Baladin Wayan

Brewed by Le Baladin
Style: Saison
Piozzo, Italy

Oooh a rare one! Cloudy golden body with a large head, some gushing as I uncapped it.. so I guess there’s some saisonness already. Spicy aroma with oranges, lemons, coriander and something else I can’t quite pinpoint... which made it interesting. Also some other fruity notes. Delicate mouthfeel, very drinkable. Good, not great... I was expecting worse.

Bottle. Chunky gold pour. Lots of fine and solid sediment particles throughout the body. Small foamy but dense white head. Abundant cob-webby yeast notes in the aroma preceding soft flowery notes, ripened tropical fruits, pleasant spiciness, and candyish notes. Taste brings out a slightly more peppery spice flavor atop juicy fruits, sweet malts, candied notes, and dusty yeast. Body is strongly carbonated and spritzy on the tongue. Light overall feel to it. Ends with more spices, sweet, cabdyish fruits, dry dusty yeast notes, and sweet malts. Nice!

Cloudy with a wet head, taste more citrusy than spicey...surprisley so...no hint of such int he hone. Biting finish.

750mL bottle, no date. Pours a hazy golden yellow with a two finger fading white head. Aromas of ginger, orange peel, pepper, light dust and lighter funk. The flavor is sweeter than the aroma leads on. Main flavors consist of orange candy and yeasty esters. Pepper, dust and funk are a little light. Dry finish. High carbonation though fairly soft, and medium bodied. Not too bad of a beer, but I can’t say it was good enough for the $12-13 (I think) price. Maybe I was wanting something a little more tart, which this wasn’t.

The body is dark gold that has a hint of orange at the thicker part of my glass. There is a large white head with lots of vigorous carbonation working it’s way up the glass. The aroma is floral with some lilacs and some orange sherbert. There is a hint of cinnamon toast with some peaches. A nice and pleasant, inviting aroma. The taste is pleasantly mild with some warmed peaches and a hint of cinnamon spice in the finish. There is also a little bit of leather and salt in the finish. This is very pleasant and light on the palate. The carbonation is also very soft in the mouth feel. A nicely made winner. I really appreciate the quality that Baladin always seems to have in their beers.

Bottle. Hazy gold colour. Aroma of cracked pepper. Palate is spicy, yet soft, approacable and more-ish. Probably not the most complex beer you’ll have, but it was quite subtley seductive, and i found myself yearning for more after every sip. Palate wasn’t exactly intense in terms of sweetness, bitterness, etc, but it seemed to cover all bases if you know what i mean, nice and spicy, but not overly so. This was very good.

2006 bottle consumed on 8/5/06.
Bountiful, dense, well-conditioned white head is large, well-retained and, in fading, provides substantial lacing in full sheets around the glass. Body shows a medium to medium-high clarity (having let the bottle settle well) and a thick layer of sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Pale straw/gold, luminous and with a gentle effervescence, is the body.
Soft, nutty wheat notes rise up reservedly, while a light bit of fluffy pils malt honey slowly fills the main part of the aroma. Tart lemon and orange peel notes sneak in as well and somewhat enliven things. A strong grassiness is prevalent, especially upon warming, and soft fruit esters babble lightly in the background. Dry spiciness is, perhaps, a touch too much, with a coriander/peppery spiciness that seems to take away from the yeastiness. But the yeast is quite clean, and the pils malt so soft and gentle, that it would seem difficult to attain almost any balance with spice/herb addition here. Regardless, it’s still one of the best I’ve seen in that category, and the fresh citrus tartness provides a snappy refreshingness.
Light dough and honey mix in the mouth, as wet grass, fresh coriander and soft bubble gum wash over. Spritzy, low, tiny-bubbled carbonation gives the malt/bubble gum combo a succulent juiciness not often found in saisons, but the relatively high level of attenuation helps keep this from becoming a problem. Spices are almost not overdone in the flavor, overall. I still would like to see even less, but this is so much better than any spiced saison (excepting Brass. a Vapeur) out there in terms of restraint. Other than the spice, it’s a refreshing, if somewhat lighter than usual Dupont-influenced beer. I can see how some people complain of it being too close to a wit beer, and while it certainly has similar spicing, the pils malt and color/appearance, the yeast is much more appropriate to a saison, as is the body (didnt find this one too light and/or watery at all). Alcohol is not a factor. Almost makes me want to try my hand at a spiced saison....but not quite.

Pours golden and hazy with a white head. Smells yeasty with some nice fruity elements. Tastes citrussy with a very nice spiciness.