Brewery Vivant Zaison

Zaison

 

Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸

  Farmhouse - Imperial Saison Rotating
Score
6.87
ABV: 10.5% IBU: - Ticks: 20
Zaison takes its inspiration from the famous Saison style of beer madein the southern region of Belgium. Traditionally this beer is made in the coolness of the winter months to be enjoyed in the Spring and Summer. Our special yeast strain gives this beer a little funkiness and is accented with tellicherry black peppercorns and orange peel. At 9% abv this is probably one of the strongest summer beers you will encounter. The alcohol contributes to the flavor so who are we to try to reduce it? This is the strength the beer wanted to be, so we left it that way.
 

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6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Can thanks to Rob. Pours a hazy orange gold with small white head that lasts. The aroma is strong peppercorn and orange zest. Slick body, yeast, wheat, citrus, tangy, good.

Tried from Can on 04 Sep 2018 at 00:56


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 6/14/2017. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy medium golden/yellow color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, orange, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, white grape, citrus peel, peppercorn, clove, light banana/bubblegum, wheat, cracker, biscuit, white bread dough, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, light funk, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, spices, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, orange, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, white grape, citrus peel, peppercorn, clove, light banana/bubblegum, wheat, cracker, biscuit, white bread dough, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, light funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate peppery yeast spiciness, light citrus peel bitterness, and slight tart/tangy wheat/yeast on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, orange, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, white grape, citrus peel, peppercorn, clove, light banana/bubblegum, wheat, cracker, biscuit, white bread dough, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, light funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, spices, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth and creamy/bready/grainy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with a mildly increasing warmth of 9.3% after the finish. Overall this is a delicious imperial saison. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, spices, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the big ABV. Great rustic feeling yeast character complexity, with balanced spices and malt sweetness. A very enjoyable offering, and great style example.

Tried from Can on 16 Sep 2017 at 05:59


7

Tried on 10 Dec 2015 at 19:45


7.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 6

Can: Nearly clear, golden-yellow with a thin white head. Sweet orange, sticky fruit scent. Taste is sweet. orange malt, mildly peppered...just a touch of alcohol presence....not very funky, but still, pretty tasty.

Tried from Can on 11 Oct 2015 at 09:30


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Farmhouse, Chicago tap: pours orange with a white head. Aroma is winey with some smells resembling a sour ale and the residue is funk. Taste is a little sweet. Nice and tangy in its own right. A bit on the sweet side for sure. Lingering aftertaste.

Tried from Draft on 30 Sep 2015 at 21:34


7.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Can. Lactic lemon, peppercorn, and bready malt aroma. Medium yellow with small head. Sweet milky lemon, black pepper, and bready malt flavor. Light bitter herbal orange peel finish. Pleasant - strong pepper presence.

Tried from Can on 12 Sep 2015 at 17:37


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

16 ounce can thanks to Trent!

It pours a hazy straw colour and brings a 1 finger head of foam. Lacing aplenty.

My, I sure can smell the orange peel. Other spices, but no real funk showing up for me.

Orange way up front in the taste too. It seems to bring some sweet and tart notes unless something else is doing the former or latter. A bit of pepper starts to show up after my 3rd sip. Tellicherry black peppercorns? Okay, I had to google that. Imparts floral and cherry flavours. ’splains a lot!

Medium bodied, medium carbonation, it starts of with the orange and finishes with it. There’s not much heat from the alcohol or the peppercorns. It isn’t the easiest brew to drink but it’s enjoyable. I guess, my bottom line is...do "we" have to imperialize every style?

Tried from Can on 27 Aug 2014 at 15:56


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

A hazed blonde to orange juice colour with a thin white head. In aroma, sweet fruity major with orange and light sulfur, light pine needles. In mouth, a sweet orange pulp with ginger, coriander, light maple, interesting. On tap at emporium.

Tried from Draft on 04 Aug 2014 at 16:11


4.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5

A 9% saison?!?!?! dark cloudy orange. Smells like BBQ potato chips. Salty, spicy with a bit of citric acid and potatoes. Taste is loaded with flavor, lots of adjuncts and a minor booziness. The peppercorn overwhelms everything else sadly. Falls short at the finish. couldn’t get through the can sadly.

Tried from Can on 06 Dec 2013 at 15:13


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

16 oz. can from Binny’s, Lincoln Park, Chicago. Hazy amber color showing zero head retenetion after the pour. Nose and taste is much like a Belgian pale. Nose is a solid amount of dried fruits and pale malt sweetness. Also lots of orange zest. Orange peel/ zest is upfront in the flavor with dried fruit and sweet grain in the center of the beer. Fruit reenters with palate with light mild pepper in the finish. Medium body leaning on yeasty thickness. The only thing that distract me from this beer is a light lingering sourness that makes me question the freshness of the beer. And of course yet again, no bottle on or born on date, so no way to really know with doing a ton of brewery research. Anyhow… over all good, not great. This is a much better example than this brewery’s Farm Hands Saison I had directly in front of this.

Tried from Can on 05 Dec 2013 at 17:48