Saison Lambic Pinot Noir
Nørrebro Bryghus

Saison Lambic Pinot NoirSaison Lambic Pinot Noir
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From:
Nørrebro Bryghus
 
Denmark
Style:
Saison
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
94
Avg:
4.41 | pDev: 7.26%
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
16
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Oct 16, 2016
Added:
Oct 28, 2010
Wants:
  96
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Photo of Fux
Reviewed by Fux from France

4.23/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
375ml bottles generously shared by Alex at our tasting to Sink all Sea Shepherds. Brewed by Shaun Hill as he was still brewer at Norrebro in January 2009, then aged 4 Months in French Pinot Noir barrels with Bretts then blended with 2007 3F lambic. A rare treat I did not expect to try some day! Probably one of the very few remaining bottles of this. Thx a lot, Alex!
A: Pours cloudy pink grapefruit with a large white head which fades while leaving some lacings in the glass.
S: Smell is not of saison, nor lambic, it has a huge amount of lactic acid in it, actually more reminiscent of an AWA. This kind of sourness does not age very well, so I guess, it was more than time to open this. Not much to say about the smell.
T: Taste is fortunately more saison like with barnyard, hay, stone fruits and brett. it finishes very dry with strong brett aftertaste. Pleasant but a bit one dimensional.
M: Good carbonation (not obvious given the age), light bodied. Perfectly sessionable.
O: Far better from the taste than the aroma. I would say it's a good saison but the presence of lambic and the barrel ageing are not obvious. Good beer but not so special. I'm glad for the opportunity to have tried it though!
Oct 16, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Nov 24, 2014
Photo of SpeedwayJim
Reviewed by SpeedwayJim from New York

3.52/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Unlabeled 750ml bottle from the source. Into a Lost Abbey teku. Reviewed from notes 10/7/14.

Pours a nice .5 finger foamy white head that hangs out for a bit. Beer is a slightly cloudy pale peach/orange. Decent.

Nose is surprisingly robust and vibrant. Hints of orange zest, peach, citrus, coriander and spice with just a touch of woodiness.

Flavor is just the opposite. Notes of citrus, peach, and spice with a mellow malt backbone. This is likely a shell of what it once was. The flavors are spot on but really faded.

Light bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth with some bubbles in the mouth and soft going down. Again, this lacks vibrance.

Over the hill now but I'm glad to have experienced what once was. The flavors are very mellow at this point but the nose is really outstanding still. Not worth trying any more but if they ever revisit this one... watch out!
Oct 08, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Jan 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by AgentZero from Illinois

Dec 13, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 28, 2012
Photo of Doodler
Reviewed by Doodler from Colorado

4.33/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Got to try a bottle at Nørrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen with my buddy Theis. Poured a murky orange body with fluffy white head. Nose is more funky than expected for a saison. Flavor is the same way, Vinous with barnyard brett and funk, and ending with a citrus sourness. Slightly dry and somewhat tart finish. An interesting brew for sure. Love to try again sometime but highly doubtful I'd find another anytime soon...
May 17, 2012
Photo of BearsOnAcid
Reviewed by BearsOnAcid from Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Golden pour with a small white tightly packed head.

Big 3F-like funk taking over the aroma. Barnyard and zesty cob webs. Very fruity too.

Soft fruit flavor, lemon rind, and apples. Bitter brett finish. Slightly leathery and a mineral-like taste. Only slightly tart. Some fruit sweetness cuts in to balance it out. I didn't notice a lot of the barrel either that or it's pretty well integrated into the beer.

The 3F lambic has really taken over this beer.
Oct 21, 2011
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

4.72/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Huge thanks to Jason for knocking off this long-time want. Served in a Drie Fonteinen long-stemmed tulip.

A - A finger-plus of white foam settles to a thin cap, leaving behind glass-coating lace. The body is a hazy peach-apricot color.

S - Very interesting - a delightful blend of full-bodied Pinot Noir, funk, stone fruits, light oak, and mild lactic acidity. As the beer warms up, more lambic-esque acetic character and vinous oak creeps in.

T - The taste is heavier in oak, with spicy red wine and barrel tannins. The use of a dark wine barrel with a lighter beer causes some cognitive dissonance, but results in some unique flavor combinations. The lambic character is mild, but adds depth by imparting a touch of lemon and tart appleskin, and a very faint medicinal note. Unfortunately, the taste loses much of the stone fruit malt character that I really enjoyed in the aroma.

M - Medium-bodied, moderate-to-low carbonation, and a tannic and dry, lingering, finish. Surprisingly hefty for a 6.5% beer - there is far more gravitas here that I anticipated.

D - Just a superbly crafted beer. Why is there no buzz on this? It's a Shaun E. Hill beer, aged in -bals, blended with '07 Drie Fonteinen lambic! Hopefully this gets recreated in some shape or form at Hill Farmstead, as I doubt I'll get another chance to try this delicious nectar. Yes, it was self-indulgent, but I'm glad we didn't invite anyone else over to share this.
Oct 20, 2011
Photo of jrallen34
Reviewed by jrallen34 from Illinois

4.64/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
bottle... dark gold, a bit or orange, very light tan head, leaves spotty thick head, thick lacing... smells outstanding, funky musky saison, oak, light red wine, a big sweet note... tastes really nice as well but I get mostly the saison despite getting three , very musky, the middle brings about all of the wine, tannic, full, oak, the finish is funky, really complex and fun to drink
Oct 20, 2011
Photo of brokensail
Reviewed by brokensail from California

4.47/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A big thanks to Shane for sharing this. Perhaps the beer I've most wanted to try for quite some time.

A: The beer pours a hazy but bright orange color with a big white head and some sticky lacing.

S: The nose is really very funky. There is a lot of grass as well as oak. A very mild mild wine aroma but plenty of fruit notes, especially apples, pears, and lemon zest. As it warms up, a strong blue cheese character comes out.

T: More blue cheese on the palate with lots of drying, tannic oak. Lightly tart with some lemon and lemon zest flavors. Hints of wine to go with the soft fruit notes, maybe a light grape and peach flavor, a nice citrus, too.

M: Medium in body with medium to high carbonation.

O: Just a fantastic beer. Wish there were more of these around.
Sep 23, 2011
Photo of Sean9689
Reviewed by Sean9689 from Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle shared by Shaun E, thanks!

A - Pours a sunny golden orange/yellow color, white-colored head, spotty lacing, thin whisps on top left here and there.

S - Citrus peel, oak, subtle fruity sweetness, brett funk. The brett character stands out the most but the fruity sweetness and citrus zest really add another dimension to the beer. The oak is there, but very slight.

T - Brett funk, sour/tart citrus, some oak, fruity sweet character. Like this nose, lots going on here. Nice funk and hay up front, followed closely by the fruit and citrus notes, which I really enjoy. The finish is slight tannic/tart which a touch of spice.

M - Light, crisp, refreshing, dry finish.

O - Very enjoyable, to say the least. Can't say I've ever had a beer like this one, which is awesome. I hope Shaun might brew another one of these some day...here's to hoping! Excellent!
Jul 13, 2011
Photo of JohnGalt1
Reviewed by JohnGalt1 from Idaho

4.52/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Another brew from Ditmier's Secret Santa... Thanks Eric, this was a real gem.

Pours with a short lasting white head atop a hazed yellowish orange brew... splotches of lace dot the descent.

Nose is lemony and oddly phenolic... the brett did a number that I am not too familiar with.... pretty woody.. not getting much in the way of vinous barrel qualities, but I think they are there.

Flavor is very oaky.. dirty earthy brett combining with an odd sourness... plenty of lemon and musty basement.. fruity esters make me think of white peaches... or even just their skins.. a lot of stuff going on in this brew... a bit of peppery phenols with a sort of medicinal flavor... despite all the above, this works pretty well.... I would love to try it again and just enjoy it for a couple hours.

Lite body with an okay carbonation.... not really spritzy like you would expect from both styles in this brew.

Really glad I got a chance to enjoy this one .... Props Eric.

4/4.5/4.5/4/5
Feb 25, 2011
Photo of HopHead84
Reviewed by HopHead84 from California

4.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2/20/2010

From old notes. Bottle opened by me at Woodshop 5.0, Thanks!

A: Appears a hazy peach color in my snifter, with a generous white head that lingers for quite some time. Some scattered lacing is left behind. Nice color.

S: The aroma displays lactic notes, reminiscent of apricot, grapefruit, and peach. Some grape skins are evident, giving the beer a subtle vinous character. There's a good deal of wood with notable tannins and a light wet leather presence. It possesses an earthy and musty quality, with a dash of cheese.

T: Lightly tart and acidic with a moderate lactic sourness and slightly brackish, with notes of pinot skins, lemon, orange, and apricot. Wood has a moderate presence, and cheese is once again detectable, though subtle compared to its presence in the aroma, and accompanied by earth notes. Finish is tannic and slightly dry with lactic notes, a light spiciness, and lingering stone fruit.

M: Light in body with lower moderate carbonation. The mouthfeel is soft, dry, and lightly crisp.

Overall: A great beer, and damn drinkable. I wish I had more of this stuff.
Jan 18, 2011
Photo of Arbitrator
Reviewed by Arbitrator from California

4.6/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Chilled bottle into a glass. Thanks, Jeff. Split with Ted, the late chswimmer (RIP).

A: Pours a clear marigold body with a half-inch off-white head. Retention is decent, but the foam remains as a thin cap on the beer with a thick collar on the sides.

S: Mmm. This is very bretty, primarily of the barnyard funk variety. There's some old cheese in there, too. I pick up notes of lemon peel and oak, along with minerals and a very light rubber / solvent note. Unfortunately, once I picked up that aroma, I simply couldn't forget it. But the rest of the nose was excellent.

T: Begins with flavors of barnyard funk, grass, and hay. As noted in the nose, this is minerally (almost salty), and I pick up an earthy bitterness. Lemon peel and citrus. This actually reminds me of Orval in the beautiful integration of brett character. The finish is tannic (kind of a buttery oak flavor), with stone fruit (peach and apricot -- thanks Ted). It ends with a light solvent note. Neither of us picked up anything that resembled pinot in the flavor, except maybe whatever the power of suggestion forced upon us.

M: Light-bodied. Carbonation is low-medium, not high and crisp. I'm not sure if that's a flaw, but it works well here; the flavors emerge more distinctly. It's not a very dry beer, which is odd to me; I figured the brett would suck up the residual sugars. There's a mineral character into the aftertaste. My main complaint is the light solvent note. Otherwise, great stuff.

D: I considered knocking Ted out and stealing his glass. Wish I had more. Beautiful, delicious beer. It reminds me of the bottled Saison Vautour, though this is not as dry, and is overall better.
Dec 30, 2010
Photo of sisuspeed
Reviewed by sisuspeed from New Hampshire

4.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to sleepydave for bringing this over!
2009 Bottle (375 ml)

Poured into a Hill Farmstead tasting glass. The body forms a cloudy, peach-orange, color with a thin white film on top. Nice lacing left behind.

A musty, earthy and oak-lined aroma rises up from the glass, followed by a nice white wine presence. Light sourness and a touch of brett funk. Citrus and faint spicy notes from the yeast. Quite enjoyable.

Wow, this really is a blend of lambic and saison. Both beer styles can easily be picked out in the taste. The rustic saison has some dry earthiness that mixes well with the light, fruity, sourness of the lambic. It seems that the barrels help smooth things out and add a touch of vanilla oakiness on top of their expected white grape flavor.

Mouthfeel is smooth, rustic and earthy with a good balance between sweet and bitter. Light sourness with light carbonation.

Drinkability is quite good. This is one tasty beer. I love the blend of the two styles. Easy to drink, but also complex and begging to be sipped slowly to appreciate all of the nuances. I really need to get another bottle or two of this. Could be exceptional with age.
Oct 28, 2010
Saison Lambic Pinot Noir from Nørrebro Bryghus
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 16 ratings