 kp (6200), Woodstock, Georgia, USA
Sep 1, 2007 Date: 08/09/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
hazy orange, whispy frothy white head, sweet lemon and ginger aroma, big body, lots of dry spiced flavor, nice lemon character, balancing earthy bitterness
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 4/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **/4
Rastacouere (5270), Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Jul 29, 2005 Gentle golden hue, fading white head. Cardamom concentrate has a big part in the nose, wheaty, bananaish and limey nuances. Fairly yeasty, but mostly spicy, peppery taste, hayish, heavy on the cardamom which either detracts the other flavors or the beer simply is very simple. Tartish floral hops conclude the journey. Light bodied, fairly drinkable.
CaptainCougar (4637), Rockville, Maryland, USA
Mar 12, 2007 Bottle sampled on 8/9/06: Pours a slightly hazy golden with a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Aroma has some authentic dry bready maltiness with some earthy notes. Body starts mildly sweet and bready with an earthy maltiness and a drier, fairly authentic finish. One of the better Harpoons I’ve had.
muzzlehatch (4425), Burlington, Vermont, USA
Jun 13, 2006 22 oz bottle purchased at City Market, Burlington VT (June 2006), poured at roughly cellar temperature into a waiting Corsendonk Christmas Ale glass. A big fizz when the cap is popped and the foam bubbles nicely into the glass, snow-white and creamy though fast-decaying, atop a very slightly foggy, bubbly golden body.....as noted by Clark below, this is all about the ginger in the aroma, at least at first; as you nose more carefully there are hints of pepper and cardamom, lemon and vanilla; it’s more like a witbier than saison on the nose, but I’m enjoying it for all the overpowering ginger.....the body is certainly less ginger upfront, though it does have the acidic bite of a strong ginger ale (Reeds for example); pepper is evident, pale malt is relaxed, and sweetness is quite low fading to nonexistant at the rather hard, minerallic and biting finish....lightly sticky mouthfeel, moderate carbonation. This isn’t bad I guess as just a moderate-strength Belgian ale but it lacks the earthiness a saison should have, and it’s too acidic and harsh at the end to be refreshing in any way. Somewhat interesting, but one of the weaker examples in the 100-Barrel series and a disappointment after the outstanding kellerbier.
Ernest (4227), Boulder, Colorado, USA
Dec 30, 2006 Bottle.
Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly diminishing.
Body is medium yellow.
Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), lightly hoppy (flowers), with notes of green apple candy, bubble gum, grains of paradise, lime juice, hint of plastic.
Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter.
Medium body, watery texture, lively/soft carbonation.
Smells and tastes like a combination of soda, cider, and a golden ale. Clearly not a saison, but...what the heck is it? Reminds me of Unibroue Ephemere (Apple version). Pretty silly in any event...what, they used a saison yeast in an American wheat recipe and dumped a bunch of spices in?! Oh, well, shit, it MUST be a saison then! Sigh.
|
