Saison dEpeautre

Brewed by Brasserie de Blaugies
Style: Saison
Dour-Blaugies, Belgium

Bottle... DD Rating 3/21/07 ... Hazy straw-colored ale with a huge, fizzy, white head. Good retention. Delicate aromas of light grain, ancient yeast and earthy, aged hops. Uncomplicated, perfectly balanced flavors of stale pale malt, white bread yeast and a plethora of long forgotten herbs... meaning I really don’t know what they are. Light-bodied and watery with spritzy carbonation. Short, crisp, extremely clean finish. Well-made, but really not at all my thing. Refreshing!

Bottle from Knightly Spirits in Orlando. 2005. The aroma is a bit like an herbal infused baby powder with lemongrass, musty notes, barnyard, citrus and ginger making a play as well. Very nice range of smells and concentration. The body is light yellow with mild golden tones and the head a is a beautiful fluffy white affair that is lasting and about three fingers thick. Crisp carbonation on the first sip. The first things tasted are a sweet grainy note and some mild vanilla. Very dry. Not as much flavor range as aroma range. Some grassy hop notes linger far into the finish. The mouthfeel is somewhat light and spritzy and gets thin in the finish, but is still nice ont he whole. could have been more impressed by the flavor, but all in all this is damn enjoyable.

Thanks to Boutip for this bonus bottle. This stuff was loaded with volatile carbon dioxide. As soon as I removed the metal cork holder, the gunpowder gas ignited and sent the cork smoking into the ceiling. Poured an effervescent pale golden with a large frothy off-white head that left complex web-like lacing on the glass. Aroma is sweet and complex, with notes of grass, gingerbread, citrus, honey, and a bit of attic mustiness. Flavor is lightly acidic with notes of lemon, ginger, a bid of alcoholic dryness and some light grass hops. Acidity comes through strongest initially, but fades to a refreshing dryness in the finish. Body is nice and light but perhaps disappears too quickly on the palate. Overall a solid and interesting saison.

(Bottle, Akkurat, Stockholm, 10 Mar 2007) Pale yellow colour with a huge, almost explosive, white head. Tart nose with grassy hops and a dry, acidic character reminding of a lambic. Malty, tart taste with grassy hops. Rather dry and tart, with a slightly wheaty character. Thin to medium body. A bit different, but interesting, saison. (This was my no 666, so I did expect some Iron Maiden here, but hey, I can live with Slayer).

A Sim rate (bottle from ZBF): Very weiss-like aroma with subtle hints of vanilla. Lovely citrus in the flavour with not much else. Bright bright yellow colour. No head. No lacing.

Bottle at ZBF. This Saison has the flavor and taste of a barn at start, but will loose the smell of the barn and becomes sweet bitter of taste at the end. Re-rate 20008 Bottle at ZBF, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium: No barn smell this time, but still sweet bitter and now an higher rate.

Hazy white coloured, some light carbonation and an average white head. Very herby (spelt, citrus) aroma. Full palate. Finish is again very herby like, strong and long lasting.

Caged and corked 750 ml bottle. The cork had a rather cryptic "2.005" on it, which I assume to be the year of production. Poured a slightly hazy light gold with an outrageous bright white sticky head that threatened to overflow my glass with each pour. On the nose, it was wonderfully funky, with a ton of yeast character and some delicate, well-integrated spice notes (from the yeast and grain, not actual spices - I believe). Gorgeously harmonious in the mouth, with a firm spine of acidity supporting lovely dry crackery flavors. Really long and an excellent companion to the food.