3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Appearance: deep ruddy reds with a few dreggy globules hovering near the bottom. Pinkish head thick and tightly packed eventually fades into a thick color surrounding a broken patch of film. Blood-orange around the edges. Swirls with minimal lace.
Nose: sweet, spicy. Intense almost pungent nose ripe in coffee cake and cinnamon rolls, gentle sugary sweetness, prunes, dried dates, preserved apricots and peaches. Maple with brown sugar. Must whispers in and out of the back. Spiced apples and nutmeg amidst cakey doughy breakfast breads. Laffy taffy.
Palate: wow and wow. Not as heavy in weight as her massive nose impressed but also nowhere near lacking in flavor complexity. Musty dry finish of old wood and leather. Soft frothy mouthfeel thanks to bottle-conditioning lifts her palate up and keeps her hovering over the tastebuds. Toffee, taffy, maple, brown sugar, and candied apples. Touch of dense fruitcake underneath. Candied maraschino cherries and pineapple. Coconut shavings. Nutmeg and spice lingers long in my breath. Pecans and hazelnuts dabble in and out while treacle joins her sweet side. Coffee cake and cinnamon rolls for sweetness, chewy doughy breads, and spice. Flavors blend together very well.
Final Thoughts: what I got was not what I was expecting, but what I got was also very good. Reminded me more of a Flanders inspired saison ala Biere de Garde versus the Belgian saison. Either way, mighty tasty. Would love to have a chalice of this with breakfast sometime.
2.9 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20
Amber with large head. Aroma muted by head but with some spices and yeast. Body a little lighter than expected, not much carbonation, I don’t notice the alcohol until after finishing half the bottle. Flavors with some spice, pumpkin, esters, a little bit of hops bitterness. Overall it seemed surprisingly thin with interesting flavors but almost diluted, I don’t know if I didn’t have a good bottle or something and should try again but was expecting more, also not really indentifiable as a saison.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle, A nice amber hue with red highlights, a nice white head and good carbonation. Aroma had a nice fruity presence along with some banana, clove and biscuit malts. Flavor seemed to have a good fruity note that had almost a tannin like quality to it. Some nice grassy hops were present. Carbonation was present, but not overpowering.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Sampled today 09/05/10. Slightly sour taste, golden color, refreshing and tasty.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
UPDATED: SEP 2, 2010 Bottle. Pours opaque caramel color with nice head. Smells like roasted wheat. The taste is like an interesting sweet and sour and spiced mix of a saison and a stout, though it is quite refreshing and drinks like a saison. Aftertaste of pumpkin pie and vanilla...
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
(bottle at Sean’s Unibroue tasting). Pours caramel color with light off-white head. Aroma of caramel and apple. Taste is sweet and somewhat sour. Light bodied and thin, the beer was fizzy on the tongue and finished sour. Nice unique saison.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
A: pours a rather opaque tawny color. great thick head, slightly tan head/ great retention rate and solid lacing.
S: aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg, wonderful fall fruits, apples, green raisins and dates. nice funk in the aroma.
T: green raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon, some serious fall fruits, apples and pears. very funky. some alcohol notes. I also get some blueberry notes.
M: very well balanced ale, smooth and creamy mouth feel, slight alcohol burn. good mellow carbonation level.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
pretty nice Saison, but there are a lot better ones out there. Aroma is hay with some light apple elements. Appearance is a light amber with a white head and nice lacing. Taste is vanilla and apple. Palate is dry but a bit creamy. A decent saison.
3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Courtesy of Blazer06. Pours murky deep copper with thin tan head. The aroma has notes of sweat socks, berry fruitiness, tannins, sweatier socks and then some spices. The taste is tart fruit skin tannins, tartness and some odd funky chemical sourness. Kinda weird.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle from Total Wine. Pours a toffee/orange body with a white rim for a head. Strong nose of caramel and wood. Flavors are similar: more caramel, toffee, wheat, bread, dark fruits, hint of piney metallic hops in the finish. The medium body and average carbonation. A decent beer, but this is not a fair representation of the Saison style.
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