Earthen dried fruits abound for maroon-hued ruby-shaded springtime farmhouse ale. Funky Belgian yeast musk consumes pepper-hopped orange rind bittering, yellow grapefruit sourness, black cherry tartness, and tannic purple grape parching of dark saison. Banana chip, pickled fig, and sugar plum undertones drift through recessive schwarzbier-like mocha-smoked malting.
Tag Archives: saison
ITHACA GROUND BREAK AMERICAN-STYLE SAISON ALE
Expectant musty farmhouse funk and tart lemon-dried bittering bring Belgian-like sour ale nature to rocky beige-headed saffron-hazed medium body. Phenol raw-honeyed nectarine, pineapple, banana, and curacao orange fruiting receives resinous hop-dried barnyard-horsehide astringency. Too harshly metallic and weirdly herbal to capture crossover attention.
ITHACA COLD FRONT BELGIAN-STYLE AMBER ALE
Conflicted winter ’09 release closer to funky fungi-scented farmhouse ale than ‘saison yeast’-injected amber ale (with strangely off-colored tan-headed brown-bodied appearance). Leathery smoked salami snippet fades out rapidly as inadequate prune-date souring and perplexed brown sugared banana-clove trifle prove less fruity than Saison styling indicates. Leafy earthiness lambastes warbled spicing, resinous backdrop, and cigar ash hint.
VICTORY HELIOS
Pour slowly hazy golden summery saison or billowy foam will coat glass of moderate-bodied compost-scented Belgian-styled farmhouse ale. Fulsome carbolic spritz indulges black-peppered grassy-hopped bittering, nearly overwhelming candi-sugared lemony grapefruit tang glistening above creamy mildness and dry earthen floral nuance. Tart lemondrop finish lingers over tertiary peach, apricot, and green grape illusions.
THE BRUERY SAISON DE LENTE BELGIAN SAISON ALE
Reliant on fresh farmhouse brettanomyces, this busily complex tawny golden peculiarity brings musty earthen minerals to herbal-spiced fruit-dried acidity. Candy-caned lemon-bruised tartness secures leathery horse-blanketed alfalfa-rosemary-sage-wildflower illusions and dry-hopped twiggy twine tousle.
GREEN FLASH SAISON
DUPONT BIERE DE MIEL ALE WITH HONEY
Pour slowly or pesky carbonation will overwhelm impressively balanced blend of floral-hopped apple-grape tartness, creamy caramel malting, and protracted barnyard-dried herbal spicing. Cotton candy mouthfeel absorbs delicate adjuncts. Despite its reference on the label, ‘honey’ is relegated to minor backup role. Like a fine Chardonnay, sweet-buttered 8% alcohol treat goes down like silk and shows endless character.
SLY FOX SAISON VOS
Prickly-hopped highly carbonated bottle conditioned Belgian-styled farmhouse ale with cloudy coppery gold appearance settles into leathery clove-coriander tranquility. Acidic Chardonnay dryness, rising lemony sourness, and turbulent champagne fizz reinforce secondary White Ale illusions, intensifying tart apple-skinned banana-greened urging, citric-teased peppercorn zip, and dispensable musk-y acridity. Capricious juniper bittering recedes to ester-y grape finish, leaving barren lemongrass-cardamom hint.
DUPONT FORET SAISON ALE
SOUTHERN TIER IMPERIAL CHERRY SAISON
Complacent golden-bronzed candi-sugared Belgian-styled saison (aged with French oak staves) retains abstract spicy fruiting, dismal acidic souring, and cork-y residue. Submerged oak-aged cherry tartness puckers tenuous dry hop bittering to unstable cereal-grained base. Indirect lemony orange-peeled grapefruit modesty lacks aggression. Distant cranberry, banana, and clove illusions fall away as cotton-candied cherry jubilee illusion beckons.
LAGUNITAS #10 CRISPY SUMMER ALE
DUPONT SAISON FARMHOUSE ALE
Tersely alcoholic bottle-conditioned summer-fruited treasure with cork setup flaunts heavy carbonation, champagne head, cloudy pale body, aromatic floral hops, and rustic barley-oats base. Billowy fizz overtaken by soured tangerine-quince-peach rhapsody, deepening orange rind influx and leathery horsehide snip. Honeysuckle-tinged burgundy finish remains dry, silky, and elegant. Distinguished drinkers will find it nice for sipping after dinner.


