Southern Tier Cherry Saison

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Lakewood, New York USA

650 ml bottle - pours a cloudy apricot with a healthy white head. Slightly strange, musty aromas, but good - yeast, a hint of fruitiness, cherries, I guess, but they could just as well have called this one canteloupe saison and I would have been just as convinced. Flavour a bit more approachable - slightly boozy, with a blending of fruits and candy sugar. A slightly bitter/sweet finish. Good one.

In short: A sweet woody and slightly fruity (no cherries) beer. Quite drinkable as long as you don’t expect a “Cherry Saison”
How: Bottle 22oz, consumed fresh about two months after the beer initial release
The look: Partly cloudy blonde body topped by a medium white head
In long: Nose is a tiny bit funky with woody notes reminiscent of a 2x4 lumber more than traditional wood barrel. Taste has fruity flavours but not much (if any) traditional cherry flavours. I would have never guessed this was even remotely a cherry beer. I did get Gooseberries (also known as ground cherries) but that’s far from a red cherry flavour. I also got some bananas and pineapples. Taste is lacking Saison character and the tiny wilderness from the nose is nowhere to be found in the taste. The beer is also rather sweet. Woody notes and light tartness saves it from being just a bland fruity beer. Quite drinkable but if you’re hoping for a Cherry Saison you’re in for a disappointment, there’s as few cherries in this beer as on Sunset Strip at 3AM.

(Bottle at Oliver Twist, Stockholm)
On August 23, 2008
Cloudy pale golden color, whit ehead. Sweet and almond paste scent, fresh. Sweet, alcohol, bitter taste. Dry and alcohol aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel, though dry still. Medium bitterness.

Bottled at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Hazy golden, no head. Artificial vague cherry jam aroma. Sweet and fruity with bold, hard mouthfeel - like chewing on plastic. Some marzipan and orangey hops. Medium bodied with severely sharp metallic edges and some late bitterness. Sticky, bold and clumsy with flavours that don’t go together at all and a malt structure from hell. A travesty of the saison style.

One of my top Saisons. 650ml bottle. Could actually taste no alcohol in this, i was very surprised to see its 8%. Nice blend of cherry (which i don’t normally like) and spices. Very natural tasting. Delicious. Another great brew from Southern Tier.

Starchy cherry finish which is on the medium side with a dose of spices. I’m not getting too much of the woodiness except for a slight bit in the finish. I wonder if the cherries were fermented in the gas tank of that pickup on the logo. The alcohol is very present and not subdued. The aroma does impart a nice tart cherry flavor. It also seems more like a Belgian style ale than a saison. The yeast is dominant throughout.

Bottle. Poured a nice golden body with thin head. Aroma is light spices, oak and wood. Flavor is light oak, spices, yeast, earthy and light fruit. I didn’t get much of the cherry in this one and was surprised on how much I liked this one.

Bottle. Slightly hazy golden with a small white head. Odd aroma - a vague hint of cherry of you know to look for it, some oakiness, some musty yeast, hint of spice, and something else that I can’t really identify. Medium mouthfeel. Flavour is rather disappointing - again, a very vague hint of cherry, but it’s overpowered by notes of wood and caramel, a hint of cream, and a mild spiciness. Quite a strange beer - I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.