Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Hazy ruby apricot. Dense and rocky ivory head clings nicely and shows fine retention. Iron and severely overripe plums and bananas plague the nose as mild notes of perfumey brett and puttylike yeast tease the senses. Malt yields a faint scent of toasted straw. Very dull. Carbonation is spongy and soft on the palate. Fairly fuzzy. Quick flash of iron immediately clashes with brash and tacky notes of stomach-curdling medicine. Dirtily bitter combination of brett, iron and rotten plums only compound the overly weighty body. Poor attenuation is compounded by the lack of spicy esters and rampant fruitiness which uncannily bears a resemblance to a variety of rotten fruits. Hop bitterness is also next to nil, and what happens to be detectable is unclean and oily rather than clean and flowery. Peppery alcohol continually warms the gullet. Bright splash of strawberry jam generates a twinge of bouncy acidity before succumbing to the simplistic brett and unpleasant hint of plastic toward the finish. Scratchy touches of iron and medicine linger as bready malt sweetness makes a late yet subtle emergence. This brewery should probably learn the art of low-gravity brewing before attempting to imperialize something such as a saison of all things.

Foam Rangers tasting. Deep amber pour. Nose of raisins, fruits and spices. Taste is stronger than what I would normally think for a Saison, but it’s darn nice.

Cloudy amber orange, moderate to large head with good lacing and retention. Aroma is very yeasty with notes of orange, spicing, light grass. Medium bodied, quite sweet. More like a BSA.

[750 ml] Opened with some serious force. Lightly hazy copper color with some strong lacing. Aroma is quite complex, fruity esters and plenty of funk. Flavors are quite malty up front; caramel sweetness balanced with a strong herbal hop bitterness. Finishes with a distinctive "roeselare" character. Funky and dry at the very end.

750 ml. bottle. Corked and caged. No freshness date seen. Fake plastic wax cork. Barely a pop when opened. Aromas are of burnt sugars, peppery yeast, some Belgian funk. Flavors are of burnt sugar, spicy funk, some citrus. Medium mouthfeel, slick and oily. Finished somewhat sweet & chalky. Certainly not worth the $11 I paid for it.

Bottle. Pours read with thin head. Slightly crude spicy aroma. Sweet, thin body.

750 m bottle l in Duvel glass. Surprisingly red with flat tan head and lace. Funk and spice aroma with mild alcohol evap. Brown sugar sweetness with sour cherry and raisin fruitiness and spicy bitterness. Medium body and carbo. Not what I call a saison, but the category is open, I guess. More like a funked up amber. I like pale, dry , peppery saisons, like the classic from DuPont. Still, pretty tasty and complex.

Aroma is some sourness. Mostly sour fruit like cherry and sour apple. Some funk but not killing the tartness. Taste is pretty nice and sweet to balance the crisp tart funk. Taste has more fruit sweetness than the aroma. Deceiving at first. Overall I liked this one.