North Coast Le Merle

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

Pours cloudy yellow/gold with a thick white head. Aroma is sweet citrus, honey. Belgian yeast and coconut. Taste is sweet with Belgian notes and mild citrus hops. Thin body, medium carbonation clean crisp finish.

750 ml bottle thanks to some generous soul at the Utah Beer Blog beer tasting. Pours a cloudy apricot color with a large white head. The aroma is super spicy, loads of orange and lemon, apples perhaps. The flavor was very enjoyable; zesty lemon, apples, tart spices, flavorful and a well made saison.

I really like this saison - I’ve had a few bottles and recently bought two more for the purpose of rating and enjoying. The aroma is very citrusy, though I’m unable to differentiate all the types. It pours a golden orange with a big head. There was a bit of yeastiness that mixed well with the citrus and spice flavors. In my opinion, it’s rated a bit low here, so that encourages me to look forward to trying the saisons that are rated higher and perhaps re-rate this one in the future.

750-ml bottle Macello’s, Lafayette, LA - Aroma: floral, spruce, pineapple, mango, orange, lemon, spicy (hop), sweet (malt), alcohol, cheese (yeast); Appearance: hazy, pale-golden color, off-white head, some laces; Flavor: sweet, salty (malt), sharp, slight bitter (hop), sour (yeast); Mouthfeel: medium bodied, oily texture, lively-moderate carbonation, long-dry finish; Overall: a lovely, sharp and fruity hopping balances a sweet-n-sour, juicy malt with a refreshing dry finish. Another one that must be amazing on tap.

Hazy dark yellow with a small head. Aroma has some belgian spice, yeast and some fruit. Flavor is well balanced, drinkable. Good flavors of fruit and spice. Simple but good.

750 ml provided by my good friend Greg. Pours a very murky dull golden hue, well carbonated with an eggshell white head that is fairly big and bubbly, dies to a smaller layer, laces ok. Aromas are fruity esters, pear and apple, some yeasty spice comes in fairly strong, sweeter with some nice fruit and spice. Yeasty and grainy. Initial is fruity, lemon, pear, and apple with grainy malts, some nice acidity, yeasty spice and Belgian appeal. A creamy mouthfeel, lighter side of medium, with fruity esters, cereal grains, and a subtle smooth Belgian yeast spice. Finish is grainy, a touch buttery though.

A peach colored beer with almost no head. The aroma was fruity. The taste is fruity & spritzy with some slight funk & was like Sprite with some fruit flavor added. Boring.

750 mL bottle. Pours a hazy golden orange with fluffy, long lasting offwhitehead. The aroma is spicy yeast and fruity hops with a little bit of woodiness and alcohol. The flavor is lemon, yeast, coriander, apricot, starfruit, and plentiful hops. The finish is dry and refreshing with a mild fruitiness. Definitely on the hoppy side of the style, but can’t say I have any complaints about that.