North Coast Le Merle

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

Perfect appearance: huge frothy, whhite head that lasted a long time. Color was yellow. Aroma was floral, herbs, grass, and clove, but didn’t have the bite that a Dupont has. Good lively carbonation. Much better than I had expected. OK, but I doubt I ’ll buy any more.

Poured a hazy golden, amberish type color with a huge honkin’ head and great lacing. The aroma was coriander, cloves, pepper, light citrus, witbier like with very slight floral notes (w/o being a floral beer at all). The flavor was pepper, amber malts, both of which kept this from being mistaken for a witbier instead of a true saison. A dry and crisp finish, some sourness, not super funky or wild, definitely not "sweet." A very nice stateside saison, imo, although my numbers came out higher than I would have thought. Bert, a great big thanks for this opportunity! Re-rate, 1/08 (Le Merle vs. Silver Jubilee), really identical notes: Bottle went loud pop (champagne-like) upon opening, golden pour with some haze, lots of carbonation bubbles steadily rising to the top, generous white head. The aroma was bananas, light oranges, floral notes, slight yeast and funk, some spices. The flavor followed the aroma, but also included some more pepper notes with warmer temperatures, citrus notes, and even a touch of grassy hops in the finish. The mouthfeel was highly carbonated, crisp, clean, dry, great finish, highly drinkable. I will not adjust ratings, dead on, nearly identical experience as my first and I didn’t even know I was rating the same / aliased beer.

Nice looking 500ml corked bottle Golden pour with a large white head. Smells of nectarine and belgian yeastiness and other spices. A highly carbonated light dry palate greets the tongue and flavors of citrus, malty sweetness, a hint of pepper and spice, and a tangy acidity, which fades on the back of the tongue to a slightly bitter finish with a nice touch of peachiness. There is no alcohol heat despite the 7.3% ABV. A good beer, yet not quite within the parameters I’ve associated Saison with in the past -- something lacking in the spice/wild area. Not that that is a bad thing! My wife also liked it, and she rarely enjoys any beer.

slightly bigger-than-average bottle with cork and cap (which was firmly lodged in the bottle). medium to slightly-darker-than-straw gold color with a huge white head that sticks to everything it touches. pleasant aroma of pale malt, funky yeast, and grassy grainy hops. although i know that North Coast is a relatively large microbrewery, this beer is well-executed in that i can picture it being brewed, and iin that picture there’s nothing approaching commercial or industrial! feels a little artificially spiced, as if salt and pepper had been added to it to make up for absent flavor. light and fresh and showing no signs of the 7.3% alcohol, i believe this beer would be exquisite with many foods. on its own it’s only ’good’ but i wonder what it would taste like with roast turkey, pasta, mildly spiced asian food.... i’ll buy more for thanksgiving dinner!<!-- br --> it’s obviously no dupont or fantome, but this beer does manage to hold its own.

Pours to a very rapidly carbonated hazy golden straw body with a huge fluffy white head. The aroma has a dry yeasty saaz hop-esque quality. I don’t really care for it. The flavor is spicy, peppery, minerally, strange fruitiness. The palate is extremely velvety. The flavor and palate make up for the aroma.

Very hazy straw colored w/ a fairly tall white head. aroma is a bit grainy some almost stale yeasts and hints of bread. Light fluffy palate. Flavor is well spiced a good belgian yeast some light hopping in the finish. Decent little beer.

Glowing and opaque yellow with orange tint. Fluffy white pillow of head looking similar to a cloud. Also, towards the end of the bottle white clumps of protein have started to develop. A full aroma of true authentic Belgian yeast in affect that shows character of banana and spices. The flavor has the same to say about it with more spice to be found and only a dash of pepper. Has a minor flavor of a citrus style cologne or perfume that gives this saison a bit more of a edge. Carbonation is perfect with consistent CO(2) level and a fine texture that is if this was passed through a filter. A fair beer but for a 25th anniversary a little to tame.

Hazy light orange pour. Aroma of brett, fruits, yeast and noble hops. Good flavor of brett, fruits, yeast, hops and herbs. The palate is medium and creamy with soft carbonation. A very nicely done saison, feels very authentic.