Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Saison Style Ale

22oz Bottle: Aroma of lemon, pale malts, slight spices, coriander, and dust. Poured gold in color with a small white head that disappeared quickly. Hazy. Sparkling. Flavor is light to medium sweet. Tastes of spices, coriander, pale malts, lemon, sugar, plastic, honey, wheat, and chemicals. Light to medium body. Oily texture. Average carbonation. Sweet, spiced, finish.

<b>In short: </b>A bland fruity and dirty Saison.
<b>How: </b>Bottle 22oz, drank when about 6 months old. Sent my way by kegbear, thanks a lot Craig
<b>The look: </b>Almost clear dark yellow body topped by a small white head
<b>In long: </b>Nose is bananas, some dried pineapples and light metallic notes. Taste is white bread, pears, pineapples, bananas, dust, minerals and a light metallic touch, similar to oxidation but not quite. An overall feeling of dirt and stale water. For the Saison-head that I am this is a disappointment. For a so-called Farmhouse Saison this one is about as true farmhouse as my big-city downtown loft.

Bomber. Poured near-clear medium golden with a nice cap of white head that didn’t stay around for too long. The aroma picked up honey and pale malts with overtones of floral notes, cloves, and faint citrus.. too sticky-sweet for the style. The flavor had a sweet base of honeysuckle and pale malts, but thankfully it dried out toward the back and let some yeasty esters take over (banana, cloves, and light fruit skins).. very dry on the finish with some citrus zest.. the feel got better, but it wasn’t that tasty. Medium-bodied with moderate-plus carbonation on the palate.. dry and spicier on the back.. no severe failures here, but it just wasn’t that good.

Draft at Tyler’s, Durham. Enjoyed with my pal durhambeer. Funny, I thought this was basically a very dry, lightly yeasty American pale. It’s got enough spice, I suppose, to merit the designation but certainly not very much character. Too thin in the body, and a kind of indistinct sweetness in there too. Okay.

On tap at Tyler’s. Slightly hazy orange with minimal white head. Average American take on a saison. Not enough yeast for me. Simple expected spices. Odd mid-palate but finishes with a pleasant bitter hoppiness. Thoroughly average at best.

Golden colored ale with a decent white head.A touch of funk in this otherwise sweet aroma. I got a bit of banana and apricot in this otherwise spicy and yeasty beer. Not a ton going on but it’s drinkable.

Not a Belgian. A little sweet, a little spiciness, but no complexity or intensity. Not a great example of the style, and certainly not playing to Lagunitas’s hoppy strengths.

Draft at Tyler’s in Durham on 10/04/2008. Turbid yellowish gold with a medium white head and fair lace. Floral, honey like aroma with a distant funk, some light fruit, and suggestions of leather. Flavor reflects the aromas with a light sweetness, and a spicy light bitterness that balances well. Light to medium body and light carbonation combine with the aforementioned bitter hop contribution to leave a clean, dry palate. Overall, a pleasant, but non-assertive, saison that lies on the milder end of the scale.