Mad Fox Saison

Brewed by Mad Fox Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Falls Church, Virginia USA

Serve in Tulip

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

A hazed amber saison with a thin white head. In aroma, sweet fruity malt with light ginger notes. In mouth, a sweet orange peel with caramel malt, light coriander, oily mouthfeel, nice. On tap at Snallygaster DC, Oct. 13 2012.

Tap at the brewpub. Pale golden pour with no head. I can’t get much out of this except a huge blast of perfume. Maybe a slight sour element. Bleh.

On tap 5 oz. sample at Mad Fox Brewing Company restaurant in Falls Church, VA. Clear, with a hint of haze, golden-straw color with off-white head and good lacing. Aroma of fruit, citrus and earth, musty yeast. Taste of fruit, musty yeast, caramel, citrus and herbal hops. Sweet and sour wit a musty, bitter finish. Medium body and low/medium carbonation. This saison lacks the usual bright, crisp feeling. It has the farmhouse funk, but instead of being crisply sour, it is more of a barnyard musty sourness. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

On draft at the brewery. Pours a cloudy pale greenish yellow with a white head. Tart lemon aroma. Refreshing orange and lemon zest flavors. Smooth finish.
Earlier Rating: 10/24/2012 Total Score: 3.4
On cask at the brewery. Pours a cloudy pale gold with a slowly receding white head leaving lots of lacing. Pinapple aroma. Freshingly mild flavor.

Tap. Vibrant bright yellow orange with no head. Some slight sourish aromas, touch of earth, slight spice and some slight citrus fruit. Some slight sourness again in the flavor, touch of grain, wheat, spice and tart grapes. Lighter body.

With s name like this, it ought to be a sour. Instead its a havily hopped (I think with citra) saison that has far more lemon flavor than saison funkiness.
Earlier Rating: 2/27/2012 Total Score: 3.4
Draft at the source. Murky variegated golden brown color, thick white head. Aroma of orange peel and white bread. Taste is orange with moderate spice. OK.

On tap at Churchkey. Rather dark gold pour with white head. Aroma is off, lots of old grain and cooked veggies, uncalled for super yeast spiciness. Taste is a little better, yeasty and grainy but still kind of blah. Palate is too sweet for the style and undercarbed. A total miss.

On cask at Mad Fox. Nose has plenty of tropical fruit and light citrus. Flavor similar with more base saison. Great blend. Dry and lightly bitter. Quite nice
Earlier Rating: 2/18/2011 Total Score: 4
On cask at the brewpub. Reviewed from notes. Pours a deep yellow with a nice billowing white head and a decent amount of lacing. Nose brings forward quite a bit with some nice earthy aromas as well as a bit of citrus. A bit of yeasty esters as well. Taste is a bit restrained with a bit of malt coming through and the earth, citrus, and yeast falling into the background a bit. Feel is medium with good carbonation. Drinks pretty well. A bit low in flavor at this point, although I’m hoping Bill is really able to develop the flavor in this one. Serving type: cask Reviewed on: 10-16-2010

Tap at Mad Fox. Cloudy golden. Weak head. Nose is sweeter white peach juice and mint. Taste is soapy and papery with some spicy Belgian yeast. Papery palate. Up front some white peach juice on the palate but moving to paper/cardboard. Nothing offensive, just not my style for saison.

Tried the base beer right from the fermenter while on a tour at the brew pub. Pours a hazy, bright gold with some very frothy white head. Nose has a big white grape character, yeasty, green apple, light lemon, a little candy sugar. Flavor has more of the tart but sweet white grape, some candied lemon peel, a little lime, some yeast, grass, light spice. Medium bodied, dry finish. I thought this would take very well to some barrel aging (Chard barrels?). I also had the opportunity to try a version hopped with Citra, a version hopped with Galaxy, and a version dry hopped with wet Citra hops. All three versions were nice, with the Galaxy version being my favorite.