North Coast Le Merle

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

750ml bottle pours with a thick white head that lingers. Aroma is musty and hoppy with a bit of a chalky grassy tone. Appearance is slighty hazy and deep straw yellow just shy of orange. Taste is as to be expected from a saison, firm hop bitterness, some belgian yeast complexity, dry finish. Mouthfeel hoppy, full, and carbonated. Overall impression very drinkable, refreshing for meals or drinking solo.

750ml shared by Jan Primus at our second KW group tasting. THanks Jan! pours a very nice golden straw with a small white head. Aroma: Obscenely fruity, like sweet and fruity to the max, totally covering up some Bretty characteristics that are overwhelmed. Some malts too but really not a whole lot. Flavour: Very fruity, straw berry, but with some fast spritzy lemon lime Brett characteristic, some salty bite in the finish and some indistinct malts. Very sweet and a different interpretation of the style no matter what they claim. I can appreciate it but it wasn’t 100% what I would be looking for. A bit of a rough boozy edge to it as it warms, not a good quality. Still some okay Brett musk but really not enough.

Pours an opaque yellow with a fine bubbled white head and some lace. Aroam is medium sweet with Pils malt, light lemon, bread and nicely spiced. Flavor is initially sweet malt flavor with a good deal of bready yeastyneess and ample spice. Lingering bitter/dry finish. Mouthfeel is crisp citrus with a medium body.

Bottle. Pours a nice orange color with long lasting, bubbly head. Smells of citrus, yeast, coriander and bananas. Nice carbonation. Nice bread flavors with banana and a little alcohol bite on the back end. Overall, a good beer.

Nice orange color, hazy, decent white head. It smells pretty yeasty. Some citrus in the flavor, yeast. The alcohol is well hidden and this is easy to drink but it seems like the saisons I’ve had have more spicy, pepper flavors than this one. This was interesting but i don’t think I’ll go back to it. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-16-2008 01:20:23

Hazy orange with a foamy white head that dissipates into a speckled white film. Aroma is piquant apple skins, with bretty acidic notes. Taste is very light and fruity with apples and acids. Fairly dry, but that is confused by the fruit and intense carbonation. Bitter tannic elements in finish. $8/750ml

Pours cloudy golden, moderate white head with good retention though lacing is scant. Aroma is characteristically musty with hints of spices, pepper, and fruit. Taste begins with a moderate sweetness that dries out nicely and leaves a lasting dry, peppery finish. Fairly light, crisp mouthfeel with good carbonation. Initially I had thought this might be a bit too sweet but the dryness wins out. A very balanced beer, quaffable even.

Bright orange in color and hazy with a good sized white head. Aroma is of apples, yeast, banana, coriander and citrus. Taste is of yeast, spices and banana.