Saison Imperiale

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

Serve in Tulip

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.

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...

(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.

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.

UPDATED: AUG 16, 2009 Foam Rangers tasting. Deep amber pour. Nose of raisins, fruits and spices. Taste is stronger than what I would normally think for a Saison, but it’s darn nice.

Sort of an orange color with a thick white head. Spicy upfront with hints of orange peel and banana. Not as funky as I thought it would be but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Murky copper. Thin soapy head. Wannabe sour aroma… caramel, Dry caramel. Some spice and sweetness. Okay… but needs more stuff for me.

An excellent brew. Poured a nice cloudy amber with a 1cm tall head that slowly disappeared to a lacey topping. Aroma is hoppy but mild. Mouthfeel was incredibly smooth with no harsh aftertaste. Flavor was very malty with a nice hoppy topping. A excellent brew if you can find it. A little pricey.