Bottle at Woodshop 6. Pours with hazy golden hue and a large white head. That slowly fades. Aromas are estery, light phenol, honey, bready and mint. Light citrus notes. Flavors are fruity, honey, pear, peach, bready. Estery. Lavender and dried apricot. Medium spice. Dry finish, lively bubbles. Seems to have held up quite well.

2005 bottle shared by CaptainCougar at the DC Local Gathering. Pours a pale, orange amber with a thin, cloudy white head. Smells like a good oatmeal cookie, spices, ginger, sweet dough. Flavor has a slight sour pucker, spice, ginger, slight pepper, oranges, candied lemon peel. Finish is slightly salty, slightly sweet and slightly sour.

750ml aged bottle shared by CaptainCougar. Murky orange-brwon color. Crazy unique gingerbread aroma. Lots of ginger and herbal sweetness in the flavor. Very soft on the palate, with some black pepper as well. Fluffy and light. GIngerbread really comes through solidly to me, with some brown sugar smooth out by the funky, at times tart, herbs. Unique and quite enjoyable.

750 ml bottle generously shared by csbosox. Pour is cloudy orange, with some ruby, limited whitish head. Aroma of sweet, honey ginger, very full. Some wild yeast and hay after it opens up. Taste is initially a sharp ginger, that transitions more into sweet honey malt, then the very long aftertaste has the grassiness. Some waxy bitterness. Quite a bit going on in this one, very expressive. Palate is medium, mouth coating. Spiciness is really the dominant story here. Thanks for sharing this rarity Chris.

2005 750mL bottle shared by SuIIy on 2/3/07
Highly unfiltered, leading to some particles and haziness despite the best efforts to leave it all in the bottle. Faded brass, with some stronger peach and tangerine hues and tiny, very plentiful bubbles roaming about the liquid. Off-white head is initially medium in size but quickly fizzles to partial cover and ring, leaving sporadic lacing. No doubt the ginger and other herbs contributing to the premature dissipation.
Very interesting yeast nuances of mustiness, hay and earth erupt from the bottle upon opening, but altogether pass out of existence, giving way to the herbs and spices. A pina-colada-like nose is full of bountiful pale malt sweetness, creamy but yet tempered by the zesty cardamon and medium-dry ginger. Frankly, it’s amazing that a beer can smell like pineapple and roasted coconut. Towards the end, some candy-like hardness is noted but is fully smoothed by a smooth, somewhat nutty/bland wheatiness that attempts to absorb some of the overzealous spicing. Maybe I lied about the yeast fully passing at the start; the longer the beer sits, I do seem to detect more mustiness and strange phenolics/esters. But it’s difficult to know what you’re smelling, that’s for sure. Apples, ginger, citrus, pineapple, coconut, cardamon all linger on the finish in a rather muddled blend (though the apples and ginger are quite distinct). High strength of aroma, no alcohol present.
Tiny, tingly bubbles deliver a zesty dose of ginger and orange peel at first sip, while moderately attenuated pils malt, very fluffy and lightly creamy, adds sweetness that is further enriched by robust cardamon flavors. Streaks of pepperiness accentuate the heavily spiced nature of this beer, while more pina-colada resemblance is found towards the finish. It ends rather bubbly and zesty, with the ginger being quite pronounced and a sweet creaminess not too far behind. Unlike the carbonation, however, the unfiltered body and wheat give almost a chewiness at points and definitely make for a substantial body. Some light apples and a hint of mustiness and dry esters (or is that just the spices?) signify some yeast apparency, but it’s marginal at best.

I just don’t get heavily spiced saisons, and this one is no exception. Why go through the trouble of using 3 or 4 Belgian yeast strains and then dump tons of spice in to the point where you can’t even taste any yeast nuance? A well-brewed beer, and I liked it better with some age on it than fresh, but the spicing still makes it unbalanced. I didn’t finish my glass.

Bottle Poured a cloudy light orange/amber. Small white fizzy head and wispy lacing. Aromas of sweet apples, peaches and the musty slightly funky note of a Lambic. Flavors were similar but quite dry and tart. Again, reminded me of a Lambic. Dry clean squeaky finish and a little of that dusty musty trailer. Possibly my favorite Saison so far. Thanks to Buck Dich for brining this back from his SD trip and sharing.

Thanks to cquiroga for this bottle - hazy copper pour with substantial lacing - musty, earthy aroma, with notes of herbal tea, citrus, peaches and apples - full carbonation in the mouth - tart and spicy up front, with ginger and orange peel - apples and peaches from the aroma come in, followed by a dry, bready, biscuity character - dry, crisp, hoppy finish - an interesting saison.

(Bottle 75 cl) Unclear orangey golden with a small, white head. Yeasty, spicy nose. Lots of sweet malt. Spicy, gingery notes and a touch of citrus. Short, dry hoppiness in the finish. 031205

Bottle. Quite clear, dark golden colour. Hop aromatic. Flavour has some yoghurt, and a little metal. Otherwise malty and fruity.