Heavyweight Saison de la Soeur Golden

Formerly brewed at Heavyweight Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Ocean Township, New Jersey USA

03.27.05 750ml bottle. Pretty beer, glowing, lightly hazed yellow-gold with thick white froth. The liquid has a thicker, softer look to it; it seems to coat the sides of the glass. Body is not surprisingly quite full, perhaps slightly unctuous, but still lithe and full of wonderful effervescence. Oh wow, this is even better than the tap sample I tried at the brewery. Aromas are subtle and complex, tip-top. Slightly toasted grain like breakfast cereal, light fruitiness, some herbal notes - it’s not unlike sniffing on a tropical trail-mix. Flavors are equally complex, sweet-tart, some sourness, some barn, some sweat; but it’s fresh, like a ripe, wet barn or field of grains and grass. Grapey, cheesey sourness throughout. Yeast never gets obtrusive but So tasty and the late bitterness is very pleasing. The saaz earthiness is evident and wonderfully unusual in a saison. Just great, I wish I had a dozen more bottles.

Easter Sunday tasting w/ Ernest, Aubrey and Brian. Cloudy orange haze. Doughy, fruit-laden aroma with hints of lemon, strawberry jam and a touch of spicy saaz and goldings. A wonderfully rich saison, big for its size in both its texture and its flavor. Hints of toasted bread and loaded with a variety of light fruits. Damn, good job Heavyweight.

Didn’t have a tulip glass laying around so I poured this into my favorite sniffer glass. Poured a hazy light peach color with a huge amount of froathy deep white head. Looks absolutely delicious! Aroma was a little flat: slightly hoppy, yeasty, and sour malts. Flavor is light, dry, bitter, medium sourness (not overwelming) with a rather flat dry finish. Overall, a very nice brew. Grows on you the more you drink it.

What a lovely pour! Medium sized , tight beaded tan head, lumpy, rocky and unstoppable. Lace all over the place. Hazy, gold hued ale with a light orange glow, great eye candy! Spicey nose, yeasty, bready malts and a neat sourness pervades the aroma. Body is medium with lightly tingly carbonation. Crisp fruitiness, lightly sour and thirst quenching. Barnyardy notes, doughy malts, berries and a touch of grapefruit. Lightly toasted pale malts round this jersey brewed, highly enjoyable saison out. Finish is dry, crisp and thirst quenching. Highly quaffable! A real pleasure to drink. I,m really looking forward to its black brother!

Special thanks to jimmack04 for sending me this gem. Cloudy golden with an orange hue and a dense creamy white layer of frothy head. Wonderful yeast in the aroma with spicy notes and fruit. Nice funky Saison like aromas and faint floral hops which are nice. Creamy palate with a nice fizzy, lively mouthfeel. Light sourness in flavor. Sour fruit, spices, yeast overall one really nice brew.

750ml bottle, received from Rich, served into my Duvel snifter: Hazy summer night golden hue topped by a nice fizzy head and good lace. Wonderful tart and funky complex nose with notes of lemon and lemongrass, tangerine zest, a touch of wheat husk, clove and cardamom (I’m not familiar with sweet woodruff, so that could be it) and a wildflower and heather yeast ester. The taste starts with a twangy lemon-lime overtone supported by a heavy dose of wheat and malt. The finish displays a interplay of subdued spice, hints of bitters, touch of smoky cheese and a aftertaste of dry wood (no tannin or the such, not oaky, more like toothpicks). The beer is refreshing with it’s tartness and lively feel. This one is a winner and a complete surprise in my book. I now know Heavyweight by more that their big beers. Highly recommended and please enjoy on a warm spring to hot summer daze. Color me happy, thanks again Rich!!! (what’s with the 1631 number on the back?)

Very fine white foam atop a golden slightly cloudy liquid. Lemony, dog blanket, some fun funk that increases at it warms, bit of sweetness. Poitns for unusualness. Very happy to pick this up at Hi Time Wine in COsta Mesa. Heavyweight will certainly be missed. This is spectacualr.

Clouded yellow. Lathery white foam spatters large clingy blotches. Aroma of glazed pears, mashed honeydew, and lemony Styrians. Faint sulfur, musty herbs, and clove. Pristinely conditioned with a creamy fullness. Initial rosewater-softness stippled with drops of lemony acidity and just enough minerally coarseness to lend a sense of dryness to the otherwise-moist and soft lacto tartness. Harmonious interplay of sassy alcohol spice and deeply quenching unripe melon acidity, which constantly beckons you to take another gulp. Dusting of fresh hay and herbs along with lightly-toasted, but firm, pale malts appear in the finish amid candied white grape echoes. Yeast pour accentuates the tartness, but more importantly, augments the peppery dryness. Wow. Such a refreshing take on the style (punctually tart and low in alcohol). This is how I imagine saison 200+ years ago. The fact that the aroma remains engaging despite its being overly yeasty, fairly sweet, and devoid of esters, is puzzling. Less sweetness, more dryness, and more esters would spell “perfection.” Thanks willblake and hopdog!