Evil Twin / Stillwater / Stone The Perfect Crime Black Smoked Saison

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Saison
Escondido, California USA

Serve in Tulip

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12 oz. bottle from SoHo Organic Market, Elizabeth City, NC. Cola-like dark brown pour with a thin khaki head. Aroma of light smoke and licorice resembling a stout much more than anything close to a saison. The flavor does have some similarities to a saison, bitterness from the hops and yeast, barnyard and leather, and yet there is the presence of the licorice and smoke from the darker roasted malt. This is much better than my previous attempt at this style but I still don’t think that black saisons will catch on. Meh.

Reddish brown with a small pale head. Aroma is peppercorns, citrus, dark fruit. Light on the palate with a slightly astringent finish. Taste is dates, pepper, roasted malts.

About a 1 cm thick head of fine and creamy bubbles. Reduces slowly with nice lacing. Mild roasted grains and smoke in the aroma. Not a whole lot to pick out but what is there is very pleasing. Very dark crimson brown in color. Mostly roasted grains in the flavor, light crusty and biscuity malts and some sprucy hops bitterness late swallow. A bit on the earthy side. An ok brew but one that seems all over the place in style. But I guess that is expected based on what they were trying to achieve. Not sure if it quite got there though.

pours very dark brown, pushes black, nice beige head and it leaves good lacing. Aroma smells like a nice funky saison, farmhouse notes, no smoke hints, smells refreshing like i expect a saison to be. Taste is standard saison at first with good funky yeast notes, then the roastiness comes in from the dark malt and it has a very dry floral bitter finish, not getting any smoke. Interesting beer, very refreshing , i got what i expected from these 3 awesome breweries.

Pours a dark brown with a ruby glow. Smells of musky basement, hay, bread, floral, citrus. Taste is sour, mildly sweet and bitter - belgian yeast, mild spiciness.

pours black with a slight ruby tint, a very small tan head that goes away quickly, and no lacing. smell is of cocoa, spice, nuts, roasted malt, and a little smoke. taste is sour, cocoa, yeast, a little bit of fruit, and hops. ends dry and somewhat bitter.

Bottle. Black pour with a medium, dense tan head. Aroma is light smoke, roasted malt, dark fruit, yeast notes, floral hops and candied fruit. Taste is smoked malt, roasted malt, candied fruit, floral hops, spicy notes, and big yeast notes. Body is medium with a soft, bubbly carbonation. Ends with more funky yeast notes, dark fruit, soft smoke, roasted malt, soft hops and light coffee.

Aroma is spicy yeast and a hint of smoked malts. The flavor is bananas, spicy yeast, an undercurrent of the smoked malts and a tart finish.

Bottle from Bottleworks. Dark black pour with a short beige head leaving retreating lace. Nose is roasty and lightly smoky. Medium-light body with moderate carbonation. Dark roast malt, coffee, black pepper, hickory smoke, light barnyard funk. Finish is more of the same with some woody umami and lemon creeping in. Quite dry and charcoal aftertaste. Black saisons are a tough style. I can’t say I’ve been enamored of any I’ve tried.

Roasted aroma with a hint of anise. Pours an opaque black with a huge light tan head. This is a strange beer, there’s the crispness and funk of a saison, with a touch of smoke and roasted notes. Very light on the palate, with lots of carbonation. It’s a good solid beer, but I think I’ll stick with the traditional saisons.