Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi - Hijfte, Belgium

Serve in Tulip

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750ml bottle. This amber ale poured with a massive off-white head. The flavor is malt and caramel with a chalky finish. This was not a typical saison - it was darker and much more malty than one would expect. It was worth drinking, but not much more.

UPDATED: JUL 13, 2006 750 mL bottle, corked & caged (fresh): clear, dark golden orange. A fluffy ivory cream persists at about a quarter inch. Candy sugar aroma with light wheat, red apples, and yeasty funkiness. The flavour seems dark and almost distant - buttery chocolate yeast along with some spicy wheat and over-ripe bananas. You know, I enjoyed this drink - but I wouldn’t recommend it for someone looking for a Saison - much closer to a fruity dubbel...

Clear dark amber/mahogany with 2 finger off white head. Aroma is quite nice, but nothing like a saison, more belgian dubbel almost. Plenty of caramel, dark fruit, tiny bit of floral, and very faint yeast, but caramel/sweet malt really dominates everything. Flavor is all caramel through and through, barely able to detect anything else. Faint banana and spice but not much else. Really isn’t a bad beer, just not a saison. Sweetness becomes very cloying by the end of the bottle.

Clear, dark ruby red with a fluffy white head. The aroma is strong but based on a saison, but definitely suped up. Sweet caramel, earthy hops, some very mild leatherish funk, fruity floral perfume and definite residual sweetness. The body is big and sticky sweet. The low carbonation gives the beer seemingly slow movement across the tongue. The sweetness brings out a mild exotic fruitiness of pineapple, mango and some light lychee. Hints of toasted bread add some more depth that comes with a little time. More sugary sweetness and strong fruity esters come out in the mouth. The yeast is fun and playful, but not what I’d expect from a true Saison. The bitterness is there, but is light and certainly overshadowed by the sticky, sweet malt. This didn’t really do much for me, other than show how much I don’t really enjoy some suped-up versions of traditional styles.

Rich and dark fruit flavors, with a sweet caramel front. The carbonation breaks up the body on this nicely, making it very easy to drink. Very lively spicing for such a sweet brew, with clove staying behind long after you finish.

Color is brown with a light tan head. Aroma is a bit mettalic with caramel, chocolate, dried fruit, raspberries. Taste is a sugary with a nice malt background, caramel and some oak. Body is smooth.

This saison pours a deep amber color from a cork finish 750ml bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity mostly apples and bananas. Medium bodied saison. Malty, yeasty and sweet with hints of pepper, cinnamon, clove and herbs. A very smooth tasting beer, with lots of bready and yeasty flavors. Not as spicy and more malty sweet than one would expect from a saison. It does have a nice crisp dry finish. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Amber/red body with a light beige head that soon settles down into the old ring/film combo. Has a decidedly fruity nose (apples & nanners) with a rich malt base. Spicy & yeasty. Soft, foamy, peppery mouthfeel. There’s a bready backbone to the tasting, but it’s smothered with white pepper, licorice, ginger, apples, plums, soapy yeast, and just a hint of the 8.5. Nice hot, peppery finish. Enjoyable.

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Great beer, fresh and spicy but deeper malt character than most saisons. Fruity nose, bready, nice lively finish.

Interesting beer! Very enjoyable. Aroma was peppery and yeasty. Amber in color, slightly hazy. Mouthfeel was very smooth. Flavors were spicy, bready, herby and sweet. Can’t really notice the alcohol much. I would recommend this saison. Very tasty.