Spring is finally here! The weather is getting warmer, and as it does lighter bodied, refreshing beers would seem to be in order. These days, saison is a very popular style, and so as I sit out on my patio enjoying the weather I think I’ll have one of those.

Why not a local one? Yes, a local one, Orpheus Atalanta Tart Plum Saison. I just love plums after all, and their fresh and tart flavor seems a natural pair (ok, wrong fruit pun) with saison. The name is even cool, Atalanta being a mythological Greek huntress, and it’s also only a letter away from the city where the brewery is located.

Orpheus Brewing (aka Beltline Brewing LLC on the can) offers a number of regular offerings and seasonal and special release brews. They’re a recent (and welcome) arrival on the Georgia brewing scene. Mostly, I’ve seen their beers on tap at Stout’s Growlers and Taco Mac, but they recently began canning as well.

Orpheus says of Atalanta on their website:

In the heroine Atalanta, we see the traits of what we aim for in all of our beers: piquant, deceptively robust, and a bit wild. A tart plum saison, Atalanta tastes of plums intermingling with spicy yeast, and a refreshing tartness that makes Atalanta as good for pairing with food as by itself.

Ingredients from the website:

Hops: Newport

Grain: Two row barley, white wheat, flaked wheat

Fermentation: House Lactobacillus Mother, French saison yeast

Other: Plums, cold pressed for us by Arden’s Garden

Orpheus Atalanta has an alcohol content of 5.25% by volume and runs about $7.25 for a 32-ounce growler, $10.99 a six-pack in cans.

Orpheus Atalanta Tart Plum Saison pours to a cloudy yellow color with a thick tightly packed head and an inviting nose of fresh tart plum. Taking a sip, the beer has light crackery wheat up front followed by juicy fresh plum flavor, some yeasty spice and then at the last a puckering, very refreshing sourness. Tart and refreshing all the way, I think I would have liked a bit more yeasty spiciness than I got, though then complainer that I am I might have found another flaw. Still, this seemed more of what is termed these days as a “sour” to me more than a saison, although the two are (incorrectly) used interchangeably nowadays.

I do love the juicy plum flavor, it’s hard to miss and very delicious. That and the drying sourness in the finish make this a beer that I enjoyed very much indeed, perfect for patio sipping.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

 



Home