Craftsman Saison

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Saison
Pasadena, California USA

Serve in Tulip

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Draft: Orange with brilliant clarity. Voluptuously dense, white foam slowly settles. Enormously estery nose of lavender, perfumey phenols, and peppery yeast. Light bodied with a dense sparkle of bubbles. Initially slippery tart and rounded with coarsely herbal underpinnings. Myriad of buttery lavender and an herbaceous, dryly leafy yeast blend. Trace melon softness touched with lightly spiced apple acidity and perfume. Interesting in that it’s virtually devoid of phenolic esters and hop character, unlike the aroma. Center is replete with white lavender, which counters the sweet malts. Lightly woody finish stimulates the palate alongside a fusion of peppery dryness and gritty yeast. Once this is retooled (less lavender) and bottle-conditioned, you just watch the heads turn. This is already a classic as far as I’m concerned.

On tap at Monk’s Kettle for a Craftsman dinner. On the dark side of color for a saison. Lots of Belgian esters as you would expect. The yeast dominates here.

Nice copper brown with a fizzy wgite head and soda like carbonation. Aroma of caramel green apple and pear. Bright silky palate. Big beautiful stone fruit green apple pear white grape and caramel tastE with long lingering herbs to the finish. Well done. If you have even the slightest developed palate you will find this one far from a typical "blah" beer.

Very typical. Not of the type, just a typical beer. Little Belgian sweetness. Plain and blah

Tap at Naja’s Place. Pours dark golden almost amber with a smallish white head that fell off very quick. Aroma of bubblegum is over powering to say the least. Flavor wise I found this one to be a mess, the dominant flavor was spicy, Belgian yeast and bubblegum, as far as I’m concerned to call this a Saison is a disservice to the style. I usually like everything from Craftsman but this one was a drain pour. YMMV.

A little creamy with a hint of caramel. A little hoppy. I like a lot of craft beer so far.

From a Tap@Lucky Baldwins,caramel,dark golden,white head,banana,great saison.

On tap at Verdugo. Clear golden amber with a two finger light beige head, fading to a thick film rather quickly. Aroma really only has ripe bananas, light wheat and white pepper. Not all that saison-y. Flavor has a little bit of herbal hops and alcohol heat, as well as some lightly toasted malts, though still plenty of sweet caramel candy sugar. Underattenuated like most all US interpretations with Belgian styles, and annoying. Minimal bitterness. Light prickly carbonation with a medium body. Also got a little vanilla in the flavor once warmed, but still, not a fan.

(Draft: O’Brien’s in San Diego, CA) Not a big fan of saisons -- YET -- but I really find drinking this one to be an unpleasant experience. Poured with half an inch of off-white head, and within 30 seconds, the head had completely dissipated. Very spicy nose, strong ginger, and I hate to say this, but something in here is vaguely reminiscent of me leaving a container of food out for a few days and then opening it. The flavor is dominated by strong ginger and spices. It seems a bit salty to me as well. Some slight bubblegum. Pale golden color is fully clear. I’m not a fan of ginger, so I naturally don’t like this beer much. But then again, I didn’t like any of the beers I drank tonight, so maybe my palate’s just in one of those ornery moods. I’ll retry again next time I see it.

The aroma had flowers, spice, slight wood and vinious notes, and alcohol esters. The flavor had nutmeg, flowers, and wood notes. The beer poured a yellow color w/ thin lasting head and lacing. The mouthfeel was light and carbonated.