Clipper City Heavy Seas Red Sky At Night

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

12oz. bottle. Cloudy yellow pour with bright white head. Boatloads of spice and bread on the nose with corriander to the extreme. This is a fine beer and as always with this brewery very impressive for the $$$. One of the better domestic versions of saison but lacks the dry hop finish I love in the Belgians as well as the earth toned malts. Still a nice effort and a near perfect summer drink.

12oz bottle. Pours a brilliant, deep yellow with gold highlights and a thick, though short-lived, white head that consists of very fine/small bubbles. The aroma is fruity and spicy with some perfume and grassiness, pilsner malt, and a little banana, too. The flavor is very nice and much more complex than the aroma - a rich, light malt base with touches of soft fruit, cinnamon sugar, flowers, hibiscus, cloves, and honey. At mid-palate, a soft, flowery bitterness emerges, strengthened by the flavor of ethanol. There is also a nice bit biscuity malt and spices towards the back. The finish is somewhat dry with a doughy, yeasty maltiness, ginger, spices, hints of anise, and alcohol. The mouthfeel is quite full in body and slippery, but suitably lightened by vigorous carbonation so as to feel a little lighter and more refreshing. Overall, a very tasty beer - but not quite dry enough or grassy/hoppy enough for a saison of this strength; more like tripel.

Rerate; poured a gold color. Aroma was nice with some musty elements and some good banana/yeast; some sugar and fruit. I like the flavor more than most of the raters; probably due to the heavy wheat/weizen elements. Not a "true" version of the style in my opinion, but more of a hybrid. Right amount of must and spice and bitterness. Surprisingly better the second time. 3.4 to 3.6. Bottle; poured a gold with not much white head. Aroma of banana/yeast, spice and possibly some fruit. Alot of carbonation in the mouthfeel; pretty light body. Flavor was refreshing, if not great. Flavor was slightly sweet, with some banana and spice. Flavor was a little muted. For the style, I liked it more than most.

Bottle. Pours a golden body with small white head. The aroma is sweet, farmhouse funk, and spice. The taste is extremely smooth, with notes of fruit, wheat, yeast, etc.

This is a better than average saison ale. Full of citrus flavors. Sweet. Refreshing and crisp.

12 oz. bottle. Pours hazy golden with white head, one finger, that dissipates quickly to a thin, white rim. Nose is apple vinegar, wheat bread and sweet candy. Tastes of bready biscuit with fruity notes, apple, pear and raisin, and spice, clove and coriander. A pretty hefty dose of hop bitterness, though not much hop flavor. Pretty decent body and mouthfeel. Tasty beer.

Purchased at Corral Liquors in Granite City, IL. Pours a hazy gold with lots of rising bubbles and a large, rocky, ivory head. On the nose is a fruity, spicy blend of pears, light citrus, spices of paradise? and faint notes of bubble gum and alcohol. Medium-bodied, oily and soft with a slightly sour finish. Sweet pear-like malty front with a lot of yeasty input: faint banana backing up a peppery, sour wheat-like note. Finishes quite cleanly and not overly dry with light alcohol on the exhale. This is a tasty beer, but it seems to be missing that special "something" that would take it to the next level.

bottle. not bad, but not very exciting. Not really that dynamic and I tend to agree with the other ratings that this is more of a tripel than a saison. And a kinda boring tripel at that. It pours a light golden with no head. Some spice and yeast in the aroma. Medium body. Spicy on the tip, but muted. Although this beer is not that exciting, it is very drinkable and you don’t really pick up on it being close to 8%.