Kinnegar Brewing started out its life as a brewery on a nano-scale and has bumped up to what is still an indisputably “micro” brewery, with a 10Hl brewhouse. They have a large core range for such a small company, and still find the time and capacity to regularly release seasonal and one-shot beers.

Their Saison, Swingletree is just one of their specials.

First Impressions:

This beer is too tall to comfortable stand on any of the shelves in my fridge, so I was tempted to put it on its side. For a yeasty beer like a Saison, this can lead to the yeast settling along the side of the bottle. Kinnegar have anticipated this, and they have a sediment warning.

Swingletree pours a perfect gold, leaving about a half an inch of beer in the bottle. Its head is pure white, and extremely intense. It has some spicy notes on the nose.

Second Impressions:

This beer is very easy to drink. It has a very light body. I would not have guessed it was a 7% beer if I didn’t know. It has some spices & fruits, but the main player is the distinct earthy signature of a Saison.

The finish is very clean and dry, with very mild bitterness, but no residual sweetness to disguise the bitterness which is present.

Final Impressions:

Kinnegar Brewing are a very reliable producer, and their name is synonymous for me with quality and consistency.

I am constantly interested to see what new beers I can find from them, and their core range keeps me interested, and coming back.

As a Saison, it is very difficult to find a flaw with Swingletree. The level of carbonation from a bottle conditioned beer along with the clean crisp flavour from a beer which is not filtered or pastuerised are impressive. These traits show that the farmhouse techniques can produce beer of a standard which puts the multinationals to shame.