Hopfenstark Saison Station 16 (de Seigle)

Brewed by Hopfenstark
Style: Saison
L’Assomption, Canada

Verre de 12 oz, d’un fût, à la brasserie. Arômes de levure fruitée (abricots) et de céréales. Robe orangée et trouble, belle mousse qui marque le verre. Plutôt douce en bouche, la levure fruitée est bien présente et les céréales donnent un petit côté velouté à la bière. Finale légèrement amère.

2008-05-31. Crisp golden body with a nice foamy off-white head. Ɠ+) Aroma is mild, light alcohol kissed grass, hops. Ɩ+) Pleasant zippy bitterness alludes to lemons, mild grass, pale malt. More lemon and grass in the finish lingers pleasantly. Ɨ+) Smooth average palate suits the beer. Decent but not my favorite of their offerings. On tap, Mondial, Montreal, 4T

A lightly hazed golden saison with a very thin white head. Pleasant aroma of bananas, cloves light anise and berries. In mouth, a sweet an oily saison, with bananas and strawberries, notes of cloves and herbal mint. A very nice and enticing beer. On tap at Vices et Versa, 6 Feb. 2008.

500 ml bottle from brewery via Lubiere (merci!), served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. Hand-written label. AP20/08.

App.: Cloudy medium-amber with a large off-white foam. Aroma: Much like a dubbel – some raisins, molasses, toffee, licorice; lots of bubblegum esters (too much, me thinks), minty, sweet-smelling with a slightly saison-esque funk; some yeast and bread dough. Palate: Medium+ body and very soft effervescence. Flav.: Much like the nose – thick, gooey malts, heavy-handed pink bubblegum, minty, a touch of funk, a bit nutty; off-dry, a bit tangy and a little bitter with a peachy aftertaste.

Perplexing – Dubbel meets Saison...Daison? Subbel? Not sure if I like the results of this experiment, particularly due to the bubblegum esters. Might retry.

On tap @ Vices et Versa, Montreal. Pours a medium deep golden color. Spicy, brett like funkiness, slightly sour, bandaid. Nice

Tap at Vices et Versa. Spicy, orange zest, black pepper and thick yeast aroma. The pour is orange, loosely filtered. A bit meaty, chewy as it warms, with nice spice and a definite bitter hop finish. Quite nice.

Draught at Vices & Versa. Pours a hazy, bubbly yellow-gold with an average size diminishing white head. Lovely aroma with lots of fruit, spices and light floral hops. Flavour’s quite floral, fruity, spicy and with a light bitterness. Medium bodied. A unique and enjoyable take on the style.

Draught. At Vices et Versa. This is the Saison Hopfenstark blends with their Postcolonial IPA to make the Wonderful Saison 55. This one pours a slightly hazy gold, average white head. Simple and crisp aroma, bitter spice and herbal notes, sweet fruity malt - clove, coriander, apple and banana. The taste follows, but there is more fruitiness and less herbal/pungent spice bitterness and more sweet, yeasty malt - it veered toward hefe flavour. Light body, slightly dry and astringent from the spiciness, with a quick finish to the sweet malt and a linger that was all mildly bitter spice. "bloody pleasant / sneaky-complex" are my closing notes.