Southampton Cuvee des Fleurs

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

Nice herbal and yeasty aroma, with a little spice. Pours hazy and drinks very even, with a nice mix of sweet and dry moments (sweet first, then drying finish). It wasn’t as complex or floral as expected, but a refreshing saison nonetheless.

’05 bottle. straw golden color, clear. lots of fizz up the center. tall fluffy white head. puffs of clingy lacing ledges. aroma is malty sweet like honey and cookies, floral like salad flowers, and spicy like white pepper with yeast. flavor is much like the aroma, which is nice! flowery malt, sweetish and tangy. the spicyness is more like candied/crystalized ginger. pretty high carbonation that kicks up the spicyness. dryish finish/aftertaste.

Pours out a carbonated, somewhat cloudy yellow color. The aroma is intense and very intriguing of flowers, spices and maybe some notes of fennel? The pour produces a rather large fluffy white head. The taste is refreshing with a nice complexity of flowers, fruit and some spice. Very interesting brew.

Orange blonde color with a thin white head and yeast in suspension. Heavenly aroma and flavor of yeast, flowers and citrus. Sweet finish. Very smooth texture, medium body. A complex and well balanced beer, again Southampton amazes me !

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.

750ml bottle. Thanks Tim! huge aroma; cloves? spice, floral & wildflower honey. Light golden color. Taste is huge spice, very floral (dandelions?) Soft mouthfeel.

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

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.