New 'Bretted' spelt ale by Senne, with a label ironically referring to the beer rating hype that came along with the beer hype in general (with Untappd leading the pack)… Seems to illustrate the often ambivalent relationship many brewers, especially the more established ones, seem to have with the beer geek community. Bottle from Dranken De Moor. Gusher, but letting it rest with the crown cap slightly lifted proved effective against beer loss. Still a typical 'gusher head', though: very irregular, large-bubbled and frothy at the edge but collapsing and open in the middle, off-white in colour; pale straw blonde, misty robe with chlorophyl greenish tinge and a thin string of uprising bubbles in the middle. Aroma of soggy old (spelt) bread, spoiled leek soup, dried lemon peel, pumice, fermenting yellow grapefruit flesh, white button mushrooms past their freshness prime, white grape peel, blossoming meadowsweet, clear 'Brett urine' and valerian but in a non-repulsive way, overripe cucumber, brown soap, light band aid-like phenols lurking in the background and probably related to the Brettanomyces. Crisp, spritzy onset, 'crunchy' Conférence pear and green apple with a softer banana ester note at the sides, sweetish core with a more tart edge, very minerally, 'cristalline' and lively carbonation fit for the intended style, light and supple body, soggy white bready and cereally with a clear, 'dusty' spelt spiciness to it matching well with a firm, drying, resinous hop bitterness in the finish, very dried citrus peel-like, floral and hayish and competing with the urine- and valerian flower-like Brettanomyces aspect for retronasal dominance. The dryness already largely established by the Brett reinforces the hop bitterness and vice versa (see Orval of medium age for comparison), but juiciness does remain in the end, making this beer very pleasant and easy to drink. Effervescent, dry in nature, quenching and sturdily hopped with a long, quenching bitter finish: this fully qualifies as a saison for me, even if the Brett feels a bit 'artificial' and onedimensional, like in many present-day Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian farmhouse ales loosely inspired by saison (and sometimes calling themselves 'saison'). Typical Senne beer in many respects, this type of dry, bitter ales is still their forte and I love them for it. There, I rated your saison!

Bottle pour at De Lambikstoempers Bierweekend. Cloudy, pale yellow color with a tall, fine head. Lemony, herbal nose, spicy yeast, spelt. Dry, citrusy flavor, minerals, grapefruit rind. Wow, this is dry and minerally. Nice, lightly bretty and bitter in the finish but the overwhelming impression is dryness.

Megaprzyprawowe, pieprzowe, sporo kwaskowatej jasnej owocowosci, cytryna przewodzi, dzikusy ostre, nieco apteczne. Az przegiete to

33cl Bottle from De Bierkoning. Hazy golden colour, white head. Aroma of lots of Brett, funk, hint of cheese, poop, straw, malts. Flavour is light to medium sweet, malty, floral, funky, just very light tartness of both spelt and Brett, Bretty funk, lemon peel, firm bitter finish. Light to medium bodied. Tasty stuff, as expected.

Bottle from Bine & Vine. Pours translucent pale gold with a foamy white head. Aroma is sort of buckwheat with a very light Orval touch. Med body. Flavor is Brett and buckwheat in a mildly funky arrangement. But the flavors are very, very good.

Imported from my RateBeer account as De la Senne I Rate Saison (by Brasserie de la Senne):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 14/20, MyTotalScore: 3.6/5

13/VI/18 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ home - BB: 21/XI/19, bottled: 21/XI/17 (2018-768)

Note: so, I'm the first one to write down something about the label then... For some reason the label features a bunch of devils , hobos, ghouls and a (beer) nerd, ready to tick off a new beer that's coming from the brewery, carried by a superhero style brewer / fire fighter. Most of them on their smart phone, one on a laptop. One giving a thumbs down, one a "X" instead of a "V", so rating it negatively, for those we can make out. In combination with the name of the beer obviously a sneer at the Ratebeer (name) and Untappd (smartphones on picture) community for some reason. No clue what reason, because it's one of the highest rated breweries in Belgium on this website. Glad to know how they see a big part of their fan base, apparently as ticking ghouls, hobos and nerds. Duly noted.

Clear pale blond beer, big creamy solid off-white head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: fruity start, quite some brett notes, bit funky, some wet grains, some citrus. MF: very lively carbon, medium to light body. Taste: lots and lots of brett up front, but it tastes like some sort of lab grown brett from a yeast package. Fruity notes, some citrus and orange peel, funky, bit dirty, hint of sulphur, reminds a bit of toilet/urinal smell. Aftertaste: funky, prett bitter, bit metallic, somewhat grassy, citrus, grapefruit notes.

(bottle, 33cl) Cloudy, yellow colour with a loose foamy white head. Yeast-spicy, slightly peppery nose with citric and zesty fruity notes, herbal-spicy hops in the background. Bitter flavour, medium bodied with a soft carbonation. Herbal-spicy, peppery and slightly citric taste with Belgian yeasty spice; also strong phenolic notes, e.g. bandaid. Likeable. 04.VI.18