Tap @ Cafe Albert. Clear dark brown with small off-white head. Aroma is malt, caramel, chocolate, nut, hop and a little bread. Flavour is malt, caramel, chocolate, nut, medium sweet, bread, hop and a little bitter.

Bottle shared on Level 42 9/3/16. Many thanks to Leighton for this one. Hazed reddy copper coloured pour with a lasting thin grayish cream head. Aroma is nice Belgian, nutty, semi sweet, apple, raisin, little earth. Flavour is composed of earthy nutty, toasted grainy, apple, raisin, little age, cardboard. Palate is semi sweet, frothy, grainy, little liquorice.

Older bomber from biergenot.be, cheers Davey! Thin but stable, egg-white, moussy head breaking quickly in the middle, over a warm, deep golden coloured beer with light orange hue, clear initially but misty with small yeast bits here and there as the bottle progresses and ending in a milky haze, with calm fizz dying out after a while. Aroma of buttermilk, persimmon, smokey overripe papaja, something sulfuric (probably yeast autolysis), dried lemon peel, fermenting hay, candied lemon, old sherry (the onset of oxidation, I presume), apricot, tomato, clove-like phenols, old cheese, mouldy orange, chicken spices, cigarette tobacco, toasted bread, mango, dry white wine, gin, old dry wormwood. Fruity, sweetish onset, some ’Belgian’ banana and gooseberry but restrainedly so, sourish undercurrent effectively balancing out this sweetness, hints of papaja and orange, softish carbo, slick and smooth malt body, caramelly with a bittering toasted edge in the end, enhanced by a spicy, leafy hop bitterness, yielding floral aromas retronasally and leaving a mildly but sufficiently bitter coating in the back of the mouth; caramelly malt sweetness lasts the longest, but there is a gin-like alcohol flavour far away at the back as well, which should not be this apparent in a 6.5% ABV beer, yet does not become wry anywhere; a lemon candy-like flavor lingers too, doubting between sweet and sour. Past its prime, that much is clear, but since 6.5% saisons should be able to survive some years of cellaring, this shows too many signs of autolysis already, with a less pleasant sulfuric effect as a result; I can, however, vividly imagine this being very crisp and quaffable when young (and more ’lively’ hoppy). Flavor is acceptable though, but, as with so many ’new generation saisons’ even in Belgium itself, I fail to see how this is a saison and not an ordinary Belgian blonde - it seems the difference, if any, has completely faded due to craft beer experimentation. Decent beer, but I think more carbonation and an overall ’drier’ profile would have make this qualify as a saison much more.

Bottle shared in London - picked up in NYC. Pours clear brown with a foamy, tan head. The nose has lightly toasted brown bread, ripening fruits, berries, faint toffee. Medium sweet flavor with ripening fruits, berries, grapes, some raisin, earthy bitterness, dry wood. Light to medium bodied with average carbonation. Finishes with pronounced earthy bitterness, ripe and leathery fruits, some toasted toffee. Pretty decent.

Bottle thanks to Leighton at level 42. It pours slightly hazy brown with a thick light tan head. The aroma is fresh, bready, orange peel, slight peach, sherbet and earth. The taste is crisp, bitter, brown bread, cracker, cereal, mild acidity, cardboard, earth and dull caramel with a dry, toasted finish. Medium body and moderate, foamy carbonation. Ok.

Shared 22 oz. bottle. Pours dark brown with a creamy beige head. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel, and dark chocolate. Taste is fairly malty, with lots of toasty goodness, caramel, nuts, hints of chocolate, perhaps faint coffee notes, and a bit of smokiness. Medium-bodied. Quite enjoyable.

Bottle (from firma-bier). Pours golden with whiteish head. Aroma is sour, fruity, apricot, slight buttery notes. Flavor is sweet and bitter, fruity, apricots, citrus. Finish is sweet and apricot bitter. Overall: very good.

[1/31/16] Bottle sample at a hotel lobby bottle share during RBWG 2016 in Santa Rosa. Golden. Fruity yeast, light spiciness. Sweetish, bitterish finish.

Bottle shared during RBWG 2016: Poured a hazy yellow with white head. Funky barnyard with citrus and spice. Funky barnyard straw/grass, yeast, spice and bitter finish.