“A feeling overcomes, deriving of a most curious complexity. A rich desire awakens to explore the contents of such delicate loveliness. Upon a deep connection, with rounded lips, a bittersweet complexity enters the soul.. and so begins an amorous affair. “

I am sometimes a poet, but this is not my writing, this is no lovesick scrawling, this is what you read, printed on the back of the bottle when you buy the Anchorage Brewing Company Love Buzz Saison beer. OMG.

This was the beer my friend Tyler, of True Collaborative Fashion showroom in Portland, brought to his table when I told him I was making Rosewater and Cardamom Pannacotta.  It was the most perfect flavor marriage. It was the kind of marriage that I dream of. Passionate, inspiring, adventurous, and yet solid, deep, balanced. It’s flavors are complex and rich, and combined with the floral Pannacotta, it really was a match made in heaven!

I tracked down my own bottles(s), at the beer shop on N. Shaver and Mississippi, and when I brought them home, I was further impressed with the attention to detail: the artwork on the metal bottle cap, the cork itself, and above all the sweet, but not saccharine, poetry that tells a story and puts you in the mood to thoroughly enjoy this farmhouse style ale.

Brewed with Hobbs Family rose hips, peppercorns, and fresh orange peels, this Alaskan brewed ale is then dry-hopped in the barrel with Citra hops. I recently learned that dry hopping beer imbues it with all that floral aroma without tasting a heavy bitterness. The process involves adding hops to the fermenter or keg after fermentation. Dry hops add no bitterness to the beer, but the technique does add fragile aromatic oils that are normally lost in the boiling process. Thus the incredible floral qualities that shine in this bottle. The beer then enjoys a second fermentation in Pinot Noir barrels, and a third in the bottle. Wow. That is attention to detail.

I highly recommend you pop open a bottle of this beer at a picnic this spring or summer. It’s like a bouquet of flowers. It always puts a smile on the face of the one you love.