Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Saison Style Ale

Bottle: Pale straw, nearly translucent, moderate fizzy white head, dies fairly quickly, lacing is somewhat decent.   Pale malt nose, slightly bready, but not much else.   Maybe a little musty.   Getting a smidgen of cardboard in this one too.   No floral or spicy notes on the nose, none.   This one falls flat on its face from the start.   Combination pale breadiness and tiny bit of musty malts.   Yeah, dies quickly and without any form of floral or spice notes make this one a real drag.   Body is nearly watery, mouthfeel is average at best.   I really enjoy most of Lagunitas’ IPA creations, and heck, their Imperial Red is pretty darn good, but this "Saison Style Ale" isn’t very close to what I would interpret as to style.   Not that I necessarily rate that way, but this one seemed so far off that I couldn’t help but think the bottle was mis-filled.   Meh, a very rare letdown from the boys and girls in Petaluma.   Certainly drinkable, and not offensive, but rather boring and dull.   Makes that Imperial Red I had last night that much better.

This is ok, but not really my type of beer. On tap at Toad in the Hole, Santa Rosa, it is golden, a bit bubbly, with a moderate white head. The aroma is faintly of wheat but mostly flowery, citrusy in an odd spicy way. The flavour is similar, rather sharp and tangy, some faint wheat element, a bit dry. It is neither sweet nor bitter. Kind of crisp, it has some refreshing pleasantness about it, but overall it is nothing I really like.

Bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours a frothy 1-inch off-white head over a golden body containing champagne-like bubbles that yearn for freedom. Nose is wheat, crusted white bread, and dry yeast. Flavors are similar with a strange aftertaste that I can’t quite identify. Finishes slightly dry. Medium carbonation and thin-bodied. Nothing interesting here; somewhat unsatisfying, yet mildly refreshing.

22oz bottle, no date from General Gao, thank you Colin! My label says 6.0% ABV. Clear honey golden with a few fizzy white bubbles for a head that fade to a ring within seconds. Aroma consists of a bit of spicy coriander, citrus, a little Belgian yeast, and a tinge of burnt plastic. Flavor is oxidized with some sweet grains. Semi dry finish, low bitterness. Minimal carbonation with a thin watery body. Poor offering from Lagunitas.

bomber courtesy of Saarlander. pale yellow pour with a short lived white head. aroma and flavor is lightly spicy with a Belgian undertone. very light and refreshing.

22 oz bottle from bevmo. By the way this bottle label looked i would have never guessed this was distributed by Lagunitas. The appearance was a solid gold with a firm short lived head. A normal nose that was decked with a strain of Belgian yeast and average spicing. The flavor was average without any real stand out uniqueness other than the light spice and metallic finish. Nothing special and I doubt I’d purchase this again.

on tap at the maproom, chi. pours almost clear golden with small creamy white head. nose is somewhat peppery, yeasty, bananay, and grainy but nothing really going in the aroma department. flavor is has lots of bananas and grainy flavor with hints of pepper and a medicinal finish. mouth feel is fizzy. really not a good example of the style. blah.

Pours a nice golden yellow with a fairly thick white head into my glass. Aroma is classice Belgian yeast smell mixed with spices, bananas, and a little bit of horseblanket funk that we all know and love with saison. I must say the taste of this saison is very light. This is almost a Belgian golden strong ale (Duvel maybe?) with a bit of funk and mustiness added to it to fit the "saison" style. I actually really like it and feel this is a bit underrated. Sure, this isn’t really a true to style saison but damn if it isn’t an interesting and tasty twist to what would be just an average Belgian ale! Bottom line weak saison notes but still very tasty and well done. As Borat would say... I LIKE!