Oaken Barrel Saison

Brewed by Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Greenwood, Indiana USA

Bottle. An easy-drinking, nicely spiced, if not overly complex, saison. Cloudy, golden pour with big pillowy head. Aroma of coriander, yeast, lemon peel and hay. A note of floral hops. The flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. A light astringency in the finish. Medium body and lively carbonation. Enjoyable, though this doesn’t reach out and grab your attention.

750 ml bottle corked and caged pours golden amber with a tall white rocky head that leaves some decent lace. Aroma of slight hops, lemon and some earthy notes. Flavor is lots of bready yeast notes, some slight hops, lemon, earthy notes as well as some pepper spice at the finish. Palate seemed almost chalky. Dry at the finish. Not too bad.. I think it is a tad underrated here.

Hazy blonde pour with a thin white head. Decent aroma of spices, yeast and tart fruits. Unpleasant flavor of boiled vegetables with some fruits, spices and yeast, oh it feels sour too. The body is light with a creamy texture and expansive carbonation. Not good.

A beautiful, pale golden color, intense bubbles rising through the body, and a rocky, white head. Aroma was perfect-hoppy, lemony, woody, earthy, white pepper, clove, and a touch of fermentation funk and a solid, hony-like sweetness in the background. A good saison should have an aroma that changes every time you hold the glass to your nose and this one delivers. Flavor is the same as the aroma except that it is slightly less complex, maybe a little too sweet, but a complex restorative none the less. This is a great saison that generates a lot of flavor without being high in alcohol and is not overly dry and austere. A great combination of complexity and drinkability. As it warms there is a beautiful, lactic sourness that the Dupont strain delivers with age and this one is well aged.

Strong qualities of coriander, citrus, hops with a light yellow coloring. Thin head, but excellent beer.

750 ml bottle shared with several Quebecois and one other drunk American at tiggmtl’s going away party in Montreal, from a New Belgium glass. Glossy, bright hazy gold with a lasting but fairly miniscule head and some nice lacing....bready, yeasty aroma with nice touches of orange peel and some faint pungent spices, nothing terribly interesting, quite simple though effective enough....prickly carbonation and a soft mouthfeel are appealing but the bready, grassy start to this beer promise a lot more than the sourish, lactic qualities towards the finish deliver....just doesn’t come together.

2005 bottle, about 1 year-old, from MI2CA, thanks much Ted! Shared with the Montreal crew on 8/27/06.
Feverishly-polished golden-brass body is sparkingly clear, but the undisturbed sediment is thick on the bottom of the bottle. A large, rocky, white head recedes steadily, but sits at cover, with moderate lacing. Medium-small bubbles move about in the liquid. Gentle haze towards the bottom of the bottle, with a touch of melonskin hue.
Dull, papery/bready(astringent) coriander and ginger emanate forth pretty quickly and not too subtley. Still something to be said from the hops, however, which are intricate, deep, limey-mossy and maybe somewhat peppery. But rather, that turns out to be spicy/rancid vegetal notes that slowly consume the aroma. Though, it dosent seem like without that, it would be overly Belgian. Too clean a yeast with more fruitiness coming from the herbs than the esters. Round and juicy, a bit dulled in the maltiness by now, without that dry, attenuated, livliness that is much needed. Still, the aroma manages to dry out on the end, probably thanks to the spicing. A bit of sweet cream and vanilla are a bit confusing. Medium strength to the aroma with no alcohol noted.
Unfortunately the vegetal notes in the nose are tenfold in flavor, really giving a near-sourishness with old melonskin, stale coriander/ginger and vanilla. Attenuation could use a boost, though carbonation seems to be on, with no filtration problems. Some limey-herbal hops attempt to ameliorate the situation, but are engulfed in ginger. Typical American problems, though this one also brings the vegetal aspect, which is certainly no fun. No alcohol in the flavor, yeast is too clean.

Any first impressions?
-A sumptuous head bobs atop the hazy blond.
-Doughy yeast overcomes the apparently dry, herbal hoppiness in the nose.
-Vegetal leanings disturb the leafy, minty hoppiness.
-The frothy carbonation massages the lean maltiness, creating a beautifully authentic Belgian mouthfeel.

What if you dig deeper?
-The spicy hop bitterness has potential, but is joined by astringency.
-A faint drop of cream is evoked in the aroma, probably an offshoot of the doughy yeast.
-A butter creek flows by unannounced.
-It is sad to taste as many fine components as disappointing ones; a cleaned up version of this would be great, I’m sure.

Bottle; no date.