Saison de Pipaix

Brewed by Brasserie à Vapeur
Style: Saison
Leuze-Pipaix, Belgium

Pours deep amber into a tulip. White head quickly subsides to skim surface. Lemon and anise aromas. Is that really lichen? Sure tastes earthy -- with minimum carbonation and a lasting sour pepper ginger finish.

Bottle courtesy of Plucier (unknown vintage but label looks dated): Poured a muddy amber color ale with a small foamy head with minimal retention and no lacing. Aroma is somewhat sour with some medium spices coming through and a medium funky yeast finish. Taste is dominated by some sour notes and light funky barnyard notes. I really appreciated the attenuation from the yeast as well as the light spices that provided some character. Body is about average with some low carbonation. Well done and wouldn’t mind to have an easier access to this.

A Mes rate: Reasonably old 75cl bottle from DHVL. Ok this was just about starting to struggle and should certainly be sampled when fresher than this but I still really enjoyed it. Amber gold colour with a good white head. Hoppy and grassy aroma with delicate fruit and sugar notes and the spice is clear as day. Very tangy flavour with plenty hoppage and a lot of the spice showing too. Alcohol is fairly apparent but I would say that is more a factor of age than how this drinks when fresh. Nice sour and liquorice notes too. Jolly good stuff.

750 @ Rudolfs sour tasting with Rudolf, IPFreely, Frylock & Jerc. 1993 bottle. perhaps a little past its prime. somewhat sour, very sweet, some spices, grassy. will rerate with a fresher bottle

Bottle @ YNWA, Kolding. [my 200th Belgian brew!]
Pours a muddy amber with a big frothy white head, some particles floating around. Aroma has barn, grass, berries, fruit and spices along with a little ’wet dog’. Round mouthfeel. Flavour is well-rounded, lightly sour, fruity, plenty of spices (coriander, herbs and much more). Wonderful brew!

Bottle sampled. Pours amber/red with a small off-white head. Aroma of fruit, citrus, spices, and sweetness. the flavor is sweet, fruit, spices galore, citrus, and finish tart. Good brew.

Capped, corked 750 ml. green bottle, my bottle doesn’t have a back label, so I have no idea what the vintage is, sampled in a tulip glass. Poured a cloudy orangey amber with a small foamy white head, settled into a soapy lacing. An old musty nose with sweet ginger, orange zest, peppery spiciness and apple cider, quite appealing. Good carbonation leaves a fizzy feel in the palate, crisp and dry, mildly tart orange peel balanced by a sweet ginger taste, a mix of coriander, pepper, earthy spices and herbs, apple cider-like fruitiness, a little lemon grass towards the end, dry finish, a good balance of flavors overall. A pleasant, enjoyable saison, a perfect sipper for a quiet Saturday night.

Shout out to my boy A-Rod. #500 the day after his 500th, and I’m not even 32 yet! 07/1994 brewed, 01/1995 bottled. Flat still brown yellow (maybe orange?) with absolutely no head, though a bit of a ring of bubbles surrounds. A bit of a haze. A dry astringency A bit of Bret, maybe even some Lactobacillis. A bit lof lemony citrus. A bit peppery with some very dry oak. A bit winey smelling, like a dry white wine. A bit vinous. A very thin, lightly watery body. Very drinkable. Absolutely no carbonation. A very very dry beer. The driest I’ve ever had. A bit of barnyard bret character. There’s some lactobacillis. This in part reminds me of a gueuze. A bit salty. There’s a bit of spice, but incredibly weak. Some pepper, lemon, a hint of straw. There’s a lingering salty lacto-twang that hangs on the tongue. Very light on the tongue with a lingering bit of oaky tannic bit, reminding me of a dry vinous wine. Not bad, maybe younger there is more complexity, but this appears to have held up very well. No major flaws. Though this may demonstrate some similarity to apple juice, but a fine one at that.