Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Corked bottle. Poured clear copper color with a large frothy brown head that was lasting with excellent lacing. Heavy nutty malt and fruit aroma. Medium to full body with a sticky finish. Medium blalanced flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. Solid complex drinkable beer.

Bottle. A reddish-orange color with a nice foamy off-white head. Strong banana spice with a touch of clove and nuts in the aroma. The banana plays out well in the flavor. Smooth with a bit of carbonation. Some farmhouse mustiness and butterscotch with a dry finish.

Poured a thick head that faded fast. My first flavor that I identified was the pineapple, and I liked it. It then quickly fizzed into a more spice type flavor, not much on the backend, but a good front end.

Translucent red-orange body, thick buff head. Herbal aroma, spicy, with strong notes of pineapple juice. Toasty body with bitter spices, sweet breads, potpourri, and pineappley notes that are emphasized in the finish. Alcohol is apparent but not cloying. Somewhere between unidimensional and complex.

Bottle. Head is initially large, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium to dark amber, unfiltered. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain, nuts, cookie), lightly yeasty (basement), with notes of cinnamon, clove, taffy, corn syrup, alcohol. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/syrupy texture, lively/fizzy carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Heavily spiced, boozy, syrupy, sweet, dull yeast character, etc...i.e., not at all what I think about when the word saison is uttered (even including Fantome’s stronger and spicier examples, which still retain the other crucial saison elements).

Cloudy bronze body, almost no head. Some hops on the nose that didn’t show-up in the taste. Buttery caramel and oily cereals. Thin body. Not only is it not good, this Saison Imperial is not even a Saison, death to Imperialism.

Bottle. Pours a deep ruddy amber/mahogany color and is fairly clear. Nice sized beige head with great lacing. Aroma is a bit sweet, very slightest hints of funk. Medium bodied and well carbonated. Caramel and yeasty/peppery flavors seem dominant in taste with a more than ample dose of earthy hop flavor that pervades in the finish. Nice, not quite as dry or funked as I would have liked, but certainly worth a shot.

Poured into a tulip glass, the body is a hazed copper hue. An immense pillow of pillowy beige head sits atop the glass. Excellent retention with drapes and clumps of lacing. Aroma opens with caramel and cinnamon, followed by a mild note of barnyardfunk. Hints of mint, lemon, and white pepper eventually join in. Really nice feel in the mouth, with a medium body and silky carbonation. Taste begins with sweet caramel, deftly balanced by floral hops. Only a hint of the outdoorsy spicy, earthy, and floral character I prefer in a good saison. Lemony citrus, coriander, and some pepper emerge as it warms. An interesting take on a saison, to be sure. Darker and maltier than what I would expect. Certainly not as nice as the brewery’s Flemish wild ales, but an interesting farmhouse ale nonetheless.