Saison de Pipaix

Brewed by Brasserie à Vapeur
Style: Saison
Leuze-Pipaix, Belgium

Serve in Tulip

(1994 vintage from Sommerville SuperSaver) Unwrapped the tape on this one and removed the cap to find a totally soaked cork with liquid on top. Real nice POP when the cork was eventually pryed from it’s quiet resting place for the last 14 years. Little effervescence. Poured a thin head of fine bubbles that reduced quickly to a thin wisp of foam. Minimal carbonation. Apple juice colored and very clear. Tart fruit and berries in the aroma with some apple cider and a bit of sweetness. Tart and dry flavor and remarkable thin palate. More apples and fruit along with a bit of spice. Very mellow. Some metallic notes and lots of succulent tartness. My mouth is salivatiing from every sip. Finishes thin and watery with a lingering tartness and a bit of heat. Kind of surprising for a 6% brew. This brew has held up pretty well after 14 years. Not really my style but pretty good.

750ml.bottle, bought at Empire Liquors, brewed in April of 1995, bottled in September 95, this bottle is almost 13 years old, label has different ingredients then whats listed in the RateBeer Commercial Description, ingredients are Pale and Munich Malts, Hallertauer Hops, Ginger, Pepper, Sweet Orange, Coriander and Curacao, label also states that this ale is Bottle Conditioned and Unpasteurized, the Vapeur website list black pepper, ginger, sweet orange peel, curaçao, star anise are used, I guess the ingredients have changed over the years, bottom of the bottle cap had marks on it that sort of looked like evaporated condensation, maybe the cork was breathing moisture to the top? Pipaix has a mostly clear orange pour with some amber high lights, there is some haze in this glass of ale, a medium or so white head emerges but looks restrained compared to other poured saisons, lacing is pretty good, first whiffs of this are of old air and dust then aromas of stiff lemon and orange citrus sour with floral sweets brushed against my nose, real faint funk barnyard rears itself here and there, some fragrances that remind me of the Duchesse De Bourgogne along with the ever tartness aromas that nudges thoughts of the Fantome Saisons I have had, some faint caramel and herb garden fragrances presented themselves after this warmed up a bit, with the sip I get an initial taste of tart apple, pear, and malt sweetness with hints of caramel, candy sweetness creeps in for millisecond and quickly all of this is pushed aside by a lemon sour tartness and a dry peppery-herb finish, this finish is pretty dry and leaves hints of pepper, as the saison warmed I got tingles in my facial cavaties with most sips, this places lots of tartness on the palate, a dry drink for sure, has a medium mouth feel maybe a little less, I think some of the carbonation is gone but this stuff is almost 13 years old, I think this is amazing that a 6% beer would last this long without having skunkiness or some off flavors, interesting to see a beer last this long

bottle at Falling Rock. amber pour with almost no head. apricot, funky malts, wet paper, alcohol aroma. smooth and earthy. dried apricot, spice and mild yeast. corriander. good balance. body moderate to thin. loved it.

75 cl bottle. Hazy yellow with a small frothy head. Aroma has a dry sour character with barnyard funk and cellar along with some citrus. Flavor is very dry in the beginning but evolves into a refreshing citric beer with some yeasty hints, overall a great saison.

Re-rate: It was a few years ago. Now bottle 75 cl. Great saison ! Hazy golden-orange color with frothy white head. Aroma complex sawn wood, pepper and bit spice. Medium body. Taste very fresh and lively on the palate, very dry spicy (pepper) flavour. Nice stuff.

Bottled. Orange, slightly hazy, colour with mediumsized off-white creamy head, nice lace. Aroma is slightly fruity but mainly bigtime earth, mould and barnyard. A bunch of spices also. Flavour is pleasant spicing, earthyness, wood, some sourness and at the same time sweet fruity. Nice balance and really full palated.

UPDATED: FEB 7, 2008 Strongly herbal aroma and flavor. Coriander comes through strongly it seems along with a white pepper (though coriander isn’t even listed as an ingredient). A vague fruitiness could be the orange peel but also a sugary sweet malt too. No hint of anise to be sure. Almost a minty leafy character that perhaps could include the lichen but who knows? Complex, weird, funky, neat. Nearly pure amber color, good foamy head.

I will admit I have been seriously slacking in my attention to the saisons for quite some time. I have been mostly focusing on trying new American stuff. But let’s get back into the swing of things. Shall we? Pours a foggy orange brown. Nose is mild funk, but not much there. Flavor is a bit lighter than I would have figured. Definite citrus tones. Funk seems to fall off a bit too quickly I think, but still there is plenty there to enjoy. Feel is a little thin I think and the carbonation is decent. Overall this is a lighter saison that goes down very easy and would be great to drink on a blazing hot summer day.