Arbor Brasserie Blonde

Brewed by Arbor Brewing Company Pub & Eatery
Style: Saison
Ann Arbor, Michigan USA

In short: An awful rotten sweaty beer that shouldn’t be called a Saison. Worst “Saison” ever.
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed reasonably fresh about 3 months after receiving it from dmschefke. Not your fault Dave, I asked for it!
The look: Cloudy ugly brownish-blonde body topped by a beige ring of foam
In long: Repulsive nose of sports locker room and ripe fruits. Taste blends extra ripe fruits (almost rotting), unpleasant sourness, sweat, and… who cares what else. I drank 1/3 of my 12oz bottle and drained pour the rest. Body is slim and lifeless. I’m a Saison whore, when closing the trade deal with Dave I did ask for a bottle of that thing. I saw the awful ratings but I thought to myself “C’mon Dany, you love Saisons, how bad can a Saison be?”. Well, I got my answer. That bad. I’ll take a Bud anyday over this. Awful and not even on style, this beer is to Saisons what soiled underpants is to bridge engineering.

I’ve had this a few times with large variations in taste, which I believe is directly attributable to freshness. I had a super fresh bottle, which I am going to make this rating for. Pours a nice pale gold to straw yellow, medium white head, larger bubbles. Aroma light of yeast, biscuit, lemony citrus, slight malt, and coriander. Flavor matches well and is extremely refreshing, enjoyable, but definitely not a hearty saison. It has saison character, but isn’t a model for the category.

12oz - Citrus aroma with straw, bready malts and spicy yeast. Flavor is tangy citrus orange lemon with a spicy yeast finish. Palate is tart. A nice tangy summer brew.

On tap at Ashley’s. hazy grapefruit colour with some white head and some white lace. Yeasty funky, fruity in taste. Sourish yet malted down..

Murky amber with next to no head – a complete 180 from the other arbors I’ve tried. Aroma of spicy yeast, citrus, orange and light malt. Low carbonated body tastes of citrus, butter and perhaps some malt and mild orange & lemon. Kind of reminds me of a crystal light and I was never a big fan of that.

On tap at the brewery. Cloudy amber with smal off-white head. Aroma is yeasty and citrus with lemonpeel and some sweetness. Flavor is slightly sweet citrus and chalk. Medium to light light carb. Nice.

12oz bottle 7/12/09 (Siciliano’s Market-Grand Rapids)-Pours a hazy amber with a small white head that dissipates rather quickly. Aroma of spice, yeast, and citrus. Taste of citrus, sweetness, and malt. This medium bodied brew is nothing like a Saison. Pretty bland and boring.

Pours hazy orange-yellow with nothing in the way of a head. Aroma of butterscotch and citrus, but not much else. Flavor is diacetyl and fake orange. I continually adjust the rating down as the glass disappears. Absolutely horrible.