Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Pours with a frothy, three-finger thick, tan colored head that leaves a bit of a structured lacing pattern on the sides of my glass as it falls back into the beer. The head sits on top of a murky cherry red colored beer that shows an almost brilliantly clear, light cranberry color when held up to the light. The aroma is a mix of sticky, sweet malt notes and earthy spice aromatics. Flavors of buckwheat honey, cheap coriander, soft orange peel, clove, slightly woody (though more like hay) and lots of earthy spice / herbal notes. The aroma is ok, but really doesn’t have a bright, Saison-like character to my senses.

Sweet, with a medium fullness to it up front, the beer actually gets a bit cloying towards the middle and end. Sweet flavors of herbal honey and grassy grain mix together with the substantial green, but still earthy, spice notes that are most evocative of cheap coriander and grass. A light bitterness in the finish and a herbal / grassy (complimenting the same flavors found in other components of the beer) hop character provide a touch of additional balance. The earthy, grassy notes really dominate the flavor profile of this brew, but it completely misses the finesse of a Saison Dupont. Instead the beer just tastes muddy, flabby and out of balance.

A bit too under-attenuated for me; I like a Saison that is typically a lot drier than this, this is just too heavy on the palate. This also doesn’t have the piquant spiciness (yeast character only please), or bright hop character, either of which I would expect in a good example of the style. This is especially true, despite the Imperiale moniker, when one considers this isn’t really any stronger than most Fantôme beers and is lower in alcohol than Dupont’s Avec les Bons Voeux.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ

Pours a deep amber body with an big creamy beige head. Aroma of bread, grapefruit, cherries, and bubble gum. Flavor is toasted malt and caramel and sugary sweet. Medium bodied although it seemed a bit thin for such a high ABV Saison.

Poured from a bottle. Poured a copper color with a bubbly white head that left spotty lacing. Slightly sour, funky barn yard aroma. Begins with a nice sour taste with fruity undertones that transitioned into a spicey, yeasty, doughy finish. Nice carbonation. My favorite saison so far.

Thanks to Eugene (beastiefan2k) for sharing this at Dickinsonbeer’s place. It was weird that he brought this as Paul and I were talking about this beer before he showed up with it. Anyway, Hazy amber in color with a moderate to large white head. Aroma is bretty with some phenolics (spice), moderately malty and funky. Taste is a bit more reserved on the wild yeast side of things with more saison yeast, spicy phenolics, pale and caramel malts, and a moderate bittering finish.

Thanks to Beastifan2k for sharing this! Pours a hazy deep amber almost woody brown with a fluffy almost fizzy off white head. A roma is initially stinky with brett- earthy and spicy with some nice farmhouse notes- sugary sweet, caramel and more nuts. Spicy phenolic yeastiness in the flavor with more nutty doughy dark malts, nice saison-like saison quality with diminished brett flavor. Some metallic hints in the end with a tacky bitter hop finish and some wierd plasticy notes. Aroma let on more brett than was in the flavor.

From a 750ml bottle, pours a deep frown with a light tan head. Well-carbonated with a malty flavor. Slight chocolate character, well-blended. Not your typical saison but nice.

From the 750ml cork and wired bottle it pours a slightly cloudy golden amber color with a substantial head that is white and creamy, it slowly fades leaving a fine velum like coating on the glass. Nose is rich in malt, sweet with a sour musky tone, spicy and citrus like in its crispness, start is nicely malted, and sweet with a tangy bite at the back, top is light to medium in feel. Finish has a biting acidity, the hops present and accounted for; tart dry aftertaste lingers long on the palate, a fine drinking beer and certainly a credit to the style. (Note): after decanting the beer, the pour was completely cloudy golden amber, with the dregs increasing the musty sour aroma.

750ml bottle. This was not what I think of when I think of a saison. Slightly hazy amber pour with off-white, lasting head. The aroma is full of barnyard and leather with hints of feet and honey — not immediately appealing, though certainly complex. The flavor is slightly to mdoerately sweet and moderately bitter. Alcohol comes through in the flavor. The finish leaves a funky aftertaste that got better as the beer warmed. Medium body.