North Coast Brewing Company Le Merle

Le Merle

 

North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California, United States 🇺🇸

  Farmhouse - Saison Regular
Score
7.05
ABV: 7.9% IBU: 26 Ticks: 161
Le Merle is a rustic ale, pale in color, inspired by the rich brewing traditions of the Flanders region. Abundant hops and a Belgian yeast strain contribute exotic aromas of tropical fruit.

For all she has contributed since the brewery’s founding, North Coast Brewing is pleased to honor our Merle, co-founder Mark Ruedrich’s wife, with Le Merle (the Blackbird), a subtle sophisticated Belgian-style Saison beer.
 

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5.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
Bottle/Fest. A- Bland, some floral notes. A- Gold color, hazy liquid, white head. T- Black pepper, bitter, floral, spices. P- Medium body, average texture, average carbonation, floral finish. O- Okay but not as good as I feel it should be. Plenty of spice and floral notes in it.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Feb 2016 at 19:29

7.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
355ml bottle. Minimally cloudy, orangey golden colour with average to huge, frothy, fairly lasting, minimally lacing, white head. Fruity, yeasty aroma, notes of green and yellow apple, apple purée, pear, a minimally dusty, yeasty touch. Taste is fruity yeasty, slightly sweet, bready malty, dry hoppy overtones with a herbal touch, notes of apple and pear, some peppery yeast spiciness, white pepper, some alcohol throughout. Well balanced, strong and intense, could be top level without the alcohol presence.
Tried from Bottle on 16 Feb 2016 at 14:44

6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Bottle from AA. Belgian estery nose with some peach and green apple. Boozy on the palate, with a slight watery mouthfeel. Some spice and more fruit. Overly sweet and boozy. Really not very saison-like to be honest...more of a Belgian strong ale. Disappointing.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Jan 2016 at 07:10

5.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
Bottle sample at a tasting at Max’s place. Thanks kerenmk. Hazy golden. Aroma of fruity esters, yeast, a bit of spicy phenols, and a bit of alcohol. Sweetish flavor, fruity, yeasty, with a spicy hint and a bit of alcohol. Medium-bodied.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Dec 2015 at 10:33

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
355ml bottle from Beers of Europe. Pours clear orange with no head, looks a bit like flat irn bru. Aromas of orange, spice, brown bread dough. Taste is more orange, quite sweet, spice. Sweet, boozy finish.
Tried from Bottle on 04 Dec 2015 at 17:08

6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Keg at Mother Kelly’s, Bethnal Green, London. A hazy golden coloured pour with a healthy white head on top. Fruity, yeasty, apple aroma. Tastes similar, fruity, yeasty, apple some spice.
Tried on 27 Oct 2015 at 15:45

7/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a burnt orange color with a one finger white foamy head that quickly dissipated leaving some super light lacing all over the place.
The smell started off with some sweet apples, pears, peaches, sweet bread all blend together nicely with some Belgian spices.
The taste was moderately sweet through the previously mentioned flavors and underscored with the Belgian spices to balance. The aftertaste was there, kinda sticky yet dry with the fruitiness being the base of it. There’s a quick dry finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a decent sessionable feel to it. Carbonation runs good for the style and for me.
Overall, its a good saison. I could see myself coming back to it when necessary.
Tried on 22 Oct 2015 at 13:15

6.8/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 8
12oz bottle. Have had this a few times before in its initial 750ml format. This one has tone of floaties, so have to deduct for appearance there. Other than that this is a pretty nice beer, with a lot of malt depth,...a lot of Belgian Golden Ale tones. bright citrus funky yeast tones.hints of orange, hefe-banana, sage. Dry finish. Solid offering.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Oct 2015 at 00:17

6.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 7
355 ml. bottle sampled @ “Tim’s orgasmic Trillium tasting”. BBF 05/2016. Hazy orange, creamy white. Nose is odd soap, sweetish, BE yeast & esters, tad more soap. Taste is soap, spices, BE, dull, sugar, banana, yeast. Body is soapy, sugary. Overly Belgian in a bad way for me. Boring at best, meh. Bit of a letdown.
Tried from Bottle on 17 Oct 2015 at 07:37

5.6/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 3.5
Imported from my RateBeer account as North Coast Le Merle (by North Coast Brewing Company):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 5/5, Taste: 6/10, Palate: 2/5, Overall: 7/20, MyTotalScore: 2.6/5

16/X/15 - 12Fl. Oz. bottle @ home - BB: V/2016 (2015-1494) Thanks to 77ships for sharing the bottle!

Clear orange beer, huge creamy off-white head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: spicy, lots of coriander, yeast, bready, bit chemical, something off. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: overripe fruits, banana, very yeasty, muddy. Aftertaste: spicy, cow fodder, yeast, muddy, unpleasant finish.
Tried from Bottle on 16 Oct 2015 at 15:01