Ranger Creek Small Batch Series No. 2

Brewed by Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling
Style: Saison
San Antonio, Texas USA

Serve in Tulip

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Poured an amazing hazy yellow with a thin head. Slight spice in the nose but really drinkable. Love all the yeast.

Bottle.
Pours a deep, thick golden orange with a head as thick and tall as, um, something REALLY thick and tall. Aroma is bready lemon zest shavings with a touch of attic must and old wood. Light whisps of rosy hops in there too. Flavor is buttery smoke with light notes of pepper, bread, and a touch of orange. Some dark fruit tries to emerge but decides to sit back down. Really interesting flavor; the smoke would seemingly detract but in this case it adds to the complexity and enjoyment. Slippery mouthfeel. This one’s a winner in my book.

Draught. nose is fruit, some citrus, some pineapple. Something phenolic. I’d guess Brett if I didn’t know it was smoke. well played. Just orange without much head. Flavor is yeast-forward, with lots of depth. Fruit and flowers. The vaguest smoke. So well balanced and complex. Gorgeous.

Rock on! I’m the first San Antonio Rater (to my knowledge). Smells like a Belgian golden ale, some spice, banana and fruity malt esters. Cloudy honey color in the glass, very fizzy as others have noted. A bit straightforward Belgian golden ale taste until you get to the aftertaste, some peach and pepper, with a touch of cinnamon. The flavor lasts a long time on the palate. Overall, a very nice brew. glad I picked up more than one.

Bottle from Kegs & Barrels in Plano, TX. Pours a cloudy straw yellow with fizzy white head. Aroma has hints of farmhouse, grass, citrus, just a bit of vegitable and earthy. Flavor is very much the same with a bit more kick that includes a graininess with hints of white pepper and very Smokey. Light-medium mouthfeel with spritzy carbonation. Overall, solid stuff!!!

a saison with smoked malts!?! .. fuck ya i’m in!!. .. getting mostly light smoke, wheat and a touch of yeast .. . fizzy as a soda .. . clean, light mouth .. . medium finish .. an interesting experiment, i like this!! .. . i used google..

Bottle. Poured a cloudy golden color with a thick white head.. Aroma of lemon and bread. Has a citrus taste with a lingering finish. A pretty tasty beer.

Bottle from Choice Beverages, McKinney. Date conditioned: 7-19-12 Batch: 001. Pours a cloudy yellow with a small white head. Aromas are yeast, funk, orange peel. Mouthfeel is lively and zesty with a medium body. Good brew! Cheers!

Cloudy golden with a large white head. Aroma is of peach, apricot, light smoke, yeast. Taste is of leather, smoke, peach, yeast, light pepper.

Aged 5 months (bottled July 18, 2012, batch 001): I had a few first impressions just from pouring this into my glass, two leading to the third (conclusion) that the yeast was still happy and had some remaining sugars to chew on before the beer went into the bottle. Even after keeping this in the cellar and away from room temperature, this still managed to become and remain highly carbonated. Its bright-white head is extremely airy. There’s also about 3 ounces of thick yeast at the bottom of the bottle, so unless you like to chew your beer you’re going to end up with a short-poured glass. I went the middle of the road and left about 2 ounces in the bottle, still giving myself plenty of thick, caked yeast sediment to float around in my glass. Maybe I’ll let it settle. I’ll give it this... it’s definitely a very well-nosed saison. Yum! It initially pours a somewhat clear and shiny pale orange color, but as yeast sediment from the bottom of the bottle gets loose it becomes somewhat opaque. Its thick, airy bright white head eventually settles to a thin film atop the beer, leaving light lacing. It has a pleasantly spiced and fruity nose with only a hint of yeast. It almost smells like leather. Once in the mouth it seems less like a saison and more like a meaty fruit beer, with definite apple and the subtle smoothness of wood carrying the fruitiness into the dry, estery finish of a hard apple cider. Yes, this would be great in the summer. I, of course, had to wait until the early winter (the first full moon after the winter solstice) to drink this. Even still, it’s good any time of the year.