6th DRG. Cloudy yellow color, big rocky white head. Aroma of wheat, pineapple, citrus. Spicy taste, fruity, bit sweet. Good balance in this nice Saison.

750mL bottled on September 21st, 2005. Consumed at a little over 4 months of age (2/2/06). I couldn’t believe the amount of head, head retention and lacing and vast amount of carbonation in this stuff after over 4 months. The secondary has really gone well. Appearance as Schroppfy says, downright breathtaking. Love the "ecru", Michael!
Aroma, once the head settles down a bit, comes at you with a huge caramelized sugariness, strong maple, molasses, brown sugar and yes, definitely some light smoke (though it’s faint, and vanishes after the beer has breathed more). Still, with all the "scotch" ale qualities, there’s something distinctly Belgian about it. Just has that dirtiness about it, that you don’t get out of American beers. Edgy, crusty, yeasty, can’t describe it exactly, but it’s Belgian. Aroma strength was medium-high. The flavor begins with a bit of breadiness, minerals (copper and iron), dark candi sugar and plenty of creme brulée. Notes of light gingerbread come to mind. Carbonation is intense, and although natural, it still is too forceful (nor does it die down very quickly! I’m still fighting with it after a good 45 minutes). Other than the carbonation, the mouthfeel is quite comforting, soft and bready. Brown bread, caramel, touches of cocoa-like notes and LOTS of alcohol emerge on the finish, coupled with heavy, sweetened cream sugars. I guess the alcohol tries to dry it out, but it’s not a subtle, clean alcohol, more of a sharp fusel-like one, which dosent go over well with the palate. Minerals, yeastiness and specialized grains all stay with you on the finish. Would have liked to have seen more peat smoked malt flavors.

75 cl Bottle - Bottled November 19th, 2005
Murky black body, lightly brown head. Nose of coffee, chocolate milk powder (Nesquick-like, not the real cacao powder) and hints of spices (coriander). Lightly acidic, lightly bitter initial flavour. Moderately bitter, lightly sweet finish. Medium bodied. Fizzy, winey mouthfeel.

My bottle has the abv at 9.5%, but I’m certain it’s the same beer - the rather sterile label seems like it would be more at home on a can of industrial solvent than a bottle of beer, but enough on that - very dark burgundy/purple color, lots of carbonation - sticky sweet aroma of fig, plum, date, grape kool-aid? - the carbonation is abrassive when it hits the tongue - very sweet - almost cloying - grapes, figs, a touch of chocolate and black coffee - good, but unbalanced.

An orange beer that starts out clear, but ends with quite a lot of yeast sediment under a thin white head. The aroma is sweet spicy combined with notes of flowers, fruit (peaches), alcohol, and yeast. The flavor is quite sweet with primarily notes of flowers, but also notes of yeast, fruit, and alcohol, leading to a quite dry spicy end.

Huge, just-yellow head over dark yellow beer. Very perfumed nose, coriander, but also outspoken vanilla, as vanillasugar; citrus, but not so outspoken and - Szechuan pepper? Dry, light-bitterish taste over more classical witbier characteristics. Background citric sourness, but all in restraint by the perfumed onset. This is partly coriander, but something else too. Bit meaty - and also lemonbalm! Retronasal clearly more Curaçao peel. Warming up, rosewater and bitter almonds. Refreshing as wished, light body, bit spritzy. I like this much better than the Jan de Lichte. Obviously the coriander is not that all-overpowering. Thanks for the womens’ touch! Mind you, in comparison to the JdL brew, this bottle is more matured, settled into balance, I’m confident. Oh - and about the bottle. A Champagne format - in brown glass! I want to see more of these. Kudo’s to the Glazen Toren!

Sampled at the Ohio Labor Day gathering, provided by Pailhead. Cloudy yellow-orange body, thin off-white head. Floral, earthy, spicy aroma. Earthy, peppery, floral body with mild sweetness. After that, my notes really become hard to read. Oh, but somebody wrote "Strict Constructionalist" on my notesheet so I remember discussing politics by this point in the evening.

Bottled on 4/30/2005, consumed on 9/1/2005. First sniff: Fantome saison clone, but not nearly as funky, no real dusty bacteria or limey bite to it. Very wheaty, with lots of lemon sponge cake. Some lovely spicy hops. The more it breathes, the more clean it gets. Light perfuminess from the hops. Notes of an abbey trippel without the intense yeast or sugariness/alcohol. . . . So actually not really anything like an abbey trippel. Very generic smelling, in a good way, meaning at least it has all the base characteristics I would look for in a real Belgian saison.

Quite light in color. A cloudy, hay-yellow, dulled with an almost greenish tint. Slight copper hues on the edges. Huge, pillowy, intense head is pure white. Very well retained. Tiny bubbles rise. So far so good!
First sip has sugary cotton candy and peaches, transitioning in to a light tangerine/nectarine flavor, lightly bitter and finally ending on the bitter hops note AND a high amount of acidity (high relative to style). With more sips, the sugary pils malt, quite thick and blanketing gives way (or actually, the palate just becomes acclimated) and the hops really come forth. Very hoppy, with light honey behind it. Then a clean yeast finalé. I like the hops but I can’t help wondering if this was hopped at this high a level from pressure by the distributor to appease the American market. Anyways, where is the funky character?? Maybe it will develop in time? Seems way too clean though. But on the other hand. It’s very well-made and flavorful. Great mouthfeel (though you kind of come to expect that as given from a high-quality Belgian ale). It has moments where I catch a glimpse of greatness. Fantome Saison, Vervifontaine Blonde. . .glimpses. Fresh hops and light vanilla on the end, some lingering acidity. Will it stand the test of time? That’s the question.

Bottled, by De Proef. Very dark ruby. Vinous plum aroma. Sweet and very fruity with notes of candy, sugar and brandy. The soft mouthfeel can partly be explained by the low carbonation. The sweetness is balanced by the almost acidic fruitiness. Interesting!

(Bottle 75 cl) Lovely golden colour, slightly hazy with a tall, thick head that never vanishes completely but laces my glass beautifully. Very dry in the mouth with a surprisingly light body and a light bitter finish. Some diacetyl. Incredibly fresh, crisp and quenching and a very typical Saison - the only one made in Flanders. 310505