Coast Range Farmhouse Saison 7

Totally transparent gold with a well-retaining head along with white ice cellophane riding on top. Ginger, cream cheese and cloves strike the nose. Vanilla sweetness rides along with some vanilla nips to further entice. Dupont-esque flavor parallels. Vanilla yogurt gets folded into lemon meringue and crumbled vanilla shortbread. Dryness intercedes with some cackled coriander while sweet ginger cakes on lemon graham crust. Banana shortbread and spiced, dry white pepper pipe up the body and a lemony, ginger sweet finish.

Yeasty nose, very Belgian-like. Pale gold color, low lathery head. Pear notes, sweet malt. Spicy end. Soft carbonation. Excellent balance and blend. Sophisticated.

Clear yellow body. Sweet pale malt aroma with a light leafy end. The basic malt foundation continues into the flavor alongside gently spicy yeast and grass/spicy yeast. A solid, traditional-seeming saison.

Blind tasting at Sombeast’s house

This was the second best saison sampled blind. To find it has such a low score does not surprise me though - it just goes to show that people have wildly different expectations and tastes. Thanks to Joel for bringing this to the tasting (though I did not find out until later it was from his cellar).

Aroma / Appearance - The golden transparent body brimmed with active carbonation. Peach, asparagus and lemon poppy seed highlight the nose, which also contains citrus and floral notes.

Flavor / Palate - Spices, particularly pepper, wash over the tongue. Vanilla, cream soda and a sweet sensation come next. There is an underlying fruitiness that makes it worth savoring. Overalll I would consider this a nice session beer for those times when you just don’t want something heavy.

Bottled. Poured a clear medium-golden with a speckly dusting of white head (last couple pours were very dark. Aroma was sweet with funky notes of coriander and white pepper.. orange zest.. quite enticing. Flavor picked up lightly-toasted caramel and brown-sugary malts.. white pepper and orange zest spiciness emerge toward the middle.. bit dusty and funky… slightly sour on the edges and dry. Great feel on the palate.. creamy feel with high carbonation… dry finish.

Saison #6 consumed ’blind’ at the Pewaukee tasting. Crystal clear yellow. Yeast, lemon citrus dominating the aroma and flavor. Medium bodied. Mild sour finish.

Pours to a very clean bright golden body with a thin white head. The aroma is very sweet. Light brown sugar, simple syrup, light lavender. The flavor is much the same as the aroma. Very easy drinking. Has a lingering sweet sugary palate. I quite enjoyed this one.

on tap at the Toronado on 1/15/07. cloudy yellow color, dense whitish foamy head. aroma is spicy/yeasty candi sugar malt, lemony and tangy. flavor very much the same, with all of the above. slightly tangy aftertaste.