Saison Imperiale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Saison
Lochristi, Belgium

Bottled. Garnet colored with an ivory head. Candi aroma with some cinnamon notes. Soft, fruity flavor that’s a bit on the thin side. dry finish.

Deep caramel pour with a small white cap. The aroma is grandma’s cellar - musty and dirty with lots of yeast esthers. As it warms, the nose opens up with notes cherry, honey, nut, caramel and smoke. Chewy mouthfeel offers lots of caramel, almonds and butterscotch. Musty yeast hangs on the edges. This reminds me of a Bier de Garde, as the yeast really lends a strange , cellar note to this beer.

Thanks to BBB63 for sharing this one. Pours a dark golden amber color, nice healthy off white head. Aroma is cherry and must. Lots of must. Flavor is sweet, decently balanced, doesn’t have the dryness I’m used to. Fruity and mellow.

Bottle from Hopdog drunk on 5/26. Amber color with BIG fluffy head. Aroma of yeast, funk, and various spices. The taste was the same with light caramel notes. Semi dry finish. Not very good but hey, you only live once right??

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.

750 m bottle l in Duvel glass. Surprisingly red with flat tan head and lace. Funk and spice aroma with mild alcohol evap. Brown sugar sweetness with sour cherry and raisin fruitiness and spicy bitterness. Medium body and carbo. Not what I call a saison, but the category is open, I guess. More like a funked up amber. I like pale, dry , peppery saisons, like the classic from DuPont. Still, pretty tasty and complex.

Pours a clear amber with a loosely-knit white head that quickly diminishes. Aroma is horsey, biscuity malts, cherry-pie, with some acidity. Body is med-light. The flavors are mealy, rustic, stinky cheese with that very recognizable bretta-bruxellensis flavor of sour pie cherries. Finish is mildly bitter but not very dry as the style suggests.

750mL bottle. Medium amber color with a large rocky white head that collapses quickly. Mildy musty fruitcake aroma: old citrus, cherries, and earthy spice. Chalky, rough textured cherries and sharp spiciness in the flavor. Mulling spice flavors then manifest, and linger into the finish with a peppery orange character. Mouthfeel is a medium, rather thick for the style and more astringent than dry.