Goat Patch Brewing's Papa Legba Imperial Saison: The Gatekeeper to the Spirit World

I’ve had saisons before, but never a cherry saison, nor an imperial (double) saison. So, of course I had to ride my bike down the trail to Goat Patch Brewery. This is the second beer I’ve reviewed from Goat Patch: The first was their IPA, which was pretty basic, but this saison is off the charts.

The first sip of this beer held a nice, sweet, and slightly tart flavor. I’d say the sweet outweighs the tart, but it’s a really good balance that I wasn’t expecting. It’s boozy too, which can be good or bad, depending on if you have to drive. I figure I can stay balanced on my bike for the ride home. It comes in at 13.3% ABV, which is just about the level of wine. In fact, it’s got a bit of a cherry wine taste, but with carbonation. Luckily, it comes in a 10oz glass, because a full pint might do some damage. Even after five of those ten ounces, I’m feeling pretty warm inside. Hidden within the cherry sweetness are some notes of caramel. What’s missing is the farmhouse funk that usually comes with a saison, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It almost feels like a different style altogether—maybe a cherry barleywine.

The name of this beer, Pappa Legba, was a mystery to me, so I did what anyone would do and looked it up. Apparently, Pappa Legba is the voodoo gatekeeper of the spirit world. I’d say it’s an apt name.

Now that I’m down to the bottom of this glass, my ride home might be more difficult than I thought. Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, especially since I have my eye on the hibiscus pale ale. And besides, I’m a Gen Xer, I can do anything I put my mind to…and I’ll flip people off along the way.