New Belgium Saison

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Bottle. Thanks. Deep golden in color with a nice white head. Citrusy malty aroma. Corn notes. Cooked vegetables? Malty and citrusy flavor. Yeasty. Coriander. Finish is dry. Decent.

Pours a hazy yellowish/gold color. Aromas of tart fruit, bread, hint of citrus. Flavor is malty/citrus. Leaves a yeasty orange aftertaste. Not for me.

Orange-gold, clear; small whitish head. Very flowery nose, with aromas of special grains, coriander-like with a streak of caramel. Human sweat, coriander, phenolic, bit Brett-like, citruspeel, very "farmyard", anyway. Slightly burning MF, ending a bit watery. Not exactly uplifting beer. Search again.

Well, that wasn’t worth pushing through the crowds for a sample. Citrusy, soapy, floral aroma. Clear golden body with a fine bubbled, low, white head that recedes to ring with some lace. Husky, grainy, cereal malt flavour with soapy, floral, hay, herbal, citrusy and fruity notes that don’t blend well together. Moderate finishing bitterness. Medium body with fair carbonation. Sampled on tap at GABF 2005.

This one was a lttle disappointing to me, as this is my favorite style. No off flavors, just not very spicy or yeasty. Looked very good but the flavor was a little too sweet, reminding me at times of BubbleYum gum. Not offensive, but not that interesting.

Draught at Falling Rock in Denver. Pours golden brass with a white foamy head. Wheat and yeast banana aromas. Bitter hoppy yeast flavor with a wheat caramel malt body. Medium bodied and creamy palate, somewhat thin as well.

Aroma: hay, grass, weeds, farmhouse, light cream, honey, summer
Appearance: light murky yellow, large white head, lacing
Flavor: some cloves, light bananas, malts, grass/hay, light mint, coriander
Palate: smooth, soft, biting mint-grass aftertaste

Draught at GABF and Falling Rock, GABF 2005 weekend. Pours a brassy, lightly chill-hazed copper-gold, with none of the samples having a well-retained head. Some wispy spots of lace remain on the edges, but nothing spectacular for appearance, by any means. Aroma is severely dry, grainy and filled with bitter, borderline astringent herbs and spices. The lavendar, while nice, is about the only pleasant thing going on here. The Belgian yeast is soft, moderately fruity (lemons, oranges, pears). Fairly mysterious aroma does not allow much of a glimpse of what is to come, other than to foretell much dryness! And dry in flavor it is. Biscuity, husky, grainy malts and a moderate carbonation, with lemons and old toast. Wheat keeps the body very dry, and the mouthfeel smooth and uninspired. As it warms, I think it would be incorrect to say that it gets sweet. It gets sort of oily-tart, with a bittersweet sort of thing going on. Almost like oxidation, though without the sherry notes. Another challenging beer to describe. Mouthfeel is lively, with the wheat adding some pleasant aspects, but the carbonation is not tight, nor is the beer substantial. Seems too filtered even on draught. Strange.