Boulevard Saison

Brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Kansas City, Missouri USA

Refreshing and zesty Saison. Quite hoppy and more American interpretation, lacking lots of the peppery and farmhouse aspects, rather focusing on the fruity pear-apple esters and lemony-citrus aspects. Light graininess and grassiness throughout, with a slight bitterness at the finish. Very enjoyable.

Bottle conditioned saison - Smokstack Series. Pours hazy golden straw, good head, hangs around for a few minutes. Citrus aroma (primarily grapefruit and lemon), not particularly complex. Doesn’t have a lot of the sweet / tart barnyard aroma you’d find in, say, a Dupont. Flavor is similar to aroma. Nice dry finish. This is a standard saison, it seems to me. Lacks tartness and pepperiness and overall complexity. EDIT: forgot I’d rated this before and did it again, liking it better the second time: Hazy orange with nice rocky head that sticks around for a loooong time. Odor of lemon and orange and pepper, slight earthiness. Very pleasant aroma. Dry and quite carbonated, flavor is bitter orange, lemon and orange rinds, very spicy (there might be spice added – tough to be sure), slightly tart, with a bit of an astringent finish. The flavor that lingers is citrus rinds and dryness. I think it’s great. I guess I wish the finish was a little smoother as this is a beer I want to drink a lot of.

Pours a cloudy yellow with a big white head. Lots of yeast in the aroma. Flavor is yeasty, ripe fruits, pepper, and lemon. All with a slight twang.

750ml bottle from the Friar Tuck in Bloomington, IL. This pours a slightly hazed, pale yellow body, lively and capped by a frothy head and decorating the glass with gobs of lace. It has a fruity, yeasty aroma, citrusy with light floral scents. A light sweet malt is covered with tastes of lemon and tangerine and a mild hop bitterness. Nice.

I guess I’m on the left side of the bell curve on this one. Pour looked good, light orange with nice finger head and decent lacing. Mild barnyard aroma. The flavor was dry and yeasty with a decent level of peppery spice and maybe some coriander, but very little fruity malt flavor. Not sweet at all and not very much, if any, barnyard funk in it either. This was just a drab attempt at a saison in my book.

[Bottle] Pours a cloudy gold with a large white head. Aroma is nice noble hops, funk, yeast, orange and lemon. Flavor is quite hoppy, yeast, and spice. Medium mouthfeel.

750mL Bottle. Spice heavy nose, rubbed with some yeast gum and a back of lemon rind. Pours a hazy golden, witha rim in white. Flavor is puckery, a bit tart and covered with simple lemon, ginger and back spice glow. Good yeast character. Not too sweet, nor too overdone. A good fresh saison yeast beer. Doesn’t have any problems with the weirdness of the yeast. Alcohol lays low. Nicely done. Thanks Sean!

750 ml champagne bottle, from John’s Grocery in Iowa City, Iowa. Straw gold, fine white head with some nice stick. Soft lemon flower and bright sea air aroma. Full, airy carbonation combined with dry, delicate palate. Pepper and lemon bite, very gentle lingering resin. A beautiful fresh and hoppy expression of saison. I love it!. Firmly in the saison tradition, but somehow pleasantly American as well. Very, very good, and fun to see Boulevard doing this. Shared this with Traci, and as we both felt like one bottle went far too quickly. Next time, I think we’ll need at least one each.