Saint Somewhere Saison Athene

Brewed by Saint Somewhere Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Tarpon Springs, Florida USA

Noogfest ’08. The body was bright hazy yellow with a white head. The aroma was soap with some skunk hints. There was also some clove and cinnamon. The taste was skunky with some watered down lemonade. There was also some clove.

At Noogfest Four-O. Pours cloudy light yellow with whitish head. The aroma is nutmeg and apples, with some toast. The flavor is apples, baking spices (which makes it a little bit pie-like), and some distant farm notes. Not bad.

Objectively speaking: An extremely yeasty, highly original Saison that, and you’d definitely not suspect, comes from Florida.
I like: Powerfully aromatic, fully estery with vibrant fruit and spice medley – think of a pungent gewurztraminer. Very original flavours. Exclusive house character (a bit limey/gingery like a funky 7-up, unclean and musty). Malt is limited to a support role.
I dislike: Like for the Lectio, the finish stays rather dull and dead bready yeast cuts short the flavour development that was captivating up to now.

Upon de-caging the 750, the cork immediately shot out with a loud pop and a hard bounce off the ceiling. Wowza, that one could have put an eye out. Pours cloudy gold with a porous head of an inch that fell quickly. Not much for lacework and retention was short, giving way to a partial skim-coat. Aromatics lead off with a blast of pineapple-laced brett, lime pith, crushed juniper berries, and peppercorns. Lemony tart and spicy. Plenty of clove, menthol, and lemongrass. Light bodied and crisp. Dry with a slightly rounded honey-like edge. Starts slightly sweet on the pallet, which quickly gets crushed by lemon and lime pith. Mint, lime oils, ginger, and white peppercorns follow through. Almost medicinal in nature, ala Vick’s vapor rub. Finishes quite spicy and warming on the back of the throat. This ones pretty wild and funky in the nose, but the spicing is overdone on the pallet, which detracts from the drinkablity. Maybe some extended cellaring would mellow this one out. I was told that this is the latest batch also, so I would say it is quite fresh.

Courtesy of Beerlando: Poured a light dirty yellow color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of funky yeast is easily detectable and quite enjoyable. Taste is also dominated by the funky yeast but it is not as dominant as the aroma would suggest. Nice Belgian type malt base is also noticeable but hops presence is hard to notice. Body is quite full with some good carbonation and alcohol is not apparent.

Sampled at Noogfest. Fairly late in the evening. Well, late for me, I guess - i wasn’t drunk at this point, I was just exhausted from drinking all day. My notes mention white wine and soap, in a good way, with notes of bubble gum and banana and a touch of pine. Re-rate, August 15, 2008. Yep, its really good.

Powdery, peppery, apricot-fruity aroma. Great label, moderately cloudy applesauce color with a three inch head in an hourglass pilsener. Spicy and herb-floral - tastes like marigolds, notes of turmeric. Very light vinegar. Medium light body, spritzy mouthfeel that starts getting slippery as the CO2 burns off. Finishes out with black pepper burn. Enjoyable and unusual. Market Square Liquors, Killearn.

bottle, from carolina crew get together, provided by JCB. Great aroma, sweet & fruity, Like Warm apple pie with a funk streak. Pale hazed yellowy gold color, Small head, minor lace. Aroma take a turn for the worse, fruitiness faded and yeastiness funk and spice come on stronger. Lite body, watery mouthfeel, lite creaminess about it. Dry finish. Aroma was fun, after that not so much.