SPF 45 Saison
Pizza Port Bressi Ranch

SPF 45 SaisonSPF 45 Saison
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From:
Pizza Port Bressi Ranch
 
California, United States
Style:
Saison
ABV:
6.7%
Score:
93
Avg:
4.25 | pDev: 8%
Reviews:
39
Ratings:
47
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 16, 2016
Added:
Aug 20, 2003
Wants:
  38
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Photo of ChairmanHoltz
Reviewed by ChairmanHoltz from New York

4.65/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
2005 bottle, consumed on 06/09/2016; capped, no cork. Opened to celebrate my brother's first child.

A: Pours a hazy orange/amber. Good carb for an 11 year old bottle. Settled to a 1/8 in. off white ring.

S: Nose was all honey. Not a hint of honey. Not some artificial honey aroma. It was like sticking your nose in a jar of pure honey. I assume oxidation produced this honey smell in a beer with zero honey. Maybe a little mustiness thrown in.

T: No real honey in the taste. Lots of fruity esters and spices. Without the list on the bottle, I don't know which spices I would have pinpointed. Orange peel and chamomile come through. But all the spices have melded together to create this beautifully indiscernible explosion of flavor.

M: Fairly full-bodied, carb level was appropriate and unobtrusive, dry finish.

O: This is the oldest beer I've tasted and I wasn't sure what to expect after 11 years in a green bottle. It was outstanding and I would definitely seek this out again.
Jun 16, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by zestar from California

Nov 10, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 14, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by uturn from Florida

Jan 16, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Dec 11, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by beerpadawan from California

Aug 27, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by Beertracker from Oklahoma

Jan 27, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by ithinkimasofa from Washington

Nov 15, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by ygtbsm94 from Utah

Nov 15, 2011
Photo of Gobzilla
Reviewed by Gobzilla from California

4.1/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured a golden orange with yellow highlights that had a half finger of head and left good bubbly lacing sticking to the glass. The nose was quite citrusy with honey, bready malty notes, spices, and coarinder notes. Upfront I got some applesauce character with lemon zest, orange, spice, grains, and malt notes but also had coriander coming through to accent the overall flavor. it also had a little underlying brett and cinamon as well. The brew was mediumbody with a nice amount of carbonation which had a sweet, spice, fruity, and malty finish. It drank really good and was glad to have tried it at least once.
Sep 12, 2010
Photo of brokensail
Reviewed by brokensail from California

3.85/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Thanks for sharing this one Gil.

A: The pour is a goldenrod sort of color with a large white head that displays some pretty good retention.

S: The nose offers up some good spice notes/yeast esters along with bready malts and a moderate sweetness. The citrus notes are pretty much gone on this one, but there is a hint of lemon and lemon zest.

T: A fair amount of spice notes opens up the palate: pepper, ginger, and citrus rind. Mildly sweet and bready malts round things out.

M: The body is medium with a lively carbonation to it and a really long finish.

D: This beer does show some signs of decay, but it has actually held up quite well. That said, I wouldn't necessarily advise hanging on to this much longer.
Sep 10, 2010
Photo of rallison
Reviewed by rallison from California

4.47/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Huge thanks to Chris Quiroga for bringing this to the Sea Of Floydster tasting - one of the standouts of the night!

Spicy, chamomile, light menthol, coconut in the aroma and the taste. Highly carbonated, but some wheat sort of body notes once the carbonation settled down.

Tasted incredibly good - this beer has aged very well. Awesome. Oh, and yeah, really bad cork.
Apr 02, 2009
Photo of Floydster
Reviewed by Floydster from California

4.57/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
750 ml bottle brought to the SeaO'Floydster tasting by cquiroga, thank you very much for bringing this Chris, had been wanting to try this for years, reviewed from notes, poured into my Stone sampling glass

A-Golden orange color with some yellow highlights, 1/2 inch foamy white head that stayed around a while, great retention, good lacing too, you can tell this was unflitered by just looking at it
S-Lemons, toasted bread, caramel, honey, oranges, other citrus, flowers, white pepper, whole grains, and coriander
T-Lots of ginger at the beginning, fades into a grainy and malty middle, honey and orange peel in the finish, pepper and other spices come out more and more as it warms, nice mix of citrusy fruit, malts, and spices at the end, an incredibly complex farmhouse ale
M-Spicy, sweet, citrusy, fruity, and malty mouthfeel, high level of carbonation, medium bodied, taste lingers a long time
D-Could drink this whole big bottle, no booze present, light and refreshing, still crisply carbonated, goes down easy and would be great on a hot day, enjoyed the lightness while still being very flavorful

The cork on this one was brutal and Dr. Bill had to take a knife to it for about ten minutes before getting out, even then some still landed in the beer, it was great to try an early Pizza Port brew, this saison surprised the heck out of me and was even better than expected, for a 2003 bottle it has aged incredibly without having that high of an ABV, would like to drink again, recommended
Apr 01, 2009
Photo of seaoflament
Reviewed by seaoflament from California

4.32/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to Chris Quiroga for bringing this bottle to the SeaofFloydster Tasting which took place on March 28th. I've been wanting to try this beer for a while now.

The color was dark golden with about a quarter in of foam that settled to a thin ring which lasted till the end.

The aroma was very good and interesting, it has such a soft and mellow floral aroma. Chamomile, sweet lemons, soft citrus fruits, spices, toast and caramel malts, and ginger bread in the background.

Spicy yeast flavors, chamomile, lemon, honey malts, and sweet toast. Tasty beer. Had a sharp and almost aggressive carbonation which smoothed out as it warmed up.
Mar 31, 2009
Photo of illidurit
Reviewed by illidurit from California

4.67/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
05 vintage bottle shared by cquiroga at the RBSG 08 Grand Tasting. Thanks! Poured into my La Chouffe goblet. Gold with a small but sticky white head. Aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg, with some apple notes. Flavor is similar, straight-up applie pie, spices and all. A little lemony tartness as well. Smooth as can be, easy to drink. Probably the best saison there is.
Aug 07, 2008
Photo of JDV
Reviewed by JDV from Texas

3.06/5  rDev -28%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Bottle shared by miketd, once again. Thanks dude.
Pours orange with a big lasting whitish head. Smell is lightly sweet, bright orange, and spices. Taste is spiced, with oranges again. Fairly dry, despite hints of sweetness. I must be a douche, because I don't seem to have liked this nearly as much as anybody else. What's new...
Jul 01, 2008
Photo of francisweizen
Reviewed by francisweizen from Washington

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Vintage bottle, 2006. Dark golden, peach like, hazy head of white soapy foam, dies quickly, slight cheese aroma in the air mixed with cork and blood. Aromas are fresh and funky, like an aged saison should be. Bread, earth, spices, a certain funky fruitiness. Taste follows suit, bitter on the back palate, light and fruity in the front with a great mid palate spiciness and spicy earth hop kick. Mouthfeel is medium bodied>light and very good, drinkability is stillg reat.

Like an aged DuPont or Avec. not quite there in terms of the overall product, but certainly heading in the right direction as far as worthy Saisons.
Apr 02, 2008
Photo of DaPeculierDane
Reviewed by DaPeculierDane from Wisconsin

3.95/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
750 ML bottle purchased at Ledgers Liquors in Berkeley, CA for $15.99 about 2 years ago.

Upon opening, SPF 45 immediately clocks in as an herbal/spicy saison in the vein of Strange Ghost or Avery 13. These are usually not my style of saison as I find the spice overwhelms any interesting yeast character that ought to be going on. SPF 45, however, ain’t half bad.

Appearance wise, SPF 45 is a winner. The beer pores a golden apricot with a health dollop of white fluff. Next comes an aroma intense with spice. Surprisingly the herbal and spice qualities (ginger, coriander, lemon, and poppy seed mostly) play synchronisticly with each other and SPF’s yeast aromas. Perhaps this is how the beer was crafted or perhaps it is a product of cellaring. In any case I appreciate it.

Flavor follows aroma closely in SPF 45. Lemon and coriander are large elements here too. To the beer’s credit, chamomile does not play a large roll, although I do pick up on some generic flower notes. Mouthfeel is crisp, spicy, and bone dry. Drinkability is good considering the spice, but overall it’s just average.
Jan 04, 2008
Photo of bennetj17
Reviewed by bennetj17 from Arizona

3.73/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to fartingdog who sent me this almost a year ago. 750ml bottle with 9-6 written on the side with a silver paint pen.

Brilliant, glowing copper/deep gold. Strong carbonation, medium thick head that settles quickly. Tart and spicy aroma, with mint-like or pepper notes. There is definitely some ginger in there and perhaps cinnamon also, plus an apple fruitiness.

The taste is somewhat tart with a citrus like fruit character. The ginger spice seems strong and carries along throughout the finish becoming a bit distracting. Where are the earthy, yeasty notes I would typically expect for a saison? The mouthfeel is soft with fine tingling carbonation leaving a touch of foam. Nice.

I think the spices/additives were too much for this beer and really hurt its drinkability. To me this was not very reminiscent of a Saison. Worth a try if you can even find some...
Sep 24, 2007
Photo of Georgiabeer
Reviewed by Georgiabeer from Georgia

4.1/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 750ml bottle bought from Ledgers Liquors in Berkeley about 1 year ago and stored carefully. Pours a cloudy orange golden with a white fluffy head that quickly fades to a thin rim. Aromas of orange juice, ginger, coriander, maybe some light honey, and grains of paradise. Very dry and slightly peppery from the grains of paradise. The taste is also quite dry, and maybe too much so on the finish- a little more fruit at the end might make it a little more thirst quenching. As it is, its still delicious with similar flavors to the aroma, but with more restrained orange, better balance, and a creamy vanilla flavor as the base. The very dry citrus and spice is mostly prsent on the finish. The mouthfeel is pretty good, but it could be a tad crisper, Ditto on the drinkability, with some more sweetness or tanginess needed as well.
Apr 27, 2007
SPF 45 Saison from Pizza Port Bressi Ranch
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 47 ratings