Saint Somewhere Pays du Soleil

Brewed by Saint Somewhere Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Tarpon Springs, Florida USA

Cask @ 2009 Classic City Cask Ale Fest. Poured a hazy orangish red with a tight white head. Plenty of visible carbonation. Nose was a mix of tart fruits, spice, and yeast. A little like a fruity saison. Taste is similarly carbonated, spiced, and the fruit is similar. The carbonation of the cask was really nice. Overall, a solid effort and another interesting brew from St. Somewhere.

On draft at Mr. Dunderbak’s. Pours red-amber with a creamy off-white head. Nose is malt, sweetness, and an almost vinuous sweetness. It has a tart, almost vinegary finish. Medium body and a slight dryness in the finish. A pretty decent Belgian-Style ale. A mix of sour and Belgian-style. Unique.

Tap at Barcade 5th Anniversary party. Amber pour with no head. The nose is fairly loaded with acetone but there is a solid tropical yeasty fruitiness behind that. The flavour is also fairly fruity with a lot of apple and pear esters along with a bit of light tartness. There is a kiss of oak as well. The beer has a kiss of lactic tartness as well as a fairly assertive balsamic character on the back. It’s got a nice light sweetness that gives an impression of honey. Soft and sweet with a nice fruitiness on the back. I like this although I think there is a lot of room for improvement.

On draft. Pours a hazy orange. Nose is floral, acetone, green apple, spices. This was really hard to drink. Medicinal, acetone, way too flowery, tart apple, plastic, nail polish remover. Awful. Don’t jusdge this brewery on this beer. Everything else from them is amazing. This was very disappointing.

Tap at Barcade 5th Anniversary Party. At first I liked this but the more I sat on it the more vile it became. At first a clean, dryish, floral saison, this becomes a vat of nail polish, apple juice, and cheap cider vinegar. Blech! A total mess. These guys can do better.

Tap at Barcade’s 5th Anniversary Party: Hazy light ruby with hardly any head. Vinous tart aroma- some cranberry- like tart notes, currant and red wine tannins. Slick body with a similar flavor, yet there’s an acetone presence. I’ve noticed this is other barrel aged offerings from them- is it one of their yeast strains, or a pour barrel characteristic? The vinousness is there and it’s close to being a balanced and elegant- yet that acetone is a put off.

Draft @ Capones: Poured a dark copper with a small head. The aroma was dark fruits, berries, flowers and herbs. The flavor was dry, tart, sweet, dark fruits, berries, spice and flowers. Overall, this was a really good beer.

Chelsea Cask Festival: At first I must admit I thought this beer was something awful, but it grew on me. It was like a sour, sugary candy drink, unrefined and downright nasty. I was finally able to break down the beer: sour, tart, green fruits, early spring, warming esters... almost like an after dinner drink.