6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle big thanks to Leighton. It pours cloudy pale gold with a decent white head. The nose is soft, earthy, white wine, gooseberry, cracker, milky coconut, wood and straw. The taste is crisp, clean, minerals, earthy, funky, white wine, gooseberry, light vanilla and sweet wood with a dry, woody finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Nov 2015
at 12:42
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle shared in London at CBC Clerkenwell at the 15k tasting. Picked up in the US. Pours lightly hazy gold with a creamy white head. Restrained aroma, some pale wood, light doughy bread, a little apricot. Medium sweet flavor with pale bread, hints of toffee, golden raisins, wheat, low bitterness. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly warming in the finish, more sugary bread, golden raisins, white grape, apple, light vanilla. Tasty stuff overall.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Nov 2015
at 12:42
8/10
Tried
on 02 Nov 2015
at 12:37
5.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
The beer is a bright yellow gold color. It’s fairly clear at least in this initial pour from the bottle. Huge, puffy, white head. Gobs of bubbles stick to the glass. Good retention. The aroma is big on green apples with some raisin, pepper, grapes, a little lemon and mild orange juice. There’s a light to medium medicinal note. It’s bright and fairly clean for all of that but still a bit of mess to me. A good bit of simple malt character, not particularly well executed. The taste is mildly sweet. I think this beer would be significantly better if it was drier. The sweetness is simple and not too oppressive, but the overall package has far too messy of a Belgian yeast profile. Bitter finish. Medium-light mouthfeel with some slickness. I expected a light, fresh saison, but this is more like a mediocre Belgian table beer. The flavors don’t sit right or go together particularly well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Oct 2015
at 21:22
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Draught at the brewery, 10/24/15.
Bright golden with a light bronze tint and a medium-high to high clarity, with ample carbonation and a foamy white head.
Tell-tale Galaxy hops in the nose give off spruce oil, bayberry and lemon notes, with some earthy and yellow fruit-laden mosaic notes. Mostly dry maltiness in the background adds crackers, dough, bits of honey and light vanilla. Fruity esters increase with warming, though so does the hop character.
Very hop-driven beer with moderate bitterness, light pepperiness and a dry grainy character combining with a strong but fairly tight carbonation. It’s drinkable and attenuated and all, I just don’t care for this hop combo at all (really just can’t stand Galaxy). Still, it’s a well-made beer, but the BdG yeast is a bit odd here given that it’s nothing like a BdG. That’s fine, though, it’s always interesting to experiment.
Bright golden with a light bronze tint and a medium-high to high clarity, with ample carbonation and a foamy white head.
Tell-tale Galaxy hops in the nose give off spruce oil, bayberry and lemon notes, with some earthy and yellow fruit-laden mosaic notes. Mostly dry maltiness in the background adds crackers, dough, bits of honey and light vanilla. Fruity esters increase with warming, though so does the hop character.
Very hop-driven beer with moderate bitterness, light pepperiness and a dry grainy character combining with a strong but fairly tight carbonation. It’s drinkable and attenuated and all, I just don’t care for this hop combo at all (really just can’t stand Galaxy). Still, it’s a well-made beer, but the BdG yeast is a bit odd here given that it’s nothing like a BdG. That’s fine, though, it’s always interesting to experiment.
Tried
from Can
on 30 Oct 2015
at 21:21
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Draught at the brewery, 10/24/15.
Lightly-hazy, pale-gold liquid is well-carbonated creating a white head that sits about at cover.
Ahhhh, I f-in love Sorachi Ace and this would be the first of three Sorachi-hopped saisons I would have in 3 days. How lucky! Awesome tangerine-lime-pepper-coriander Sorachi signature (lemon dill is interesting too, though I’m not sure if I’d go as far as to call it a dill-like aroma, but maybe fresh dill?) gives way to light spongecake various nectarine and light peach esters, white pepper and soft doughiness. No alcohol, no flaws.
Dry, fruity and full-on zesty Sorachi character with biscuit-like malts, vanilla-honey sweetness and a amply carbonated medium-light body leading to a crisp finish. Yeast profile definitely plays second fiddle to the Sorachi here; not that the Sorachi is overdone, more that Mystic’s normal Saison yeast character is pretty easygoing, with light fruitiness and pepper that really supplement the hop notes. So in that sense, it’s very homogenous. Light acidity on the end, with no alcohol or flaw. Some heavy grassiness detracts a bit, but otherwise very enjoyable.
Lightly-hazy, pale-gold liquid is well-carbonated creating a white head that sits about at cover.
Ahhhh, I f-in love Sorachi Ace and this would be the first of three Sorachi-hopped saisons I would have in 3 days. How lucky! Awesome tangerine-lime-pepper-coriander Sorachi signature (lemon dill is interesting too, though I’m not sure if I’d go as far as to call it a dill-like aroma, but maybe fresh dill?) gives way to light spongecake various nectarine and light peach esters, white pepper and soft doughiness. No alcohol, no flaws.
Dry, fruity and full-on zesty Sorachi character with biscuit-like malts, vanilla-honey sweetness and a amply carbonated medium-light body leading to a crisp finish. Yeast profile definitely plays second fiddle to the Sorachi here; not that the Sorachi is overdone, more that Mystic’s normal Saison yeast character is pretty easygoing, with light fruitiness and pepper that really supplement the hop notes. So in that sense, it’s very homogenous. Light acidity on the end, with no alcohol or flaw. Some heavy grassiness detracts a bit, but otherwise very enjoyable.
Tried
on 30 Oct 2015
at 21:04
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draught at the brewery, 10/24/15.
Rich amber-colored body shows good clarity and a sienna colored head that is medium-sized and slow to fade.
Dried cherries, plums, vanilla, toffee and a touch of citric and malic acid-like character. Good richness of malt, the toffee and caramel being deep but not overdone or sweet. Biscuits, light brown bread and red fruits on the end give both dryness and fruity playfulness, while no alcohol comes through, nor flaw.
Fruitiness and breadiness up front with some soft vanilla and caramel emerging through the middle, with esters and light phenolic spiciness as well. Wonderfully carbonated and a malty, yet also slight biscuity/bready texture. Qutie dry overall, though there is malt richness felt at points, as well as light acidity and fruitiness to balance this. Incredibly well-done BdG and quite well-done to-style in an era where brewers call any malt-forward mid-gravity amber Belgian a Biere de Garde. Mystic is really on a tear lately...
Rich amber-colored body shows good clarity and a sienna colored head that is medium-sized and slow to fade.
Dried cherries, plums, vanilla, toffee and a touch of citric and malic acid-like character. Good richness of malt, the toffee and caramel being deep but not overdone or sweet. Biscuits, light brown bread and red fruits on the end give both dryness and fruity playfulness, while no alcohol comes through, nor flaw.
Fruitiness and breadiness up front with some soft vanilla and caramel emerging through the middle, with esters and light phenolic spiciness as well. Wonderfully carbonated and a malty, yet also slight biscuity/bready texture. Qutie dry overall, though there is malt richness felt at points, as well as light acidity and fruitiness to balance this. Incredibly well-done BdG and quite well-done to-style in an era where brewers call any malt-forward mid-gravity amber Belgian a Biere de Garde. Mystic is really on a tear lately...
Tried
on 30 Oct 2015
at 20:49
8.1/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draught at Mystic, 10/24/15.
Medium-sized white head is fluffy and full, receding slowly to cover atop a lightly hazy, lemon-lime tinted blonde liquid with light carbonation.
Brett in the nose is quite noticeable, but not pungently tart or heavy, adding more of a earthy, dusty, peppery character that combines well with soft, plastery Belgian yeast character, light dough-like malts and a bit of fruitiness that could be hop or yeast derived. Light citrus, white pepper and soft barnyard character emerges with warming, but nothing here jumps out and it’s a nicely restrained, easygoing nose with no alcohol or flaw.
The flavor brings light citrus, peppery yeast phenols, an easygoing brett tartness and plentiful hop spiciness mixing with hay-like malts, dough and more plaster on the end. Tight, soft carbonation and a dry taste overall make for a very drinkable beer that is a bit more complex and dry than their Table beer. The peppery phenols and brett really do wonders here and there’s just a bit of rustic flare to it. Really nice stuff. Mystic’s specialty, IMHO, is with fermentation, not hops, and this one really showcases that.
Medium-sized white head is fluffy and full, receding slowly to cover atop a lightly hazy, lemon-lime tinted blonde liquid with light carbonation.
Brett in the nose is quite noticeable, but not pungently tart or heavy, adding more of a earthy, dusty, peppery character that combines well with soft, plastery Belgian yeast character, light dough-like malts and a bit of fruitiness that could be hop or yeast derived. Light citrus, white pepper and soft barnyard character emerges with warming, but nothing here jumps out and it’s a nicely restrained, easygoing nose with no alcohol or flaw.
The flavor brings light citrus, peppery yeast phenols, an easygoing brett tartness and plentiful hop spiciness mixing with hay-like malts, dough and more plaster on the end. Tight, soft carbonation and a dry taste overall make for a very drinkable beer that is a bit more complex and dry than their Table beer. The peppery phenols and brett really do wonders here and there’s just a bit of rustic flare to it. Really nice stuff. Mystic’s specialty, IMHO, is with fermentation, not hops, and this one really showcases that.
Tried
on 30 Oct 2015
at 20:34
8.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Batch #2 750mL bottle (I think this was bottled some time in Spring 2015 but I’m not sure), drunk 10/23/15.
Fantastic pour, as Mystic is apt to be. Huge ashy-tan head tops a deep, dark ebony body with indeterminable clarity (seems like the beer is bright enough, based on the head, retention and flavor/texture).
Butterscotch, maple, tar, subtly smokey phenols and big notes of prunes, vanilla, plums and caramel. Alcohol very well-concealed, with nothing strange going on with the "Native Yeast". This is a blend of their native yeast culture and other, straightforward, commercial yeasts, which has obviously worked out light years better than their native yeast-only beers. Here we get a bit of acidity and rustic character from the native yeast, but yet it dosent run rampant, eating up every bit of sugar and leaving the beer hugely phenolic and astringent.
Wow. After how disappointed I was with Conviction, this is really encouraging. Perfect attenuation, leaving the beer on the dry side but with a chewy, lightly sticky texture that still provides plentiful maltiness. Phenomenal amount of complexity ranging from toffee and vanilla to cellar-like mustiness, wine-like acidity and very subtle smokiness. Fantastically tight carbonation creates a very drinkable, creamy mouthfeel, while nothing here is over or underdone. The almost salty buttercream-meets-caramel with a touch of maple and dry roast really seals the deal, while more dry, leathery, even rustic phenols linger on the finish. When Mystic nails it, they really nail it, that’s for sure. Hopefully I can find some more of this and get it out to some people in trades. This really is a top notch Imperial, which I certainly don’t say lightly.
Fantastic pour, as Mystic is apt to be. Huge ashy-tan head tops a deep, dark ebony body with indeterminable clarity (seems like the beer is bright enough, based on the head, retention and flavor/texture).
Butterscotch, maple, tar, subtly smokey phenols and big notes of prunes, vanilla, plums and caramel. Alcohol very well-concealed, with nothing strange going on with the "Native Yeast". This is a blend of their native yeast culture and other, straightforward, commercial yeasts, which has obviously worked out light years better than their native yeast-only beers. Here we get a bit of acidity and rustic character from the native yeast, but yet it dosent run rampant, eating up every bit of sugar and leaving the beer hugely phenolic and astringent.
Wow. After how disappointed I was with Conviction, this is really encouraging. Perfect attenuation, leaving the beer on the dry side but with a chewy, lightly sticky texture that still provides plentiful maltiness. Phenomenal amount of complexity ranging from toffee and vanilla to cellar-like mustiness, wine-like acidity and very subtle smokiness. Fantastically tight carbonation creates a very drinkable, creamy mouthfeel, while nothing here is over or underdone. The almost salty buttercream-meets-caramel with a touch of maple and dry roast really seals the deal, while more dry, leathery, even rustic phenols linger on the finish. When Mystic nails it, they really nail it, that’s for sure. Hopefully I can find some more of this and get it out to some people in trades. This really is a top notch Imperial, which I certainly don’t say lightly.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Oct 2015
at 23:31
6.5/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle 750ml. @ [ Danish Ratebeer Summer Gathering 2015 (TEODRBSG15) ] - fonefan & Brugmansia House, Denmark. [ As Mystic Mary of the Gael ].Clear medium yellow orange color with a small, frothy - fizzy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, fruity malt, sweet malt, tart, grapes, funky notes. Flavor is moderate sweet and light light acidic with a long duration, tart fruit - grape, sweet yeast. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20150829]
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Oct 2015
at 17:08