Has all the qualities a good saison should have - a wonderful musty, earthy, barnyardy beer - tart but not mouth-puckering - grainy with mild hops - lighter fruits, mostly pear and lemon - might age well.

Bottle at the 4/17/05 Montreal tasting in great company. Sparkling golden, light haziness and a moderate amount of white head that recedes to a ring and laces well. Aroma gives off notes of apples, honey, dry hay-like hops and pears, and some moderate perfuminess and the smell of citrus hand cream being washed down the drain with plenty of crystal clear mineral water. Farmhouse character is there, not in force, but it’s there. Flavor begins with light honey and soft tangerine flavor, notes of apples, almonds and light lemon. Yeasty in flavor, though not thick and chewy. Light, sparkling, well-done version of the style, but for my money I’ll take the Fantome d’été any day.

Burnt orange color with a small head. Smell: odd, nothing like I’ve smelled before. Slightly smoky, slightly applish, slightly tobacco. Taste is mainly bitter, lightly smoked, and has an odd aftertatse that I can’t place. Hmm... not a huge fan of this, but it’s not bad.

2004 bottle. Ruddy brown pour, darker, muted greyish-tan clay tones with a fizzy beige head, mostly disipating. Mostly clear body, with a touch of sediment at the bottom. Aroma of alcohol, dark candi sugar, some dusty/musty yeast and straw. Notes of raisins and toffee are light but also discernable. Flavor begins with a lightly sour yeast mixed with candi sugar, raisins, wheat and light hops. The body is a bit thin overall, or thinner than I would like, anyways. Light alcohol notes on the palate, dark fruit notes and a slightly sharp/sour finish of yeast, alcohol and sugar. Fizzy, bubbly carbonation does not die off very quickly.

2004 edition. Dark cloudy brown with an inch and a half tannish brown head. Sweet succulant malty aromas: lots of passionfruit in there as well. Whoa, what a kick. Flavor is heavily alcoholed... damn strong, but just what I need right now =) A little too heavy to have on a regular basis, but a damn tasty switch-off.

Cask @ EBF05. Dark brown colored beer, with magenta and mahogany highlights, much like the normal beer, with the similar dark yellow-tan head, though somewhat more dissipating. Aroma smells of salt, bitter alcohol notes, roast, oak and vanilla. Old Salty, being an English barleywine, seemed to have a wonderful mellowness and a profound subtlety of flavors. The barrel aging here, once again, seems to ruin the beer and dominates the flavor. Though Old Salty can definitely "step up to the plate" with a bourbon barrel, what I liked in Old Salty, the brown sugar notes, maple, cream, soft earthy hops and good solid yeast flavors all seemed lost in a jumble of SHARP alcohol, sour oak notes and acidic, oily roast (not from the barrel aging, but it contributes to the harsh flavors). Meduim-full body and a decent lightly creamy mouthfeel from the cask, but I don’t feel English barleywines are suited to bourbon, I would have much rather had the regular Old Salty on cask.

On draught @ Bukowski’s Tavern, Cambridge MA, January 2005. Served in a very broad chalice. Quite a deep black, the head has almost completely disipated by the time the beer even makes it to my table. Smells of lightly salty chocolate and caramel. Some dryish toffee notes in there, and just a soft subtle roast lying in the background. Flavor begins quite sweet, but balanced immediately by a strong yeast presence, some lightly oily, dry roast and a touch of hops. Through the body, it is mainly caramel and chocolate malt, with the sweet vanilla and slight oak notes others have mentioned. Ends chocolatey, yeasty and with a hint of light mocha. Very low carbonation, medium body, especially relative to style, but still a very flavorful rendition. Many similarities to Old Rasputin.

Secret Santa beer #8, sent by Jason (Dorwart). Murky orange pour, medium-thick off-white head. Aroma of clove and a touch of banana with plenty of bready malts and yeast, somewhat vinous. Rather dry, biscuity flavor, bready with tons of bitter coriander hammering the palate. Perfumey with a hint of apple juice. Pretty complex and the high level of spicing, which I found over-the-top at first, grew on me as I finished the bottle.

Secret Santa beer #7, sent by Jason (Dorwart). Fiery, effervescent copper body, big puffy light tan head. Leafy, spicy, earthy hops aroma. Dry, toasty body with muddy, woody hops coating the mouth with a dessicated leafiness. Delicate caramels play off of the bitterness.