Craftsman Triple White Sage

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Pasadena, California USA

Cloudy amber color with a hint of malt in the aroma. Dry finish, sweet malty taste with a drop of sage. Good beer.

Draft at Stone Brewery. Not much aroma, a little yeasty. Tastes a little bit like a wheat beer, but I really couldn’t tell what the rest of the flavor was. Not bad tasting though.

Tap at stone; hazy goldish color. Aroma was similar to both a hefe and belgian strong, with some sage and earthy notes. Taste was somewhat sweet, yeast/wheat, and some sage. A little medicinal to me, but still good. Especialy for the style.

On tap at Stone. Hazy golden amber with fizzy white head. Sweet malty aroma, sage, and notes of hoppy boquet. Velvet mouthfeel. Sweet malty taste, honey, sage, and a semi-dry finish.

unique as always, though not as much sage as i remember it having last year. i swear last year was like drinking thanksgiving dinner...this year is more like a traditional tripel with some sage as a unique flavor addition. aroma has plenty of a the sage as well as the normal honey and bready aroma. flavor was sweet like honey, with some spicy characteristics and just enough of a touch of sage to know its there, without being overpowering. a beer everyone should try.

Had on tap at Lucky Baldwins in late June 2006: Pours a slightly hazy copper orange with a frothy, dense, well-lacing white head. Rich, sweet floral honey, sage, and bready caramel malty aroma. Body starts sweet, caramely and viscous with good, dry peppery coriander and clove spice and a smooth, but full, bready palate. Nicely-balanced and complex. A unique and enjoyable beer.

On tap, poured at the 2006 Pizza Port 12 Hour Belgian Beer Party. Cloudy lemon and melon rind colored pour with a thin, wispy head. The aroma screams Thanksgiving day turkey dressing in the nose, a unique and pleasant treat. Some onion and yeasty bread as well. Almost an underlying saltiness. Mouthfeel is a little on the thin side, but the spices and herbs make up a bit where the texture lacks. Tons of fresh herbs and a light green pepper spice are enjoyable on the tongue. Final smack of sourdough bread seasoned with dried coriander and oregano.

(Draft: Lucky Baldwins in Pasadena, CA) Moderately sweet wheat base, spicy, coriander, I guess I’m tasting sage? Slightly bitter finish, moderate presence of alcohol is obvious, but not hot. I’m getting a moderate sensation of white wine. I don’t know the difference between many of the various cooking spices, so I don’t know what sage smells like, but the sweet spicy nose smells like my live rosemary bush to me. Medium bodiy, but sweet and lightly syrupy on the palate. Medium golden color is somewhat cloudy in appearance. Beautiful, full, white head leaves a dense blanket of lace on this Petrus tulip glass and looks gorgeous. But the head settles to a partial film, and so the failure to retain even a complete covering atop the beer means it can’t get a perfect score there. Best Craftsman beer I’ve had yet, and as seems typical, a well crafted beer.