North Coast Le Merle

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

Date: September 06, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
Appearance: opaque yellow, fine white head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet malt aroma with a light lemon character and a nice spicyness
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, lots of bready yeasy character, nice spicyness balances the sweet malt, light lingering bitterness
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

750, corked and caged. Pours a luminescent, hazy toffee-amber with a towering, pocked, fizzy platinum blonde head. Gorgeous. Big orange pith nose; this beer smells more like oranges than probably anything I’ve tried. Fizzy, medium-bodied attack, with piquant citric notes bum-rushing the palate as soon as you tip the glass. Tangy mid-palate and a sharply fizzy, almost finish with nice acrid hops tying off the bundle. Odd combination of unforgiving and refreshing. Nice stuff. I hope they keep on with this one.

At Hops in Humboldt 2007 this was a cloudy orange with a fat white head and good lacing. Nose is all over the place with orange and grapefruit, peaches, pears, and apricots, and floral hops. A feast for the nose. Mouthfeel creamy and rich. Flavors are like the nose except there are some spices, and the finish is long and slightly sour. Exceptional; beer. Followed by a bottle this proved to be just as good.

Rating #1200. This beer is very underrated in my opinion. Pours hazy amber with a fizzy off-white head. The aroma is grainy with wild funky yeast, white grapes, peppery hops, pineapple, passion fruit and papaya. Medium crisp body with graininess and a good amount of crisp carbonation that helps the flavor instead of hindering. The flavors start with sharp funky flavors from the yeast along with the fruit from the aroma. There is also fairly rich malt that is somewhat detectable and gives body, but the funkiness covers most of the malt presence. The finish has a nice hop bite with complex spiciness. Big wild yeast characters are spotlighted as well. Thumbs up for this very well done saison. It is a great American interpretation of the style. A fine choice for this milestone beer.

Poured yellow with fizzy white head. Aroma of citrus and spice. Flavor was of citrus and had a light spicy finish. Refreshing and light tasting. Hid the 7% well.

Murky orange in colour, long lasting creamy white coloured head, good retention, great lacing. The aroma is of citrus, lots of yeast upfront, light spice, pepper, lemons, floral. The flavour is rather creamy, lots of yeast, some lemon zest, some orange, pepper spice, moderate sweetness. Creamy full bitter mouthfeel, medium body, high carbonation. Finishes lingering, bitter, creamy, some light alcohol. Pretty good, its a light saison for sure. Doesn’t have the funky punch one would hope for but it did start to grow on me after a bit.

500ml bottle shared by <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?U target=blank>mds, thanks Mike.
Opened on March 16, 2007.
Vintage 2005.

Pours out a golden/straw color with a good rocky off white head. Aroma of citrus, hops and slight grassy notes. High carbonation. Taste is complex and refreshing. Citrus, grass, slight pepper with a dry finish. Very nice beer, surprised to find this in a local store.

500mL bottle. Orange golden color. Huge, foamy, frothy, head. Aroma of tree fruits (orange, apple, pear), straw / hay, and barn. Flavors of straw, hay, wheat, light malts. Medium bodied. Wonderful champagne-like mouthfeel. This beer is lots of fun. Pairs wonderfully with grilled (Whole Foods Organic) chicken.