Saison Noir
Bridge Road Brewers

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From:
Bridge Road Brewers
 
Australia
Style:
Belgian Dark Ale
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 7.12%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
10
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 03, 2013
Added:
Sep 05, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by spicelab:
Photo of spicelab
Reviewed by spicelab from Australia

3.8/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750mL bottle thanks to Adam@Platinum.

Tarry black with a colossal rocky saffron-coloured head. Despite it's size, only sparse lace spots and a slight ring and film remain after 5 minutes.

Interesting, pungent one-two combo of roastiness and funk, underlain by dark fruits. Plenty of coffee and milk chocolate, roasted nuts, dried hay, liquorice bullets, stewed plums. Some medicinal notes mar what would otherwise be an excellent nose.

Flavours are similar, but show less yeast/Saison character than the nose.

Medium body, with less intense carbonation than first appeared. Not an especially dry finish.

Manages to combine the Porter and Saison elements with no Frankenstein effects to speak of. Love your work Bridge Road.
Mar 25, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by heygeebee from Australia

Feb 03, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by danieelol from Australia

Nov 28, 2011
Photo of Macca
Reviewed by Macca from Australia

3.9/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This pours a very dark brown/black with a huge rocky brown head which settles down nicely.

The dark malts dominate the nose for me. Mostly chocolate and coffee. Very porterish. A hint of something yeasty hiding in there.

Dark malt characteristics continue on the palate and are the upfront flavours. Again the saison yeastiness is lurking more as a hint than a pronounced flavour.

High carbonation gives it a nice round mouthfeel.

Nice beer but I certainly don't get the saison attributes that I really enjoy in their normal saison.
Nov 25, 2011
Photo of nataku00
Reviewed by nataku00 from California

3.61/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On tap at the Local Taphouse, poured into a tulip while on vacation in Sydney, Australia, reviewed from notes. Beer poured pitch black with two fingers of brown head consisting of creamy foam. Lots of sticky lacing on the glass as the head gently dissipates. Can't see anything through the beer so can't check for carbonation.

Nose is roasty, mainly roasted grains with a hint of coffee with some fruity esters, apples and pear.

Taste has some earthy bitterness up front that I didn't smell, then the roasted grains, coffee and toasted dark bread come through. Mild fruity esters struggle to punch through the roastiness. Finish is medium with some lingering roasted malt.

Medium body with a large amount of soft carbonation contributing to a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Pretty easy to drink, though I wish the yeast flavors were a little more prominent.
Nov 17, 2011
Photo of lacqueredmouse
Reviewed by lacqueredmouse from Australia

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
750ml bottle purchased from Slowbeer in Melbourne. Very happy to get the opportunity to try this.

Pours a dark, but thin black-brown colour, with a frothy but soapy and large-bubbled head of pale mocha. Lacing sticks in goopy patches to the edges of the glass. No carbonation present, but the volume of the head implies that such a carbonation must exist.

Nose is husky and dark, but with an underlying spice and acidity which suggest the genesis of the style. Together, it gives a slightly sharp phenolic bite, what with the yeast giving its funky, slightly sour characters, and the grain giving a deep, grounded roastiness. Nice.

Taste is similar, although the Saison characters give it a thinness that is quite unbecoming. Still, the roasted, husky bready characters ground the beer, lending it some gravitas that the lofty, spritzy and refreshing saison funk does everything to try to mitigate. It's a cacophonous mixture, meaning that neither of these fine characters is really shown to its full potential.

It's a surprisingly light and easy to drink beer, but one that suffers from an identity crisis. I guess that any "black saison" probably suffers the same fate, but I can't help feel that there's another out there somewhere which manages to integrate the disparate elements better.
Sep 24, 2011
Photo of joecast
Reviewed by joecast from Australia

4.5/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Darker than the stoutish porter I just had with a thick coffee head. Pretty damn gorgeous.

Surprising how the belgian character remains despite the dark color. Not expected, but absolutely lovely. Mostly spicy yeast but a hint of the dark malts there as well. Would love to sit a sniff this for a while as it warms.

The malt is a bit more pronounced in the taste. Like somebody dropped a shot of espresso in my ale. The blending of the two sides is impressive though. They contrast so much individually but together they play off each other fantastically.

Wow. What a triumph. A huge risk doing something like this and it has come off incredibly well.
Sep 12, 2011
Photo of ADZA
Reviewed by ADZA from Australia

4.03/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a nice dark as night hue with beautiful carbonation that leaves behind a creamy two finger head that stays and leaves heaps of lacing very inviting,the smell is oak,dark grapes,funk,roasted malts and sav blanc,the mouthfeel is just under light bodied and has tastes of oak,cherry,dark fruits,roasted malts,red and white grapes and is finished with a toasty dryness and overall its a unique drop that i quite enjoy and could easily see this being paired with a nice hearty roast or fish platter its that versatile and no doubt would buy or drink again cheers.
Sep 11, 2011
Photo of laituegonflable
Reviewed by laituegonflable from Australia

3.95/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On tap at the Local Taphouse 3/9/11.

Pours a mostly black colour with mahogany tinge up to the light. Head is ochre, small bubbles but not so dense it doesn't sink. Thin crown remains behind but lovely lacing as well. Nice.

Smells largely roasty with some espresso coffee and some sweeter chocolate. Mildly sour notes with some fruit and a hint of peppery Belgian funk. Bit portery but nice organic edge to it.

Taste is very intriguing. Nice and dark upfront with roasty notes, plenty of cocoa and darker caramel that develops nice organic notes giving tart fruit - blackberries and spiced pear with some black pepper and slight off hints of barnyard funk. Nice palate development and dark notes complement the tartness to produce a pleasant contrast. My only critique is that the funky saison notes could have been emphasised a bit more - which interestingly is the same criticism I gave to the other black saison I've tried (Drs Orders Synapse), which leads me to question the validity of this experimental style.

Decent body but not a lot of texture, quite dry on the back.

Good balance, and enjoyable drinking. Cut, contrast, compare - check check check.
Sep 06, 2011
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

4.03/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is the Bridge Road 6th Anniversary beer, a Black Saison with the yeast profile of their Chevalier Saison combined with the malt profile of their previous anniversary beers.

Pitch black colour with a big, fluffy, creamy, tan head. Fair head retention and some lacing.

The aroma with interesting with roasted malt notes playing against banana and lemon with some mild spicy notes. Interesting.

The sharp roastiness with some earthy hops, chalky mineral character and some fruity esters and a touch of pepper is very interesting. I like this and think it is a truly unique beer.

Medium-light body with moderately-high carbonation. This works well.

For me, this is a truly unique beer. The combination of a porter grist and a saison yeast profile is truly interesting and works in the same way that a banana split works. Very good.
Sep 05, 2011
Saison Noir from Bridge Road Brewers
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 10 ratings