Iron Hill Blackberry Saison

Brewed by Iron Hill Wilmington
Style: Sour Ale
Wilmington, Delaware USA

On tap at Wilmington. Dusty ruby color and hazy. Aroma is mostly blackberry and not very saison-like. In fact it’s got to be called a sour or a fruit-lambic or something like that. Not much oak taste, but vinous with balsamic vinegar sourness and lots of berries.

On draft at the Wilmington location. The pour was burgundy purple, purple-white colored head. The aroma was strong blackberries, acetic/vinegar notes, some yeasty aspects, notably no spices. The flavor followed, strong vinegar notes with the blackberries, tart, sour, yeasty, no real saison character under it all, a pure sour beer play. Mouthfeel was acidic and somewhat light. Strong blackberries, obviously. Lacking complexity, especially the oak and tannin aspects I love in styles like these. A nice job, just not outstanding from those of its kind.

On tap at Wilmington... Poured a funky purple color, small head. Nice aroma of sour berries. Taste is tart... A sourness just lingers on the back of your tounge. Lots of berries, acetic and some yeast. Lots of little carbonated bubbles. Overall a unique beer that I am glad I tried but wouldnt be able to finish another glass by myself. Reminded me of the cassis...

Draft at Wilmington. Pours purplish magenta with off-purple head. Nose is heavy blackberry, earthy malt, wild yeasty and acetic. The flavor is of fresh picked blackberries, with a hefty tartness, but some yeasty and spicy and earthy malty flavors throughout. Not as tart as the Cantillon stuff, and this one has an amazingly fruity flavor and smell. I enjoyed this one a great deal.

Intense fruit nose and deep dark purple color. Serious amount of jammy fruit in the flavor as well masking the fact that this once had anything to do with a saison. A bit sharp from the aceto like many of the IH sours and I agree with Paul that it scores higher then the last batch of the lambics they released.

Poured a deep purple color with a small, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of blackberries, vinegar, oak, vanilla, lacto, and wild yeast. Taste of citrus, blackberries, berry skins, oak, sour cherry, a sour finish, and that odd after-taste you usually in the IH wild beers.

On tap at Wilmington. Pours a very deep amber with violet/purpble highlights and a nice thin lasting head. Aroma is fresh blackberries, fruity esters, tart lactic and acetic notes, flemish red like with more fruit, not very saison-like though. Fruity flavor, tons of jam-like blackberries, raspberries, and almost a shapr tart cassis like character, tart beery mineral and pitty, tannic, and wine-like with some oak, with an acetic sharp barrel infected character and a sour finish. THis may be a better sour beer than thier lambics they released a while back. Real nice.