Clipper City Heavy Seas Red Sky At Night

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: Saison
Baltimore, Maryland USA

12oz bottle, Pour was amber-golden with small white head. Nose was spice, peper, and citrus. On the taste, banana comes out in the nose?, and there is very little % on this. Nice.

Bottle. Light musty/pepper aroma. Clear medium yellow color with small head. Musty dry flavor initially followed by a sweet red cherry and light peach flavor. The dry mustiness lasts long after swallowing. Not quite as complex as its Belgian brothers but still very nice.

12 oz bottle

The second of three Heavy Seas that came from a trade with artusory, I had some good hopes for this one. The first (Small Craft Warning) was solid and well made. Unfortunately, this one was not quite as good. While still enjoyable I feel it fell far short in enough areas that it is merely average.

Aroma / Appearance - A fruity pepper aroma was spot on for a saison. It was accompanied by scents of hay, crushed grain and honey. The pour left a murky copper colored liquid in my glass with almost no head and no visible carbonation.

Flavor / Palate - Much to my suprise, the first sip was very carbonated with a combination of caramel, spices and pepper washing across my tongue. Next came some fruitier elements - cherries, bananas and butterscotch. The finish was dry though for a split second a little hot. Overall it was drinkable but I never found anything to make me wish there was more once the bottle was empty. Hopefully this is the worst of the Heavy Seas line up.

This is a light bodied beer, has a sweet fruity taste with a fizz. The high alcohol% is well hidden. This is rather enjoyable for such a sweet light bodied tasting beer, although a little to much carbonation fizz. The sweetness lingers on the tastebuds. This would be enjoyable on a hot summer day, it’s light and refreshing.

Bottle. Pours straw golden with a thin white head. Nice yeasty and estery aroma of lemons and pears. Soft carbonation and medium light mouthfeel. Flavor is sweet, with notes of funk, bubblegum, and banana. A tad cloying on the finish. Alcohol well hidden. But this was much better than I expected. A decent Saison style session beer.

[GABF 2006 – Denver, Co] Yellow in color with a nice thick head. This was a very good session brew and I liked the subtle flavors. The high alcohol was a tad off for this style but this was a easy to drink sitting beer. Good Stuff.

Bottle. I really like most of Clipper City’s stuff. They just market it the wrong way. Instead of billing their beers as being enormously complex or big and robust, they should just come out and say they make some easy to drink beers with decent balance and a medium level of depth. This saison is no different from their other "big" brews. This one pours a bubbly gold with a fading white head. The aroma is nicely spiced with hints of sweet bananas and clove. The body is thin for the style, but a great level for casual drinking without feeling like I’m sipping water. There are more delicate banana notes and a finish like Wheaties. Some mild sourness is detected. I’m surprised this has 8% abv, I can’t tell at all, especially given the very average density. I could quaff this anytime as a casual drink, especially on a warm day. I don’t think that’s what they were going for, though.

12-oz.; thanks BeachBum25! Pours a clear medium gold with a splash of qhite bubbles across the top. Definite candi sugar in the nose and to some extent in the palate. Light yeast fragrance at first, starts getting lost in the sugar once you start drinking. Fizzy but not sharply fizzy, nice light clean body. Easy drinking. Some spice and fruit on the tongue--for once I agree with the brewer. Good stuff!