Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Bottle at WBF in Raleigh. Pours copper, with a medium white head. Aroma is yeasty and spicy, with some sweetness. Flavor is similar, some mustiness--but not in a stale sense. Some peach? in flavor. Light body, alcohol in aftertaste. Nice beer.

Bottle from Raleigh WBF. Darker pour than regular saison. Spicy brett on the nose and palate. A bit sweet. Butterscotch hit me on the nose pretty hard, which the brewer said wasn’t a good sign, but it was fine with me. Still would probably prefer a normal saison, but his is an interesting beer. *** Second tasting: had a bottle of this again and really liked it. Bright orange/golden pour. Kind of like a malty and extra yeasty saison, but not necessarily even all that much like a saison. Just good.

Slightly hazy amber pour. Aroma of spice and malt, with some dusty basement. Flavor is very similar. Good, but nothing spectacular.

Pours an amber that is uncharacteristic of this style, but the style is a bit open to interpretation. Smells quite vegetal, some semi-rotten pumpkin, a little tomato catsup. Flavor is spicy, clove and allspice, strong malt body, middle of the road hop bitterness. Fairly smooth mouthfeel. Finish is medium duration, drys out a bit with some lingering hop bitterness on the tongue. A bit of a strange one, to me not really a saison, almost like an autumn Belgian pumpkin ale. Will pass on this in the future.

pours a clear reddish amber with a small white head. aroma of caramel, spices, bubblegum, banana. flavor has a touch of basement, caramel, banana bread, and spice. a bit of zinc lozenge. slightly tart. medium body.

A malty caramel aroma that’s quite strong for a saison. The flavor is okay, a bit of spices. Not amazing for sure.

Corked and caged bottle.Medium, bubbly, fizzy ivory head that mostly diminished, spotty lacing, transparent, fast rising carbonation, and an orange hue. Nose was malt, sweet spicy, fruit notes, earthy, and musty.Flavor was somewhat sweet, some malt, fruity, spicy, and finishes dry.Mouthfeel was tingly and bubbly.Medium bodied.Quaffable, easy drinking, semi-balanced, but there are much better out there of this style.

Pour is hazed maroon amber with a big bubbled brown head...smell is pumpernickel, dark fruits, cloves, and yeast bananas...taste is musty and sweet with some prunes and plums and dust...sweet and dirty tasting...