Southampton Cuvee des Fleurs

Brewed by Southampton Publick House
Style: Saison
Southampton, New York USA

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.

Tap- A nice cloudy yellow, orange look. The head is thick and creamy with plenty of carbonation. Lively beer with an aroma of fresh daisy

Golden, smacks of alcohol. Thinnish like a typical Saison. Herbal/grassy flavors with lots of fizz.

Courtesy of The_Epeeist. 2005. Glowing, hazy gold. Large, foamy, fluffy, airy, white head. Flavor and aroma: musty, grainy, floral, perfume, fragrant herbs, earthy hops. Balanced medium body. Awesome. Have to get more.

Bottle, with ClarkVV and Sully. Golden colour. Aroma is flowery/spicy. palate is sweet and quite folowery and spicy, as it was in the aroma. I’m not sure what flower is responsible for the ginger, but i get definite ginger characters. I’m not a fan of ginger , so it inevitably affected my score, to much flowery spicyness for me.

Bottle, 2005. Pours a golden honey color, very clear (at least the top is) with a sudsy white head. Nose is yeast, cheese, apples, candy sugar, floral - I assume that’s the flowers brewed in - bread, hay... a great saison aroma. Flavor is very fresh - lemony, pear, only slightly bitter, but almost tart. Dry finish, very carbonated, but a nice dry finish. A great take on a saison, not outrageous, but different enough to please. rerate - mega spicy, no rating change, i still love it.