Sierra Nevada Brown Saison

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Chico, California USA

Sampled on tap at 1702, July 2009
The beer arrives from the tap a clearish, dark amber – brown color. The head is about half a finger in height and is a full tan color. The aroma has notes of cardamom, clove and perhaps a touch of plum. As the beer sits in my glass it begins to open up a bit more with aromas of pear, apple, black pepper, ginger and some sweetness that comes from esters more than actual sugar.

The beer tastes dry and spicy with a sharp, spicy phenolic note in the finish. Turpene like clove notes in the finish are joined by an herbal, even menthol leaning, hop bitterness. This has a nice high level of carbonation, more than one would expect from a tap offering, but it works well with this beer as it provides a prickly texture and a peppery bite. Phenols add a perceived sweetness to this beer that tastes quite a bit like clove.

My second pour of this beer is noticeably more fruit oriented, the spiciness actually gets quite a bit cleaner and it isn’t as muddled as it was initially. There is a touch of toasted malt character to this beer and there is even a touch of tartness that starts to come out. The tartness nicely accentuates more of the fruit notes in this beer. This is actually quite a bit more characterful than I was expecting. The yeast choice was clearly spot-on and Sierra Nevada fermented this in such a way as to contribute a lot of flavor to this beer. I hope to be able to try this a couple more times.

Had this at Taco Mac on Peachtree Street. Nice brown color. The beer was fairly transparent. Nice looking beer, but a little too clear for me. Nice thin head sitting on top that eventually faded away. For a saison I didn’t expect the dark brown color, but now I understand why it was. A rather weak aroma of fruit/yeast/caramel malt. Not a bad aroma, just not that pungent. A weird fruit aroma/flavor. The flavor was full of fruit, but mainly yeast. Not a very distinctive saison. Slight fruit/yeast flavor that is alright, but nothing special. The beer is not as thick or creamy as I would like it to be. Glad to have tried this but rather weak if you ask me. The fruit and yeast flavor is what stand out most to me, but again a bit weak on the palate to give it a higher score.

Serving: Draft Appearance: Brown with amber highlights and a small, off white head. Aroma: Fruity with notes of earth, hay, leather, and possibly some licorice. Very interesting. Taste: Light tart note at first followed by bubble gum, wheat, fruit, and clove. Some sour cherry or green apple came along towards the end. Very unusual. Palate: Medium carbonation with a medium-rich mouthfeel. Long, slightly bitter finish. Overall: An interesting take on a saison, but a bit much for a hot day.

Tap @ TacoMac, Alpharetta. Deep brown color. nutty, toasted malt aroma. Dry flavor. Lots of spiciness. Finish was a bit acidic with a good bit of toast and light fruit. A dark Saison, very nice.

Sampled on draft at D’s in Monroeville PA this beer poured a caramel-brown color with a small tang head. The aroma was musty, dryish and nutty. The flavor was dry, spicy and a bit musty and earthy with light sour fruity hops and a tart, tangy and bitter undertone. The finish was long, tarty, tangy and a bit fruity. Medium body. Decent.

Brown with small white head (on tap). Spicy, yeasty, fruity, dry and sour. A bit more malty than most saisons. Nothing too exciting.

Draft from Tyler’s, enjoyed with JCB. Clear brown pour with small white head that’s nothing much to speak of. Nose shows some interesting yeast and sweetness; a bit of malt. Tastes more sweet than most saisons (perhaps hence the "brown" in the name). The juniper berry flavor annoys a bit if one thinks too hard about it, but if you think about the yeast instead of the sweetness, this is pretty tasty.

On tap at Tyler’s, Durham, in the estimable company of durhambeer. Pours fairly nice, with a lustrous clear brown and a pretty minimal head. Soft and fragrant fruity nose, with just the faintest trace of anise and other spices. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but the flavor is pleasantly pert and fruity. Not bad.