North Coast Le Merle

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

22oz bottle shared by OldGrowth. Pours a nice crisp bright yellow color with a big white foamy head. Nose is peppery and spicy with hints of lemon and grass. Palate is clean and tingly, nice crispness. Flavor is spicy with some grassy dry notes and a nice freshness to it. Light bits of pepper and lemon as well.

Pours bright, hazy yellow with thin head. Aroma is Banana, yeasty, and slight hops. Taste is banana, bread, hopa dn malt that are well balanced. Finsih is bitter and sour. Nice all around.

The most striking thing about this beer is the huge, fizzy head, and the almost unbearable carbonation. The flavor/aroma are both very well blanced, with a refreshing dose of bitter hops coupled with a slightly sweetened caramel maltiness. Strong herbal qualities, and not too heavy.

Hazy lemon yellow, good head, nice pillow finish, very attractive. Aroma was spicy and fruity, with notes of coriander and lemon peel, along with yeast. Flavor was very similar, loads of spice with balancing citric fruit flavors, and a touch of floral bitterness from the hops. Touch of wheat as well, this almost treads into the territory of a wit in some ways. Highly refreshing, and perhaps the best American take on a Saison since Hennepin. I really enjoyed this, great example of the style.

Hazy golden with huge head. Yeasty and citrus aromas....tastes of banana\pineapple and other fruits. Yeasty, but not overly so. I quite enjoyed this. Very refreshing.

Poured a voluptuously effervescent golden with a large frothy white head. Rich aroma of spices, wildflowers, some piney hops. Flavor is light, spicy and floral, and very dry. Not exceptionally layered or complex, but very refreshing. Light fizzy body. Pretty nice saison.

Pours a hazy yellow with a shade of light brown and huge, frothy head. There is intense tropical fruit in the aroma. There is pineapple, peach, cherry, banana, lemon, and mango, along with grassy hops and an earthy and spicy quality. The flavor is very good - the fruits from the aroma really come through strong, and there is an excellent sweet/sour/bitter balance. I really like the earthy and spicy tones that come through, and it leaves a nice dry, tart finish. The palate is excellent. It is a light bodied beer done right - plenty of flavors, refreshing, smooth, and high carbonation. An excellent summer beer.

500 ml bottle. Pours an almost clear pale gold with an abundant white head. Fruity aroma with some yeast present as well. The fruitiness and yeast are the initial flavors that come through as well. Somewhat bitter hops finish.