Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

This one poured a light amber color with a moderate white head. The aroma is spicey with some citrus and dark fruits in the aroma. The flavor is rather sour with some lemons and raspberries. Odd I tasted that but anyway. The finish is sour and spicy.

Shared by Shawn and Angie at the CC gathering. Thanks. Poured a murky orange golden with no head and a little ring of lace. Nose was spicey, bready, and yeasty. Flavor has a bit too much alcohol noticeable with more spicey yeast and pepper. Not a huge fan of this one or this take on the style.

Shared at Carolina gathering. Pours a nice red with almost no head. The nose is sweet, smells just like banana bread, earthy, yeasty. The flavor is similar with lots of banana bread, sweet, earthy, citrusy. Full warm mouthfeel, alcohol comes through here. Finishes with lots of Belgian notes. Substantially underrated.

Bottle from State Line. Pour: Turbid deep coppery/orangy, 1-finger off-white sticky and frothy head. Nose: Orange marmalade, spicy yeast, florals, malt. Taste: Spicy yeasty, floral, orangy, malty, spicy in a white peppery sense, with evolving tartness and fruitiness as it warms. Palate: Rich, complex.

750ml bottle, caged and corked. Pours a reddishi amber. Nice acidic aroma. Flavor is of tart malts. Light bodied

Darker than your usual saison. Kind of a medium brown with hints of red-orange. Retains a smidgen of head and laces well. Medium sour funk and brett on the nose with an underlying sweetness of cherries and grape skin, though not as fruity-sweet as the Zoetzuur. More complexity on the tongue though. Some dry bitterness lingering from mid-taste. Malt is balanced well with sour and bitter fruit taste. Shook the sediment off the bottom to top the second glass and got this awesome wine-grape kicker. I like it alot.

750ml bottle pours muddy rust colored orange. Sweet cnady sugar nose resembles a tripel or some other strong Belgian golden, with some honey, wet hay, and some fruit cocktail sugary notes, and some apple and cinnamon spices show up when warmer. Pretty massive thickness for a saison, in fact to me it really falls outside of what should be called saison, instead it turns out to be just a big, sweet, sticky high alcohol Belgian. Some sour oranges and creamed bananas are tasted, along with the more donimant candy sugar, it’s big, for sure, but that doesn’t really make it better than if it were lower ABV, instead it seems to be kind of a mess, even a little hot and warming on the throat at times... but those are petty complaints when overall it’s very drinkable.

Bottle. Deep red-orange. Creamy light brown head. Flanders Brown-type sour aroma. Steady sour flavour. Brown sugar sweetness. Dark dirty yeast quality in finish. Seems to grow tired through the glass.