Black Oak Summer Saison

Brewed by Black Oak Brewing
Style: Saison
Etobicoke, Canada

Ochre to pale amber beer with a small, bigger-bubbled white head. First pineapple, some bleak farmyard odours, faintly spicey (coriander, gingerpowder?), and then, unmistakably, diacetyl and celeri taking over. More diacetyl - and more faults in the mouth, leading to a fiery, aggressive MF, despite a rather light body and buttery slickness, with flavours of stale cookies, burnt sesame oil and the inevitable coriander. Oops. Very seasonal, I should hope.

Bottle from HogtownHarry. Thanks. Pours a cloudy, almost opaque orange with a small white head that fades. Aromas of oranges, honey, and yeasty spiciness. Flavor mimics nose, with a nice balance of tastes. Medium bodied with quite a bit of character for its low alcohol content. Not as funky as many of the saison I’ve had, but still a solid and very drinkable saison. Well done.

Bottle from Blankboy - thanks. Pours out an orange color without much of a head. Smell is some orange, and spice. Taste is sweet and pretty smooth. Perhaps not really what I was expecting from a saison, but it does the trick. A pretty good session beer really.

Bottle courtesy of Hogtownharry: Poured a deep golden orange color ale with a big foamy head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of funky east with some orange and other spices. Taste is dry with some floral malt and a long yeasty finish with layer of complexity. Body is a bit light but it doesn’t hurt the beer too much overall. I got too admit that I wasn’t expecting so much from this one and was pleasantly surprised.

341ml bottle - pours hazy golden orange with a thick, pure white head. Citrusy, spicy aroma, very crisp and welcoming. The flavour is beautiful and much more complex than I would have expected - initial light fruity punch of orange, clove and yeast, followed by an earthy, peppery hit that is quickly followed and finished by a subtle hoppy, refreshing bitterness. This is a beautiful, flavourful Saison that I drank quite a lot of this past summer. Black Oak is a gem, one of our best Ontario brewers.

Update, January 2007 - Just did a back-to-back comparison between this and the Saison Dupont, and this blew it out of the water in terms of robust flavour and aroma. Definitely fruitier and hoppier, and more to my taste than the famous Belgian farmhouse ale. I love this beer!