North Coast Le Merle

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Fort Bragg, California USA

Pours a cloudy dirty orange color with big bubbly head that sticks. Spicy grassy hops, lemon zest, bready malts, hay and a slight sour funkiness all come out in the nose. Crisp carbonation keeps it light and effervescent. Good bit of acidity. Sweet bread and hay flavors balanced by the aggressive carbonation (which immediately foams in the mouth) and a good dose of lemony acidity. Somewhat dry bitter finish. This is no little knock-off Saison, this is the real deal with nice acidity and even a mild funk. Would like to see how this ages.

Bottle. Funkier than any other American made Saison that I’ve had. Good. Hazy Golden with a big fluffy head. Funky sourness with an earthy, fruity and yeasty aroma. Above Average.

750 split two ways via Dan. Hazy golden in color with a nice big lasting head. Aroma of lemon zest, earthy hops, plenty of musty yeast, light orange and spice. Taste is light to medium bodied with some light honey sweetness and lemon zest, some grassy hops, spice, and a good amount of belgian yeast. This was a pretty good saison!

Pour is hazed deep golden with a big bubbled sticky white head...smell is super yeasty and some barnyard with hints of citrus...taste is faintly sweet with some citrus undertones...lots of yeasty flavor...super lively carbonation...one of the best examples of an american saison from a larger american brewery...

Very hyge & dense yellowish head over glowing orange-golden beer, very carbonated. Very nice garden herbs nose, leafy herbs, weeds, and... Dupont-yeast clone? Citrus, more garden weeds, bitterish background, but mainly very lightly sourish, wheat-like, no restsugars. Unripe strawberries finish. Bit burning MF, very Champenoise saturation. It’s quite good and indeed Dupont-like. It just isn’t... Dupont. The difference between quite good and genius? Thanks David, very interesting find!

Pours a cloudy stagnant piss-yellow, with a small bubbly off-white head. Fairly strong aroma of citrus, pepper, sweet tropical fruit, and some musty/funky undertones. Flavor is as expected with tropical fruit, lemon zest, a good dose of musty yeast throughout, some peppery overtones, a mild hint of sourness overall, and a slight candy sugar sweet undertone. Palate is medium, slightly sour and mildly bitter, with a healthy dose of funk through the long finish.

750mL bottle. Poured brilliant medium golden with a short, thick cap of white head and lively rising carbonation.. slowly-cascading lacing around the edges. The aroma picked up a very nice blend of sour lighter fruit and citrus skins, dusty yeast, and soft bready sweetness.. peppery spices tickle the back of the nose. The flavor had an overall sour and funky impression that I really dug.. lighter fruits, a little banana, and lots of pepper on the middle and the back-end.. sour, spicy, very refreshing finish. High, yet soft carbonation moved this across the palate nicely.. sour, funky, and refreshing. Nice one!

750 ml cork and caged bottle purchased at Oak Tree. Pours a great looking clear golden yellow with a huge white fluffy head that slowly recedes and leaves some great lacing. Yeasty aroma with notes of grain, bread, white pepper, lemon zest and tropical fruit. Medium bodied with nice carbonation and a slightly dry finish, actually not that dry for a saison. Grainy flavor of bread, pepper and slight fruit. I thought this was pretty good although the two nonbeergeeks I shared this with didn’t really care for it at all.