Free State Coeur de Saison

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Draft... GABF ’06... Hazy yellow ale with no head. Fruity nose of lemon, apricot and mandarin orange. Well-balanced, woodsy flavor. Lots of funk; no sweetness. Light to medium-bodied with a raspy mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Lengthy, lightly tangy, mildly bitter, dry finish.

Multiple samples, GABF 2006. Body is hazy light yellow. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted bread, cookie), with notes of apple and honey. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Expected a little more out of Free State, but it just didn’t come together. It’s not overly sweet, which is good, but the aroma doesn’t really make me think of saisons.

Draft: Light bronze. Wispy foam collar. Fruity belgian yeast aroma with mango, sage, unripe banana, candy sugar, honeycomb, and fennel seed. Wet, rounded body with fuzzy carbonation. Opens with a salted herb flavor over a strong foundation of toasted malt. Yeast softens the body whilst lending hints of bubblegum and more fruitiness. Saltiness adds a gritty edge to the malt. Borderline cloying at times due to the low attenuation. Sweetly peachy, too, but with plump mango and husky malt notes diverting the candy sugar sweetness and paving way for a push of alcohol and a medley of herbs and spicy esters which augment the dryness. Coarsely alcoholic, but incessantly soft all the same, with a honey sweet finish backed by firm toasted malts and floral hop softness. A respectable stab at the style, but this is basically just another Americanized saison where the flavor suffers from being too yeasty, oversweet, wet, by not being refermented in the bottle. Moreover, the finespun esters in the aroma go largely unnoticed due to the candy sugar.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours dark hazy amber with a small head. The aroma is rich and fruity with heavy malt and light spice. Medium body with a grainy feel and mild sharp carbonation. The flavor starts quite rich with light earth, rich fruitiness and grainy spice. The finish is crisp and lightly sour with a spicy bite. A nice American attempt at the style.

Sweet, fruity and lightly spicy aroma, some flowers and honey along with touches of orange zest and bubblegum, perhaps a vague hint of alcohol. Attractive lighter orange-amber color, mostly clear, with a fine, slight head. Fruity, sweet flavor throughout, some juicy citrus present, and with a bitter, spicy, peppery finish. Some pleasant, lingering maltiness as well. Mildly complex and oddly drinkable. Smooth but moderately acidic mouthfeel with a medium-full body. Overall, quite interesting and tasty, much like a spiced Tripel. Not quite appropriate for the shaker-style pint glass it’s served in, but given a chance to warm sufficiently, this is a good one. Was not able to confirm but would estimate this is a little over 7% abv.

On tap at the brewpub. Hazy yellow with a stiff white head. Lots of fruity, banana, bubble gum esters. Very light spicey notes. All the same in the flavor, with some wheaty character. Sweet finish. Its okay.

Draft, served with Dessert at the Free State 19th Anniversary Beer Banquet. Pour is a hazy dark yellow, with a nice white head. Aroma of malt, earthiness and sweet-candy yeast. Taste is really nice, solid malt backbone with highlights of spicy earthiness and the faint sweet candy flavor. Medium palate, that had the nice grainy Saison body. I probably could have done with this being a touch drier, and bit less sweet, but that’s my personal preference in Saison. This one was really well done.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours a hazy, dark amber with a lasting, dense head of tiny ivory bubbles. The nose is of bright citrus, pale malt, a light, fruity spiciness and a faint, sweet candy-sugar note in the background. Light to medium-bodied with soft, yet lively carbonation and a quick, dry finish. Lightly spicy and yeasty, the flavor is less citrus-forward and less sweet than the nose, but otherwise follows its lead; all of the components are quite well integrated. An enjoyable Saison that’s certainly worth trying for any fan of the style.