Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

750 mL bottle. Hazy orange amber with a fluffy white head. Earthy aroma of leather, barn yard, yeast, and some fruit notes. Green apple taste transitioning to an over-ripe fruit taste and ending with a funky yeasty finish.

Interesting aroma of swampwater and wild yeast. It does have that yeasty, weirdness in the aroma. Flavor has yeast again. A little sweet. Mild hops, and lightly sour in the finish.

Found at coaltrain in CO springs, co. Malty nose with faint spices and pepper as the beer opens up. Hazy gold amber body with passive foamy white head. Lots of peppery spices, dark fruit and caramel malt with some wheat in there.

750ml bottle. NB tulip. Copper colored with a one-fingered off white head. Aroma is peppery, with bananas, bubblegum, and dark fruits (plums). Taste is sweet dark fruits, pepper, spice, alcohol. Nice mouthfeel up front and warm alcohol at the back. Not an easy-drinking, refreshing saison, more of a night cap.

750ml bottle: Pours to a rusty amber colored body, mostly clear, that becomes more opaque and cloudy as I near the end of the bottle and more yeast enters the glass. The light beige colored head is large and shows some nice retention with just a bit of lacing around the glass. The aroma shows some light funky, barnyard scents alongside some mildly acidic hops, sweet apples, light caramel, a distinct yeast, and just a bit of sweaty sock. The taste initially is sweet apple & pear, though this quickly changes to a mildly funky horseblanket/barnyard flavor with some cereal, light caramel, with very faint hints of roasted coffee barely perceptible in the background. There’s also some bitter earthy hops that come through a bit more juicy and strong that I’d expect in a saison, suggesting dry hopping or at least the use of a higher AA hop than is typical. There’s also a bit of birch bark, moss, and some oak, pine flavors that make me think this beer may have spent some time in wood, particularly relatively young barrels. Medium bodied, medium-lively carbonation, dry (though not as dry as some other saisons). Finishes with some bitter earthy hops and herbal wood notes along with just a bit of residual sweetness on the palate. A bit dark, but then what exactly is the "style" of saison anyway? Nice.

750ml bottle purchased from HiTime. A deep russet colored body with a modest head. What immediately strikes you is the aroma of that distinctive yeasty funk characteristic of De Proef beers, something I’m very fond of. But while I find this to be enjoyable - with a nice mix of earth, grass, sour fruits, and rich malts - there’s something just a bit too buttery about it. I certainly hope to have it again, and maybe it’s best fresher.

(750ml bottle) Particulate-filled copper body topped by big beige head that diminishes fairly quickly, leaving nice lacing. Aroma is moderately sweet, bubblegum, some orange, cinnamon, raisin, some alcohol. Taste is moderately sweet, orange, some bubblegum, vanilla, herbal, light cinnamon. Dry alcohol finish. Medium-full body, somewhat sticky.

Pretty crappy saison and this is one of my favorite styles. Aroma had a lot of green apple, alcohol, and some banana to it. Overall aroma was not appealing at all. Flavor was descent but really not easy to drink. Way too much alcohol and this was just not tastey at all.