was the small cozy interior. Framed prints of art depicting beers and bicycles lined the red brick walls. A long wooden bench sat along the right wall with two small tables, while several high top tables stood on the left. Two little round tables sat in each corner window overlooking the Main St. of Cedar Falls. The bar stood at the back of the welcoming room beckoning me to come closer. The surrounding atmosphere and quaint decorations were soon forgotten as my head tilted back to take in the entire blackboard of with the beer menu upon it written colorfully in chalk.

My head got dizzy just staring at seven different microbrew options, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. I didn’t know what to expect. I needed to put all this stimulus in context. The bartender, a ruggedly handsome fellow who looked to be in his late 20’s maybe early 30’s, was hard at work writing new beer names on the menu as I made my way over. Briefly I explained to him the nature of my visit and said I was in search of the best brew in the Cedar Valley, to which he replied, “Well the best beers are here.” And if this is true, my search ended quicker than it begun, but I will still have to continue to other breweries before I can make a decision on that point.

I arrived at Singlespeed with the intentions of having an interviewer with a brewer or manager who could shed some light on the business, how it started, and explain some of the technical aspects of the brewing process, however that didn’t happen as planned. The assistant brew manager was too heavily laden with work to be able to come out to chat, though he expressed much enthusiasm in getting to talk to someone so interested in the beers they craft with such artistry. So for today I had to content myself with simply ordering a beer and writing my opinion about it’s flavor.

After trying a couple samples, I narrowed my choice to their Saison Six. Apparently a saison contains some hops but not enough to categorize it as an Indian Pale Ale. (I had no idea there were other beers other than IPA’s that contained hops. I always assumed by definition, a hoppy beer was an IPA.) But I digress.

Beer Review: Saison Six

The official description of the Saison Six offered by Singlespeed goes as follows; “The latest launch in our Experimental Saison Series. This one steers West of traditional, featuring a handful of fruit-forward hops while restraining the clove-like, spicy notes. We are describing it as tropically cool. We aren’t certain what that means though.”

Honestly this entire description basically went over my head, so I will present my average drinker description in a moment. I don’t particularly care for hoppy beers. I think they taste either like soap or pine tree. However this saison beer was different from other hoppy beers I’ve tried in the past. The hoppy flavor was much more subtle with a true fruity undertone. So ultimately I would describe the flavor of the Saison Six as a mellow pine tree relaxing on the beach surrounded by tropical oranges. If you can take that mental image and think of it as a flavor, that is what the Saison Six tasted like to me.

I would definitely get this beer again presented the opportunity, but not until I’ve also tried some others first. I would recommend the Saison Six for all you beer lovers who enjoy hops or for those of you looking for an easy transition into the realm of hoppy beers. Since I don’t particularly enjoy hoppy beers myself, this was the perfect microbrew to help me transition into the hoppy realm. So how would I rate this beer on a 5 star system? I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5.