Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Bottle: Pours a hazy purple/brown color with a big foamy white head. Aroma, funky, some sweetness, and some spice. Flavor, soft funk to it, a bit sour, bready, some sweet fruity notes, tart, a bit of a floral quality as well.

Yeasty, spicy, dusty aroma; the flavor is toasty and herbal, sweet and a little cloying, but with a tangy finish, though; coriander and allspice notes; unrefined and disappointing.

An excellent brew. Poured a nice cloudy amber with a 1cm tall head that slowly disappeared to a lacey topping. Aroma is hoppy but mild. Mouthfeel was incredibly smooth with no harsh aftertaste. Flavor was very malty with a nice hoppy topping. A excellent brew if you can find it. A little pricey.

Pours beautiful amber w/ a full, semi creamy froth that slowly reduces to a full canopy w/ lacing. Aroma is malty w/ a field of flowers and slight spice. Medium nectar w/ ample residual effers creating and explosive frothy texture. Strong flavored and malty w/ a refreshing character brought upon by the crispy texture. Slightly spicey w/ defined sticky ripe apricot, dried stone fruits, granite, slight leather, and tobacco. Finish is long and fruity w/ a peach pit bittering. Theres a bit of cocoa w/ a tart, sticky abrasion that hints at brandy.

Aroma of malt, flowers, peach(?), spice. Ruby apricot color with tiny bubbles and a vigorous beige head that laced somewhat. Starts a bit brettomyces? Grass and herb are present. Some sweetness to go with the unusual tartness. Medium mouthfeel. Fairly dry once it settles down. Not getting much bitterness in the finish, just that unusual character. I can see why Matta suggested Wintergreen, but I don’t think that’s it. Interestingly different.

Nice aroma of brettanomyces, mild sweetness and tartness. Good flavor of brettanomyces with malt, yeast and mild sweetness. This is not a great saison, but it’s by all means better than the first time I sampled it.

Red brown color with a strong alcohol aroma and taster. Lack an overall sour farmhouse flavor. Did not finish my glass.

I found this saison to be rather non-approachable; interesting yet challenging to drink. Based on my experience with American saisons, I have a hard time calling this authentic version better. Appearance was fairly carbonated looking, coffee colored, and fairly viscous looking. Aroma was of cinammon and apples. Taste was rather un-distinct. It tasted like alcohol in the nose, with pear in the finish. As it got warmer, I picked up some isoamyl acetate (banana) falvor. Mouthfeel was pretty good, but I found this beer rather difficult to drink.