Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Cloudy and amber. Funky nose with deep fruit (apple, pear) and some light clove. There’s also a mac & cheese note in the aroma, which makes no sense at all. Herbal, berryish (blueberry, boysenberry), funky light foot, alcohol, rich caramel, and spice...lots of stuff going on here. For all its complexity, though, it really is not very cohesive.

Bottle @ Brother Tucker’s. Murky mahogany color. Fruity aroma with cherries, berries, and a granular fruit cake. Woody flavors are resinous. Cherries come out. Low carbonation with a somewhat granular feel. Strong and good.

Crusty bread aromas mix with sour apple and raisin. Some lacing in the glass, but a rustic, ruddy red color that tells you straight off this is a saison. Some spicing late in the palate, a gummy fruit component, some sour yeast and a bunch of tart cherry. Cidery, even. Finishes a little sticky, despite the slickness of the alcohol throughout.

Aroma is a mix of wonderful smells, earthy and funky! Pours a cloudy brown, almost like an over-steeped iced tea. Nice tight head with visible yeast residue similar to Delerium Tremons. Funky, fruity (raisin, apples....etc) tasty! A nice light mouthfeel, and very drinkable. At 8.5 this one could easily kick your butt before you knew what hit you!

Bottle from Brother Tuckers. Pours a cloudy brown with a a small head. What is this beer? Brown/Saison/Belgian Dubbel/Belgian Strong? Very funky and malty aroma with some serious barnyard scents. Flavor is yeasty, a tad sweet, funky, earthy, malty, again what the hell is this beer. Whatever it is, its unique and drinkable as hell!

From Binny’s. Dark, murky brown pour. Aroma is so funky I’m not sure wear to begin. Barnyard? Yup. Hay? yup. Cow shit? yup. Horse Piss? Yup Awesome. Flavor is caramel malt, all the funk in the world, and some spice. Nice mouthfeel. Really crazy and really good.

Bottle from BevMo. People always get all googly-eyed and such when you talk about saisons, but this is not too exciting of a beer. Dark brown color, much darker than I expected. Funky aroma. Taste is candi sugar, malts, "barnyard" as usual for a saison, some spices, some yeast. Not too drinkable. I struggled to finish the bottle and felt like I was just trying to get it over with so I could tear into some AleSmith Speedway Stout.

Gross. Expecting something similar to Saison Dupont and I get a bad Orval. Damn things should say if they’ve got brett yeast. Drainpour.