I'm a big fan of the comedic stylings of James Acaster (I know my compadre Dan is not, but his loss) and I have recently finished listening to his book James Acaster's Classic Scrapes on audible for about the 15th time - it's good trust me. Anyhow, one of the chapters details Acaster's attempts to try something new everyday for a week, and how he fails.
Today I nearly failed at this, on day 4, even worse than Acaster. I very nearly didn't rouse myself to do today's review, the weather here has been shit, the dog decided to jump into my bed at 2.30 this morning and the Malaysian restaurant I went to mucked up my lunch order. I thought, go back to bed and wait for the day to be over.
But then I pulled out a dry-hopped pilsner from the advent calendar and said to myself, "you can do this". I clearly listened to myself because here I am, doing it. What a champ. I have thankfully avoided the shame of failing at a self-imposed, arbitrary commitment.
Soigne
Style - Pilsner
Brewer - Brew York & Ronin Fermentation Project
Hops - Nelson Sauvin
ABV - 5%
The beer
To be honest, I was hoping for another stout today. As I said above, the weather here is absolute dog turd and a comforting little impy would have gone down a treat. But, them I saw the hop bill on this - pure Nelly S - and a ray of warmth fell upon my bleak and miserable heart. Nelly S (nelson Sauvin for the uninitiated) is a dream hop, all perfume and exotic fruit flavours - think Marlborough Estate Sauvignon Blanc and you're there.
Soigne pours like a pilsner, no surprises there. It has a brilliantly crisp, pale yellow body with a slight but intriguing touch of haze to it. The head on this is good, thick and slightly yeasty. I've let mine sit for a while as I write this and it has retained a decent foam.
I'm not getting much on the nose, except for a hint of love heart candies, a sort of chalky perfumed sweetness. I do not like love heart candies, nor do I like people who find them charming/amusing/ironical, they aren't charming/amusing/ironical, they're shit.
Soigne is not shit. Soigne is actually pretty good, pretty damn good indeed. It is crisp, lightly malty, and full bodied - as full bodied as a pilsner can be - with malt stickiness to coat the tongue and enough fizz and tartness to clean it off again. A very well crafted pilsner by my account.
Then there's that Nelly S. That saucy little hop layers Marlborough Estate flavours all over the place. I'm getting big hints of white grape, a touch of lemon, and even some grassy notes in there. The can says to expect lychee, I don't really get that at all, but it's been a while since I had a lychee, perhaps I've forgotten what they taste like. There is a minerality about this beer which would appeal to anyone who sits at the intersection of the venn diagram of pilsner lovers and sauvignon blanc lovers. In fact, Soigne is basically a pilsner version of a Marlborough Estate sauvignon blanc.
I would say I am a fan of this beer, but, as with white wine, I fear that one is enough for me. White wine usually gives me a headache if I have more than a glass or two and as I near the bottom of this can, I can feel my frontal lobe starting to throb, but it was worth it.
Score - 4/5
Venn diagram time:
Pilsners
Sauvignon Blanc
Both
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