North Coast Le Merle

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

pours a cloudy gold with mild fizzy head. sweet sour wild yeast aroma, fizzy front spritz palate with sour finish. mild middle and finish, relatively sessionably light.

Three fingers of lather float atop the furiously fizzing blonde ale. The nose is rife with hard-to-identify tropical fruit… kiwi and blueberry are easily pinpointed, but other scents frustrate with their elusiveness or ambiguity. Baby powder, wet canvas, sea salt, ragweed pollen and sumac seed combine with aromatic spice that corresponds to no culinary ingredient I can imagine. Flavorwise, the beer follows a narrower, yet differently directed path: mixed tart citrus, yeast, grass and wheatberries, and muted tastes of peach and mandarin orange. Hot alcohol is prominent. A lively mouthfeel features light body and creaminess, and sharp sandpaper carbonation… “spritzy” sums it up well. The saison tapers to a discordant grapefruity citric/bitter bitter and chalky aftertaste which, as carbonation wanes, trades bubbles for shrieking sourness of near-lambic proportions. Interesting and appropriately rustic, if unfocused and acerbic. Still, this beer craves crusty bread slathered with rich farmhouse butter, and a slab of crumbly sheepsmilk cheese. PS- the label is hideous.

I was a bit underwhelmed by this beer. For some reason I expected the makers of Old Rasputin, Old Stock Ale, and Red Seal to be able to make a little better Saison than this. Nonetheless, it wasn’t bad. It poured a pale, opaque yellow which reminded me of lemonade. Aroma was light, sweet, citrus-y and effervescent. In fact, this beer reminded me a great deal of Sprite or Sierra Mist. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really scratch my beer itch; it just seemed a bit insubstantial and almost in flavor like a shandy or a radler. Mouthfeel was very light and active. Not bad, but I can’t say I’ll be having this again. I got this bottle at Discount Liquor in Milwaukee, and split it with Surly Sober.

Silver Jubilee pours a dark straw color with a frothy white head. Nice medium intense aroma is fruity, yeasty, hoppy. Medium body with an expansive mouthfeel. Good taste of dry malts and herbal hops. Finishes crisp, clean, and dry. A nice belgian style from north coast. 12406

Pours a beautiful cloudy orange haze, that has a bit of a florescent glow to it. Smells yeasty and sweet. Mouth is sweet and very tart. Lemony if i remember correctly. I wasn’t surprised to see this a traditional flanders brew bc It reminds me of a Flemish Sour Ale.

Cloudy orange-gold with good, foamy white head / Floral, banana and spice nose / Medium body, moderately sweet, lively spritz, with good balance of malty body and some hops on the dry finish / Flavors of banana, apple, peach, lemon, coriander, and a touch of funky brett / Another good effort from NC.

750 from Knightly Spirits. It pours a typical Saison golden color with a dense, vigorous cream-colored head. Smells of citrus and coriander with notes of pepper and subtle vanilla. Starts off with citrus and pepper notes and has a bit of a dry, hoppy finish. Further on down the glass the citrus flavors come out more and it has a malty sweetness to it that is quite pleasant. Good stuff.

Bottle. Beautiful hazy golden body with a noisy soapy white head, excitable and attractive visually. Dry, dusty, tumbleweed and lemongrass aroma, fruity Saison yeast but I just know this is going to sucking liquid away. Taste is of light vanilla and lemon with peppery, spicy cracker malt and alcohol, orange rind and coriander and and that strong, dry yeast, as well as a bit of dust/cobweb. Presence is too strong felt here, just too heavy and weighty, not light and refreshing as I would prefer to style. Medium-full body and a touch oily. A little mango-hop and mineral water spritziness. Hit and miss.