Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Dark amber color. Caramel cocoa notes, semi-sweet. Somewhat dubbelish rather than saisonish but that doesn’t really matter. Lightly fruity, lightly phenolic. Balanced and easy drinking even with some malty heft.

Bottle shared by hopscotch. Pours clear copper with a tan head. Biscuit malt aroma with Belgian yeast and some brett funkiness. Light bready flavor, brett, mustiness and some pepper. Body seems too light for the flavor. Lively carbonation and a dry mouthfeel. It is good, but the flavors just don’t seem to live up to the aroma.

750ml bonus from GMCC2181. Pours orange with a tan head. Nose is sweet and rich with some funk. Taste is sweet and funky and all in all nice.

Pours cloudy amber with white head. Aroma is brett funk, barnyard, leather. Taste is same as aroma plus some spice, pepper, bubble gum/banana, nice dry finish.

From the 750ml bottle pours a dark and dense, cloudy amber colored body. A fading, foamy, khaki colored head leaves wet lace that mostly rejoins the body. The nose is a big surprise, very Orval-ish in its dry, bretty funk overtones. Candied pale malts and a myriad of fruits, from figs to raisins to apples, all show as well, along with baker’s spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Perfumy, floral hops and candied orange peel lend fresh, whimsical scents. In short, the nose has alot going on. The flavor is less complex, yet nearly as impressive. Candied malts and a full spectrum of light and dark fruits lend sweetness to an otherwise dry, dusty, bretty brew. Old, funky oak, floral hops, and dark, earthy spices all offer contrasting, yet complementary elements. Medium-plus on the palate, balanced, and semi-dry, the mouthfeel is substantial and satisfying for the style. Very nice brew. I suspect this one can go one for ages, getting funkier and funkier as time passes. Underrated for sure.

Bottle picked up at stateline. After drinking some crappy brews on st paddies I couldnt wait to drink a "real" beer. Corked and caged, nice pop off the cork. Carbonation would of came over the top..... Poured into a snifter. Muddy orange in color, decent one finger head. Aroma is fruity, dry, spicey, and some earthy notes. In the taste there is lots of fruits and a nice sour "brett" note maybe. Not as dry as the aroma. Some earthy mustard notes. Apple. A slight sourness helps keep it balanced. Texture is average. Overall, I really enjoyed this beer again, maybe not favorite saison but definetly worth the buy and seeking out!

Pours a hazy orange-brown color with yellow highlights and a moderate off-whtie head. Aroma stikes me as very bretty; oak, mustard, hay, pears, and rotten fruit. Tastes almost caramelly at first followed by some tea, mustard, dust, rottenfruit and oak. Maltier than most brett-spiked beers. Fnishes with a little butterscotch, oak, and a mild dry bitterness Medium bodied, fairly creamy feel, high carbonation. Certainly unique, but I’m not sure how much I really enjoyed it.

Pours a deep red color, almost brown. Smells like pepper and fruit. Has a reasonably thin mouthfeel, which is actually appreciated in this brew. Taste is exceptional. It’s peppery, spicy, a little fruity, but the saison yeast is very well balanced and actually a little subdued. Rather impressed. I wonder how this cellars, because I really would like to keep a few bottles for shits and giggles.