Of Love & Regret
Stillwater Artisanal Ales

Of Love & RegretOf Love & Regret
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From:
Stillwater Artisanal Ales
 
Washington, United States
Style:
Herb and Spice Beer
ABV:
7.2%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 12.86%
Reviews:
133
Ratings:
361
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 21, 2020
Added:
Aug 06, 2010
Wants:
  19
Gots:
  55
For the first edition of the Stillwater Import Series I traveled to the village of Beerzel, located in the Antwerp province of Belgium. Here I teamed up with brewmaster Jef Goetelen to craft an authentic Belgian version of my liquid interpretation of the Spring season. A recipe originally contrived a few years prior as a collaboration brew with my good friend Paul Kretzer. The base is German barley & wheat, with a touch of Belgian aromatic; accented with grassy hops and an array of spring botanicals (heather, chamomile, lavender, & dandelion). Like a fresh meadow in spring.
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Ratings by metter98:
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

4.12/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: The beer is hazy yellowish orange in color and has a high amount of visible carbonation; some yeast particles are floating in suspension. It poured with a finger high white head that quickly died down yet consistently left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface.
S: There are moderate to strong aromas of herbs in the nose—heather and lavender stand out in particular.
T: Like the smell, the taste is dominated by flavors of herbs, much like you would expect from that of a gruit, although the finish has a slight amount of bitterness and spiciness.
M: It feels light-bodied on the palate with a moderate to high amount of carbonation. There are some notes of dryness in the finish.
O: This is definitely a unique saison and is a beer that I would want to try again.
May 20, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of ichorNet
Reviewed by ichorNet from Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Oh wow, I totally forgot this was a beer Stillwater used to make, which is why it's called Of Love & Regret 2020 on my can, and was brewed at a facility in New Haven, CT (hmm, same place that made my American Solera beer I just recently reviewed? Probably). It's likely the same general recipe as the retired version, so I'm not really sure it needs a new entry because as far as I can tell the only thing missing is the heather flowers. This version utilizes dandelion, chamomile, and lavender just like the original, making it a floral saison, almost gruit-like in a sense, but I believe it does utilize hops which would thus disqualify it from being a "true gruit." Anyway, let's get into it.

The pour here is an opaque deep yellow/light-orange beer with a retentive, well-built head of bone-white foam that lasts and lasts. As with most saisons worth their salt, this one really places a lot of emphasis on the foam and follows through on that emphasis really well. Good legs and solid lacing as I sip at it. I'm expecting a very good product from Stillwater here... I haven't seen anything from Brian in a while, so this was exciting to find pop up at a semi-local shop I happened to stop by.

The nose is more funky and rustic than floral, in all honesty, and I pick up aromas of spelt, wheat, complex nuttiness, and orange peel before I pick up any of the various flowers used. Once it warms a bit, I do pick up some soft, subtle lavender and bright, pungent dandelion, but they definitely aren't as prominent as the base beer, which seems to be a superbly-crafted and rendered rustic saison very much in the vein of classics such as Saison DuPont.

Flavor profile again features some soft and well-defined graininess ranging from crackery to biscuity with small deviations towards bitter, leafy, herbal hops and, indeed, a good amount of floral complexity from the added flower additions. Again, the dandelions seem to take over for the most part, bringing forth a bright, snappy, intriguing aspect that I really appreciate. As mentioned earlier, this really does remind one of a gruit beer, though I'm almost 100% certain there are hops involved, as the bitterness feels grassy and leafy apart from the flowers themselves. The chamomile gives off a light tannic/tea-like herbal note and the lavender provides some light tannins as well along with some slightly "darker" elements that remind me a bit of plum and blackberry, though I could be imagining things. This is really damn good.

Feel is fluffy but present, always letting me know it's not a session beer with each sip. This is a pretty heavy one, even though it does ostensibly seem "light" in flavor and approach. Kinda like a lot of traditional saisons that lie in the 6-8% ABV range... this ain't no grisette. This is appreciably intense while still remaining characteristically Belgian at the end of the day. Stillwater nails it once again.
Aug 21, 2020
 
Rated: 3.62 by DVMin98 from North Carolina

Oct 25, 2019
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.64/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
It is difficult to know for sure what you are drinking when the label says "saison" and it is drunk as such with appropriate food and I go to review it and I learn it was entered as an "herbed" beer. Personally, the label is more accurate. (Does someone know how to call the Style Police ?)

Typical of the extra-marital impulse, Of Love & Regret gets high marks for Looks; a billowing foam that stays around. But Smells (perfumes?) are intriguing; given the botanicals promised. Unlike the enticing Looks & Smells, Tastes leave a long and unpleasant, somewhat alcoholic, finish; like the herbs don't like each other.... and not unlike the the jealous wife stabbing away on the label. Same goes for Feel, only worse. I bet the next day, it is worse than a hangover.

Overall, a clever name and concept. Lesson: beware the enticing Looks that develop into a bad ending.
Nov 14, 2017
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

3.81/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Treated as a saison because that’s what I thought it is, this was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a hazy golden yellow color with a light carbonation rising at a nice pace. Finger’s worth of white foamy head quickly dissipated. Light lacing slides right on into the beer. The smell takes on sweet bready to floral (lavender) with a sweet earthy/grassiness rubbing shoulders with some sweet crisp herbal leafiness. The flavor takes the previously mentioned flavors and wraps together a fantastic herbal/floral/bready combined sweetness. Definitely brings on that lazy sweet "evening" quality of an aftertaste and subtly sliding on into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a good sessionability about it. Carbonation rides fairly low in this one, still, a subtle stickiness, but not cloying. Overall, good saison, I could come back to.
Jun 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.14 by Ctbibleandbeerman from Connecticut

Jun 16, 2017
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.59/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
12oz single bottle - a much more appreciably affordable offering than the last time this gypsy brewery came knocking on Alberta's back beer door. Or something.

This beer pours a mostly clear, pale golden yellow colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and yet somewhat fizzy ecru head, which leaves a few instances of not-yet-eroded mesa profile lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of gritty and crackery pale malt, a lesser wheaten graininess, dried clover honey, some estery Belgian yeastiness, musty dead botanicals (don't fucking care which ones), a touch of lemon and plain orange citrus rind, and some meek earthy, leafy, and weedy noble hop bitters. The taste is semi-sweet, grainy and doughy pale malt, a hint of caramelized wheatiness, some heady mixed and matched floral essences (lavender, sure, but more department store perfume aisle characters than I particularly care for), more laid-back Low Countries yeast, and a lame earthy and weedy noble hoppiness.

The carbonation is actually quite understated in its workaday frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and generally smooth, neither the yeast, overtly floral acridity, nor as yet hidden boozy quotient taking this as their coming-out party, as such. It finishes well off-dry, a lingering mixed maltiness keeping all those estery botanicals just at bay.

Overall, I'd forgotten what a wank-fest this brewer was after not having to endure their hegemony on my local bottleshop's shelves for such a long spell, but, in the words of David Coverdale, here I go again. Yeah, this is a Saison, underneath of it all (sounds like another potential Whitesnake song, eh?), but it's hard to tell at times, what with all the crap going on that reminds me of my late mother's always overwrought toiletry collection. Yeah, that.
Mar 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by Lukass from Ohio

Feb 10, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by valkyre65 from Texas

Jan 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by Mattias from Sweden

Nov 01, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by EEscobar from Tennessee

Oct 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4.7 by evanwoertz from California

Aug 13, 2016
 
Rated: 4.75 by psoriasaurus from Thailand

Jul 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.78 by StoutSnob40 from California

Jun 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by swgwilt from Tennessee

Jun 15, 2016
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

3.57/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

Peach orb keen, orange highlights and apricot lighter hues for the body color. Big booming fire of carbonation, through a slightly hazy body. Head creation makes a fleeting white one finger head, that dissolves to a fine collar and bulls-eye centered top.

Aroma hits with honey hints and herbs. A bit of a muddled mess as nothing really comes out distinctly. Moderate sweetness, very little saison character, just a simple but good sucrose hit.

Palate provides some simple basics. Lightly sweetened with a mild honey coating, big amounts of herbs and aromatics in the mid palate. This continues on the finish, a sage and green leafy dryness and tannic quality, almost gets into drying anise flavors as well but much more sharp than expected. Belgian sugar candi hints a little bit of honey tones but not quite, or adding much else to the brew. A touch of baby aspirin starts to linger after awhile.

Decent brew but was hoping for a little more classic Belgian character, and to easily distinguish some of the more distinct ingredients which don't seem to come out so easily.
Jun 04, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by tsgooch79 from Kentucky

May 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.81 by cgrunin from Texas

May 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.02 by innominat from Ireland

Apr 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by rspauldi from Texas

Apr 21, 2016
Of Love & Regret from Stillwater Artisanal Ales
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 361 ratings