Southampton Cuvee des Fleurs

750 bottle on-site at SHPH - Thanks again Spence! #1100 for me. Lightly hazed amber, thick creamy off white head. Deep rich nose of fresh flowers, toasted caramel, honeyed biscuits, and grass, with softer tones of peppered bread dough and lemon meringue. Intense flavor profile of candied flowers, booze, and sugared fruity tones. Rounds out well with just the right amount of hop bitterness to pull it all together. Medium to full bodied, medium carbonation, dry floral, lightly bitter finish. A truly unique and tasty experience. Wish I had got another bottle to go...

I know it’s described as merely a saison but it felt more like a good Belgian tripel. Wild flowers in the nose? Maybe, but good yeast and bread and notes of something. Huge head on a clear golden body. Again, flavor more of a tripel than a saison ... with bread and yeast and ... ok .. wild flowers instead of what I would have called a grassy tripel note. Lively in the mouth. Good finish. Delightful.

Pours a clear gold with a medium head of tiny bubbles. Aroma is fruity and appetizing with much less floral than I expected. Flavor is interesting, it starts with a taste I can only describe as flower like, which I have not found in any other beer. This quickly changes to a more grassy flavor and a bitter hop finish. Very unique, and quit tasty.

Pours copper gold with a nice well sustained white head. Smells of lots of fruit (apples, peaches, pears, oranges), caramel, sugar and wheat. Tastes of hay, grass, fresh fruit, pepper, nice perfumy hints throughout. Mouthfeel is moderately bitter and full. Finish is of hay, light pepper and has many farmhouse qualities. Well done!

750 ml bottle, bottled at Southampton Publick House. The first glass I poured was a clear gold with a large, frothy white head and lots of carbonation. The second glass I poured was a hazy, almost antique gold color, with a slightly smaller head and a bit less carbonation. I’m guessing there was some sediment on the bottom which did not mix with the initial pour. Other than the appearance, both pours were identical in terms of aroma, flavor and palate. Very nice aroma of malt, rock candy, and a touch of honey. The flavor was also a nice combination of malt, barrel syrup, honey, a bit of orange, all followed up with a warming alcohol burn. Quite good and a tip of the hat to the folks at Southampton Publick House for a job well done.

2005 vintage. This consumer-friendly bottle saw fit to uncork itself after I removed the wire lid, projecting its stopper into my kitchen ceiling. Poured an extremely effervescent golden with a huge fizzy/frothy white head. Extremely difficult to pour without getting head everywhere. Aroma is a complex yet bizarre mix. I get wafts of honey, lemon zest, grass... I don’t want to say "floral" given the product description, as that might come across as a tad simplistic, but the sweet mustiness of the aroma is quite reminiscent of sticking your nose into a powerful garden flower. Potent and complex but I’m not crazy about some of the edgy mustiness. Flavor follows from the aroma, as I got a predominantly sweet flavor mixed with herbal honey, perhaps a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, some grassiness, wtih the alcohol becoming more prevalent as the mouthful progresses, leading to a rather dry finish. The same mustiness that makes the aroma complex yet confusing arises in the flavor. Body is light and effervesces quickly in the mouth, but without the carbonated liveliness I usually look forward to in this style. Overall, I’d say it is quite complex and potent, but I’m not sure I found the musty floral qualities to be all that accentuating. For the record, I’ll state that I’m not the hugest fan of wildflower aromas, so that mild distaste might have leaked into my rating. Certainly by no means a bad saison... I just thought that the floral gimmick kept it just above decent.

RERATE: Gave the beer another chance, and I’m glad I did. Sampled about ten degrees farenheit warmer than last night. The aroma seems somewhat more pleasant, as the mustiness has faded a bit without losing the floral essences. The flavor feels a bit drier and much more drinkable. The body has a bit more bite to the carbonation. Ok, this has elevated in my eyes from a just decent saison to quite good.

2007 batch, this one hand-bottled two days prior to the rest of the batch being bottled for sale at the brewery. Cool. Soft orange pour, big white head, random lacing. Huge honeysuckle! Aroma is very powerful and really breathtaking. Also scents of orange sherbet, herbal and grassy hops. Smells so green and alive! This is incredible, proof that Phil Markowski’s passion is as intense and fiery as ever. Other aromas come to light soon after, including coriander, cinnamon rolls, big lavender, grassy hops, more intense honey and heather. This smells wonderful, truly a great aroma. Brutally intense. The backside of the inhalation brings a tang I associate with cave aged Emmentaler cheese, the funkier variety from France. Flavor is mostly similar. Very full bodied and sweet up front with a nicely drying grassy hop finish. Lemon, spice and everything nice. The consistency reminds me of homemade soda at times. Great yeast character completes the extravagant mouthfeel. A lingering sweet/spice combination leaves a tingling residue on the inside of my cheeks. Only major "flaw": at this very young age the alcohol really pounds at the palate. Otherwise this beer comes up just short of perfect for the style, including major bonus points for creativity in flavoring. I’d put this in the "phenomenal" or "bad-ass" category, definitely one I’d love to have again soon.

Tap, DBA. They had just tapped this earlier in the day (assumedly to coincide with the Daze of the Devil Festival at Hop Devil). Cloudy honey-yellow appearance; white head with great retention. Awesome floral aroma, with ginger and spice and yeast. Full, chewy mouthfeel: plenty of yeast, vibrant carbonation; floral dominated, with citrus hops and spice. Long, yeasty and citrus finish. The best saison I’ve had, and my favorite beer of the weekend.