Le Cheval Blanc Saison des Oiseaux

Cloudy amber pour with a thin white head. Aroma of berries, mild sweetness and cereals. Flavor of berries, cereal, it’s mildly sweet. The body is light to medium with a creamy texture and moderate carbonation.

En fût. Verre de 14 oz dégusté directement à la brasserie. Arôme: Légère odeur de petites baies et de pulpes. Apparence: La couleur est blonde ambrée complètement voilée. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût fruité avec une pointe de céréales. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement onctueuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement fruité. (Rating #2063)

A dirty hazy amber ale with a thin lacing white head. Pleasant sour berry aroma, wild in nature, and musky. In mouth, a nice bready malt, fruity and chalky. Medium bodied. Tasted at the brewpub 01-11-08.

My Bottom Line:
The juicy fruitiness of elderberries is rendered similar to white cranberries by the doughy yeast, as a healthy mouthfeel is built by levelled sugary cereals for a very drinkable, unfiltered Fruit Beer.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam tops the murke amber.
-Carbonation is comfortable and fits the plump body quite well.
-The fruitiness is well balanced with the rest of the flavor profile. I admit I do not know what elderberry juice tastes like (not really available around these parts), so it’s hard for me to tell what fruitiness comes from these fruit and which comes from the yeast.
-The cereals are simple and sweet, not offering much defined character. I would prefer a crisper grain presence, myself.
-This would have worked well with a Witbier base, methinks.
-Although the word ’Saison’ is used, it does not refer to the style at all in this case. Éloi (the brewer) admitted this.

On tap at the brewpub.