surlysober (28), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Aug 31, 2008 FIRST TRIAL: pours a straw yellow with very little head and an abundance of floaties; aroma is subtle, with some spice and malt; taste isn’t quite as subtle with a fair amount of spice and yeast fruitiness; mouthfeel is smooth with a hint of fruity sweetness at the end. Hmm... The commercial description says "enormously complex" but this feels very, very far from complex... particularly when compared the numerous saison incarnations from other craft brewers. Saison seems to a style with exceptionally wide guardrails, and this beer seems to ride the center-line. It’s yeasty without being "barnyard-ish", it’s not as fruity as other saisons I’ve had, and the mouthfeel is rather dull compared to the effervescence of something like Saison Dupont. Thanks to BeerBelcher who was kind enough to share this bottle with me (which he got from his beer of the month club... which apparently doesn’t mind mailing out beer 9 months past its pull date... so, hopefully I’m not giving this beer an unjustly poor review). jcwattsrugger (3942), Florida and, New Jersey, USA Aug 25, 2008 12 oz bottle-pours a foamy white head and yellow color. Aroma is spicy-coriander/clove, yeast, light malt/wheat. Taste is sweet light malt, spicy-coriander/clove/pepper, yeast, herbal. Semi dry finish. Occasional. CharlesDarwin (1380), State College, Pennsylvania, USA Aug 24, 2008 On tap. Noses in a very mineral heavy, soft Thai spices, with a bit of alcohol, pineapple and soap. Pours a hazed golden with a frothy, tall head in white. Flavor develops rich spiciness, then a good dense chewy malt base. I appreciate the texture of this beer and it’s inline with the other heavy seas beers, that come with a very mineral rich profile. It’s almost as if the beer has been brewed with Evian water and then filtered through cotton. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. This does give a little too much phenol and quashes the overall drinkability with some alcohol and sugar, but it’s not terrible. Lubiere (3250), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Aug 24, 2008 A hazy golden ale with a thin white head. A pleasant cloves and bananas in aroma, with light vanilla notes. In mouth, a restrained spicy malt, with light herbal notes, good alcohol in final. Medium bodied. Middle of the road Saison. nqualls (203), Tennessee, USA Aug 19, 2008 Poured a clear yellow-gold with a two finger head. Aroma is malt and worcestershire. Flavor is the same as the aroma. Not great but not bad.
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