Four Corners’ Super Bee Brew Is a Saison with an Alter Ego

I’ve never met a luchador in real life, but I’ve read a little about them. And after drinking a few beers for this story, I feel as though that’s plenty to make me an expert. The stories I’ve read tell of two-faced men, quiet and reserved in the real world, but something different altogether when they put on that mask.

I imagine that’s what happened when Four Corners Brewery asked a mild-mannered saison to don a luchador mask to become Super Bee. Saisons are a celebration of warmer weather, an announcement that summer is on its way. They’re often mild, with low alcohol content. They’re the sort of beer you want to tear into after a long day of toiling in the sun.

The Super Bee is a saison for sure — you can smell that Belgian personality the second you rip the top off a can — but it’s unlike any saison I’ve encountered. It’s crystal clear, the color of lightly steeped black tea, and smells of floral, hoppy notes and yeast, even though the brew isn’t cloudy.

If you’re not careful, Super Bee will drop kick you in the belly. And if you’re still indifferent it will slam you to the mat after twirling you in the air like a rag doll and taunting you about tu madre. Seven percent ABV is a lot of alcohol for a session beer, but who’s counting at this point. I hope you at least had a light snack before you stepped in the ring. I entered this ordeal with an empty stomach, and now I’m pinned.

I won’t enter into a competition with The Buzz ever again, but I’d hang out under more amicable conditions. Perhaps while I’m sitting on my couch, when things are a bit more relaxed and some cheerful mariachi is playing. With the windows open, and a nice breeze pouring in, I could kick back with a few of these hoppy saisons, that colorful mask folded neatly and tucked away in some drawer for another day.