On draught 2/25/05 at the Moan and Dove, Péché Mortel release party. Served in a tumbler between 47-52 degrees.
Deep orange-yellow colored beer, thick looking (wavy and transluscent) with a small pillow of off-white head, moderate retention. Aroma of spicy hops, little bit of earthiness and saltiness. Some sweet toffee in the nose as well. The smoke flavor comes out swinging from the get-go. Rich, salty, sweet smoked-malt works perfectly with the fluffy, lightly creamy body. Even with all of the smokiness, it dosent get boring (to me) and I happily go back for a second glass. Not a syrupy or heavy body, but not a light or watery one either. It strikes a good balance, so to speak. Torn between giving this a 4 or a 5 for palate. Malt could be said to get a bit too sweet, in the end, but it hardly worries me. Low carbonation, no alcohol apparency. I’m sold, but then, I’m a sucker for rauchbiers.

On draught 2/25/05 at the Moan and Dove, Péché Mortel release party. Served in a tumbler between 47-52 degrees.
Having heard some things about this batch that made me less than excited to try this, I was blown away when I took my first sip. I did one of those things where you immediately exclaim "Holy Shit this is good!" and proceed to drink the rest of your glass too fast, greedily drinking the wonderful liquid. So I took it a little more slowly on the second sample.
Aroma smells of sticky, sweet milk chocolate, chewy toffee and even some marshmallows (kind of like a S’more), must be the interplay of vanilla, malt and chocolate. Light notes of roast grace the nose as well. As good as the aroma is, the flavor is what elicited the above reaction out of me. Sticky, chewy chocolate, sweet malt, light roast for balance and lovely liquified vanilla iced-cream flavors cover the palate. FULL body, but not syrupy, fatiguing or cloying. I was in sheer disbelief when told this was only five percent alcohol. Not that I tasted any alcohol in it, but it is just hard to believe that a beer of this thickness and full flavor has such a moderate alcohol content. Brownish-black body with a creamy, light-tan head. A real show-stopper. Writing this review makes me yearn for another taste. . . . .

On draught at the Moan and Dove, Péché Mortel release party, 2/25/05. Served out of a tumbler between 47-52 degrees.
Hazy goldenrod appearance, with some light coppers and brilliant orange hues in the background. Small, but somewhat lasting, fluffy white head. Aroma of sweet pilsener malt, honey, light cream and tons of spicy, lightly earthy, dry hops (Saaz indeed!). Some light apple and just a slight touch of citrus, with a drying effect from the coriander on the end. Pretty fantastic aroma, methinks. Flavor begins with a sweet, lightly syrupy (maybe sticky is a better word) malt base with almonds, tart apples, and dry, but not really overly bitter hops. Finishes with a big kick of herbs and yeast. Good thick (for a saison) body, with a wonderful aerated texture and nice chewy yeast on the end. A bit dry/astringent on the end, no doubt from the hops and coriander, but it really is drinkable, and far less sweet than I was expecting (J.F. told me it was too sweet). Really good saison, I don’t think the hops detract much, perhaps could use a little less, but what a fabulous mouthfeel.