Lost Abbey Brouwers Imagination Series Saison (w/ brett)

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Saison
San Marcos, California USA

Sampled at RBSG tasting. Pours medium golden with a white head. Nice big brett and citrus aroma. Nice soft pillowy texture. Tart and citrusy with a semi dry finish. Very easy to drink.

Bottled at Lost Abbey. Poured healthy medium golden with a nice cap of short white head. The aroma picked up sweeter toasty barley and sour bready notes upfront with dry Bretty funk, pineapple, and floral hoppage around.. maybe a hair too sweet, but quite nice. The flavor was bright and lively with lemon zest and dry fruity bitterness over a bready base.. finished tart and spicy with a refreshing citrus twist. Drier on the palate with solid balance and a hefty dosage of hops.. felt very good. Excellent brew.

Tap at Brouwers. 8/10/08

This could very easily be the best saison I’ve ever tasted. An absolutely exceptional beer in my very favorite style, a riot of rich rustic flavors across the palate, sweet malts minging with sour and bitter notes from the brett, beautiful modest funky complexity, everything in perfect balance. Sensational aroma, I just can’t say enough about how good this saison is. Divine. 9/4/9/5/18=4.5

Bottle at Brouwers 8/15/08

A nice beer, but not the same beast I had from the tap last week. The brett is much more subdued, and instead I get a lot more cloves from the yeast. It’s very good, but it’s not as good as standby and standard-setter Saison Dupont. I’ve got to admit I enjoyed the beer but at the same time was a bit disappointed after the glory that this one was on tap. Maybe with a year of age? I don’t know. I’d call this one at about 8/4/7/4/16=3.9. (But the score for the beer on tap stands - that’s what this one is capable of being.)

From a 750mL Bottle. Mostly transparent, golden yellow colored pour with a tall layer of ivory head. Lots of brett in the nose, but it has a nice floral quality with suggestions of pear skins and white pepper. There’s a light mustiness, but the brett character is on the clean end of the wild spectrum, meaning it’s not excessive on the common "horseblanket" or "barnyard" traits. Medium light bodied, crisp carbonation with a moderately dry palate. While the finish is dry, the texture still has a soft malty texture. Flavors of light lemon zest citrus and white grapeskins up front on the palate, along with some milky wheat. Toward the finish, some herbal coriander notes come in. Finishes dry, with a light refreshing acidity. This is really good, and transforms Carnevale from something solid into something great.

75 cL bottle. Pours clear and yellow with a lacing white head. Light brettish aroma with a mild caramel smoothness. Prickling carbonation mouthfeel. Light dry and mild orage fruity with accent of other fruit too. Smooth and easy fruity finish.

RBSG ’08. Sampled at the Lost Abbey tasting from the bottle. Very crisp and light aroma of brett funk with a background of Simcoe hops. Tomme was explaining that this is a hybrid of Carnevale Ale. Lots of citrus in the flavor, with a bit less brettanomyces influence than the aroma. A good amount of bitterness on the finish. Light sweetness that ends dry. Well balanced.

~RBSG ’08~

Big tasting at Lost Abbey. Pours a cloudy golden sheen, with big white pale head, and dripping, sticky lacing. Aromas of dry funk, orange zest, some interested roasted malt quality. Sweet flavors, dry, no funk, but nice, sticky floral leaves, dry yeast. Dry body gives way to something very refreshing and crisp, very nice.

Pours bright and deep golden. Nose and flavor are clove, spice citrus and other summer fruits. A bit smooth on the palate.