McKenzie Dark Saison

Brewed by McKenzie Brew House
Style: Saison
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania USA

On tap at the Kennett Square Brew Fest (connoisseur session). Popured a cloudy amber color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of citrus, yeast and light leather. Softer tastes of the same with a light spiciness. Lightly tart.

Yellow to ivory cream lasts and laces above the opaque cloudy medium to dark amber-orange body. From the first sniff… you know you’re gonna take a lot more sniffs. It might be the subtle maltiness, suggesting toasted bread now, cookies and honey then. Or it might be the delicious, delicate floral, grassy, perfumey and leafy noble hops. But even more likely, it might be the way that wonderful yeast strain ties them together through a flavour maze of cobwebs, old books, dough, must and all the farmhouse classics. Complex underlying fruitiness, namely honeymelon. Funky, phenolic. Medium bodied, very soft carbonation, yet the palate feels a bit foamy. Now that is a dark saison. Morrison, whose 2 previous saisons I had never fully understood the hype one scores a 3 points on this one. Complex, dry, funky and cohesive, what more do you want? Absolutely world-class.

Bottle... C&P’sLYFO Throwdown... Clear amber/copper ale with a little, fizzy, white head. The aroma, to me, mainly suggests ginger and sassafras. Light-bodied with a watery mouthfeel and modest carbonation. Bitter, spicy and thin. Abrasive, moderately bitter, dry finish. Not quite my cup of tea, but thanks to Dickinsonbeer for sharing the bottle! Most attendees really seemed to like it. * * Video = http://homepage.mac.com/maltajo/RATEBEER/iMovieThe

The Lure:
Funky figs leaking onto speaking brett. Piney hops preaching to the caramel malt, in turn teaching the grapey fruitiness to blend in. Superbly intriguing.

The Festivities:
Exultant peaches and indulgent earth touch the pregnant brett wilderness and the poignant fig sweetness. Rampant complexity meets touching drinkability.

Transcendence:
Ogling fall foliage.

Growler shared by dickensonbeer at the Rosso release. Very dark brown beer with a light tan head. Aroma is quite lovely. Soft fruit and a bit of light sweet spiciness. There is a bit of licorice and a kiss of toasted wheat/rye spiciness as well. Light citrusy note with a kiss of light mintiness toward the back. The flavour is a bit grainy with a bit of soft herbal flavour. As it warms, there are a few overly sweet notes as well, but overall, it’s a pretty nice beer.

I was pleased to see this one on draft yesterday. The beer arrived deep brownish in color, with a minimal white head. The aroma was very complex, providing hints of caramel malt, spicy florals, some fruit, and even some roasty malty porter type aroma notes. The aroma had bananas, nuts, caramel, tobacco, some dark chocolate, cabernet, floral citrus, and peaty barnyardy notes. The beer changed as it warmed, also. It started as a sort of dunkleweizen/saison/scotch ale hybrid, yet as it warmed, I noted more red winey grapey notes, no doubt provided by the Dupont yeast strain that is used in this. It developed hints of a less intense and non-sour Flemish red as it warmed, while retaining the base hybrid scotch ale/saison/dunkleweis elements. One of the more complex beers I have had, and one that begs for more investigation on my part. Well done, Scott Morrison.

Toasted malt base with plenty of cherrylike fruitiness, leafy tobacco, floral, grassy, haylike, herbal hops in the musty, farmy, funky aroma. Opaque, muddy brown body is topped by a decent, off white head that recedes to partial cover. Haylike, grassy, floral hops with plenty of tropical fruitiness, funky, farmy character and notes of chocolate and moderate bitterness. Medium light body with lively carbonation and expansive airy mouthfeel. Sampled at the Kennett Square Brewfest 2005.

Poured a hazy brownish gold color with a small, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of banana, nuts, spices, citrus fruits, and light yeastiness. Taste of citrus, some caramel malts, light spices, some faint roast in the background, and no alcohol anywhere to be found.