Stillwater Sensory Series v.1 - Lower Dens

Stillwater Artisanal
Brewed at Dog Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Baltimore, Maryland USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Bottle from city beer. Pour is hazy orange with a big white head and great lacing. Hibiscus, lemon, coriander, light straw, slightly fruity, basil, and biscuity aroma. Taste is clovey, light banana, orange peel, straw, white pepper, herbs, tangy, coriander, and bread with a light spicy finish. Medium body with soft carbonation. Tasty saison.

Copenhagen Beer Celebration. Tap, 040513. Amber with white head. Aroma of malt and spices. Flavour citrus and herbs.

Draught @ CBC 2013: Golden coloured. Hazy. Dense off white head. Aroma: Fruits, citrus, yeast, herbs. Flavour: Flowers, citrus, some fruits, herbs. Medium bodied. Ends light tart and citric

CBC. Unclear yellow with a white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, fruity, yeasty and light spicy. Flavor is medium sweet and moderate bitter. Dry and moderate bitter finish. 040513

Bottle. Poured hazy white pale color with an average to large frothy white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy citrus and yeast aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium citrus sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where met.

Draft. An unclear yellow beer with a lazing white head. The aroma has notes of citrus fruits, hops, and malt. The flavor is sweet with notes of citrus fruits, hops, straw, and malt.

Tap @ CBC 2013. Pours murky yellow with a small, creamy, white head. Aroma is floral, sweet, light pepper. Medium carbonation, fine dry and light creamy mouthfeel. Flavour is sweet, pepper, floral, light bitter, crisp malts. Light vinious and mild herbal bitterness. Nice.

Tap at Mikkeller & Friends. Cloudy yellow with a creamy white head and excellent retention. Grapefruit, orangezest, spicy, herbal, some malty sweetness, sparkling, medium bitter ness, dry finish, rustic, framhouse notes. And the music is lovely. Too.

A steady pour into my New Beligium globe glass produces a three finger thick, pale, off-white colored head. The beer is a light straw color that shows a clear, light gold hue when held up to the light. The aroma is quite fruit forward; it has a floral edge to it with notes of hibiscus, macintosh apple notes, and a sort of berry like pear note are all here. There is a light spiciness here, a bit like musty pepper, perhaps a touch of phenolic spiciness (not quite clove, but that will work as a descriptor). As you dig, an earthy, hay like, somewhat rustic, pale grain character becomes more noticeable, especially towards the end of a deep draught of the nose.

Quite light bodied and dry up front, the beer picks up a floral character and a fruitiness towards the finish as well as a bit of a herbal, slightly bitter, not really astringent, and sort of a spicy floral note. The malt character here provides a nice pale malt, saltine cracker like flavor, a touch of dried straw, and some rounded, rustic white bread flavors towards the middle-finish. The beer has a hint of tartness in the finish, it accentuates the fruit character just a bit, and even seems to mimic a fruity acidity.

I like it, it is a Saison, but it does seem to be lacking a certain complexity that I really crave for in a good Saison. I could wish for a bit more yeast complexity really, a bit more firmness and spiciness really would do the trick.

On tap at CBC 2013, Saturday evening, hazy gold with a slight clingy head, lightly tart orange and guava nose, fruity palate, dry, faintly floral. Refreshing.