The Limited Dry Hop Saison

Bottle. Orange golden pour. Aroma of brett, horseblanket, vanilla, funk and yeast. Taste of subtle brett, watery yeast, malt, grassy hop and a little funk in the finish. It's like orval in the aroma, but the flavor needs more body and profile. Not bad though.

4170/5100

Before I rate this beer, I really have some questions about the concept. A brewfirm that calls themselves 'Secret' and doesnt even tell you they're a brewfirm, rather than a 'secret brewery' seems very respectless towards the actual brewery that does brew the beer. Don't get me wrong, no hatred for brewfirms here, but just be honest about it and don't try to be this 'mystique' . The internet exists, you know, so people will find out you're not a brewery at all. Anyways, that being said, the label shows a good amount of information about the ingredients and value in EBC and ABV, as well as IBU. Simplistic design, but hey, that's just a common in Belgium. Pours amber, clear, small white head. Too dark for a saison, I recon. Smell is rather dry, some spicyness (not as peppery as the traditional saisons ) tad of caramel, and indeed a bit more ( floral ) hoparoma. Taste is sharp, bitter, metallic notes shione trough and build up towards the end. Phenolic, but not peppery as I'm used to in a saison. The concentration of Phenols makes it a bit bandaid, off, but not as much as 'drainpour -off ' . medium body, high carbo. misses the refreshing character ( due to the phenols, for one ) especially when you call it dry-hop I expect to taste a lot more hoparoma...

Imported from my RateBeer account as Kristonian Dry Hop Saison (by Kristonian Group):
Aroma: 7/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 15/20, MyTotalScore: 3.7/5

29/IV/18 - 33cl bottle from Bierhalle Deconinck (Vichte), shared @ Arno & Meggy's place, Julia's birthday party - BB: II/20 (2018-583)

Clear amber beer, creamy off-white head, little adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: fruity, pretty malty, caramel, sweetish, jam, some strawberries. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: rather fruity, bit acidic, malty, bitter, grassy. Aftertaste: bit hoppy, dry finish, fruity touch.

Still very limited, dry-hopped version of Kristonian, this one apparently brewed at Alvinne under the auspices of Glenn Castelein, not a bad reference… Thanks to the brewer himself for sharing! Cobweb-lacing, egg-white, moussy, thick and stable head, misty orangey peach blonde robe. Aroma of dried orange peel, unripe peach, sweetbread, slight caramel, moist white pepper, dried field flowers, apple peel, honey, grapefruit. Sweet onset, pineapple, apricot and peach notes, more pronounced and more estery than the regular version, which is significantly cleaner; light green banana and sourish apple accents, medium carb, supple body. Caramelly malt sweetness with some honeyish aspects to it, drying in the finish with a spicy, earthy, hayish hop bitterness which nonetheless remains fairly gentle for a dry-hopped beer, so that much of the fruitiness and malt sweetness passes through. Elegant, accessible quencher, better bodied and more estery complex than the regular version, but for me the dry-hopping can be taken a step further even for what is essentially a Belgian style amber ale. Nothing, however, reminds me of Alvinne having anything to do with this brew; maybe a barrel aged version would be interesting?