Saint Somewhere Lectio Divina

Brewed by Saint Somewhere Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Tarpon Springs, Florida USA

"Idiosyncratic" in spades. Topnotch "kicklectic" florida take on a Belgian new school micro, not really ever sour but with decent aftertaste-extending acidity but more citrus like, a short spike of under ripe tropical fruit...oh wait, I mean over ripe star fruit. Yeah. Rambling aside, I like this alot, it’s got "heart", the most elusive of beer qualities, pretty much in spades, right up there with Bink and La Rulles and maybe even....FANTOME AND/OR DOLLE. Yep.

25.4 oz bottle. Cloudy garnet brown with a super foamy, smooth beige head. Nose is sour cherry, floral, oak and toffee. Lively, tickling carb gives this a pleasant airy quality without being watery. Taste is apple and toffee with yeast, honey and hints of citrus.

Scored this via trade with daknole. Many thanks! Champagne bottle pours a translucent reddish, amber with a sudsy, slightly beige head. Plenty of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Looks a bit like carbonated apple cider. Aroma is very fruity, apples, oranges, honey, grapes and some spice. Flavor is similar, grassy, green apples, some belgian candy, honey and a touch of grain. Finish has a ton of carbonation and a little bit or sweet and sour that’s almost unidentifiable. Too much fruit, too much carbonation, could be refined a bit more.

75cl bottle from Jans Wine and Boos #2 (Tampa, FL). Rated on 3/19/08. Pours a caramel amber color with thin off-white head which dissipates quickly to near nothing. Aroma is toffee, bread, hints of caramel, honey and sweet fruit. Taste is sweet with notes of malt, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, honey. Earthy barley flavor initially that transitions to a smoother, sweeter finish.

Thanks dchmela for the 750ml bottle. Served cellar temp. Abundant carbonation in this bottle, with bubbles coming up from the bottom of the pour for almost the duration. Rather light and clear amber pour with huge off-white head. Yeasty, malty, maple syrupy nose with some cinnamon baked apple and woody tart cherry notes. Neither overly spiced nor overly sweet smelling. A little sourness on the nose, which is promising. Alcohol very well hidden. I’m liking this more as I get deeper into it. Really takes on the qualities of a Flemish sour the more it warms. I think this would disappoint in a tasting, but if you have the time to drink it for awhile, it definitely rewards. Very impressed with this brewery so far.

Thanks to BeerLando for the 750ml bottle. Cloudy dark orange color with a large head. Aroma was yeasty (banana) with caramel malt and a hint of spice. Very sweet flavor, medium body and kind of boring.

In short:
How: Bottle 750ml, about 6 months Old. Shared on the Stone-Bourbon-Barrel-RIS-Hype-And-Disappointment tasting session with Montreal crew
The look: Cloudy dark-orange, very small off-white head
In long: Some of the flavours that came out were french toasts with some supermarket table syrup, wood juice and orange peels dipped in caramel. However what really stood out about this beer is how yeasty and dirty it is. This is not what we call a “clean beer”, quite the opposite actually. I don’t mind a dirty beer when it is done right and this was mostly the case here. But that dirtiness may tick off some people. One thing for sure this is what we can call a “Real Man’s Beer”, not really because of its taste, but because it took four of us to remove the cork.

Objectively speaking: An extremely yeasty, highly original Belgian-inspired amber ale.
I like: Quite aromatic, fully estery. Very original flavours. Exclusive house character (a bit limey/gingery like a funky 7-up, unclean and musty).
I dislike: Rather dull finish where dead bready yeast cuts short the flavour development that was captivating up to now. Quite sweeter than their Saison with its caramelly leanings that please me less since their yeast seems so suited to refreshment.