The Bruery Saison de Lente

Brewed by The Bruery
Style: Saison
Placentia, California USA

Original review date 3/11/2009... Good to see Patrick’s stuff making the rounds amongst us Massholes finally. I celebrate the arrival by putting this fine effort into my trusty St. Bernie’s chalice... Pours a great citrus honey color - classic Saison look with bluish-thin head and yeast wisps up top. A little cloudiness and ample carbonation at speed of traffic flow. Ooohhh... ...that orange zest, hay & barnyard scent from the mild Brett is combined with lots of soft vanilla sweetness and light yeast electricity. Soft caramel with mild peppercorn spice. The whole is much larger than the sum of its parts, though. Put in some nice pininess to the hops and stewed wheat and warmth and this is really perfect. As I told several people, I wanna bury my nose in this chalice like Tony Montana did with the mountain of coke in "Scarface." This is really fucking outstanding. It all comes together on the palate...the mild Brett funkiness, the yeast and big stewy grain electricity, the soft coriander and orange peel with a tiny hint of ginger, and a softly austere piney hop presence (Styrian Goldings?). Classic Old World with just a bit of new world hoppiness to bridge the frontier. NOW I feel like Chairman Kaga as he snickers after chomping on the bell pepper in the intro to "Iron Chef." Palate feel is also classic Saison...a little funk, quite yeasty and spicy with a little citrus bent. Those piney hops put it all together in Beautiful Chemistry and the finish is the gift that keeps on giving. Classic example of style. I remembered that Patrick & Co. made some fine stuff from last fall’s Belgian Beer Fest but this is insane. Well-crafted, traditional enough to be strictly on point for style but enough of a twist to break new ground. This one floored me and the next day I went out and found a few more bottles. Outstanding.

Pours like liquid gold w/ a tall lasting head. Smells wonderful like sweet cream and lemon rind. Medium nectar w/ superb carbonation. This has a defined Belgian IPA style bittering component that cleans and refreshes the palate effortlessly. Lemon rind, mild spice, tropical nectar, funk. The finish is bittered well w/ peach pit strength. It’s only mildy "wild".

Hazy gold. Huge, dense white head. Aroma is earthy and rustic with fresh grains, light sourness, mild bitterness, and plenty of barn. Flavor adds some spicy notes and some soft malt. Finish is dry and bitter with some funk. Medium body is perfectly carbonated. I could drink this all day long. Easily on the top tier of American saisons.

Bottle from SL. Nice score for those guys, glad it made it East. The pour was golden to straw, hazy, nice white head, big enough to get the bottle into the glass in less than three pours. The aroma was wheat, pepper, light yeast. The flavor followed, the spicing almost seemed to have some cloves in there too, but the pepper zing was quite nice, slight on the flavor, good zing factor, though. Light fruits, Mouthfeel was moderate to full for the style, nice carbonation in the mix. Very well done, smooth drinker.

Pours cloudy golden with a huge frothy/rocky white head. Strong fruity/funky aroma. Lots of brett, lemon zest, and pepper on the nose. Flavor is slightly funky with lots of brett overtones. A bit of tropical fruit, plenty of lemon zest, some grassy notes, and a nice peppery finish. Palate is medium, crisp, and spicy.

I wanted to pick out a festive beer for today, my Daily Devotee Day, and I settled on this one. 750 mL bottle from Whole Foods Market, Bowery, NYC. Spring 2009, I’m assuming. Pours a slightly hazy peach-amber color with a large frothy head. Decent head retention and lacing. Lots of visible carbonation. Aroma has a nice level of rustic brett notes that leave a very mild earthy funkiness along with notes of bread, cinnamon, spice, pineapple and stone fruits. Taste is peach, pear, pineapple, bread, peppery spice notes and mild bretty funkiness. Very light on the palate. Full bodied. This one is very, very nice.

Pours turbid deep golden orangy with 20fingers of white, sticky head. Nose is grainy malt, funky spice, floral yeast. Tastes floral, spicy and peppery, hoppy, with citrus and malt. as with all Bruery beers, I am very impressed with this one, as it is very complex, very well balanced, and very good. Beers like this don’t come from a Cracker Jack box!

Hazy dark golden with a white head. Very nice brett aroma is cheesy with barnyard piss, dung, and dry hay. Smooth medium body with soft carbonation. Nicely bitter flavors of dry hay and spices, with earthy funk and lightly sweet malts to finish. Great fucking brett brew.