La Sottise
Brasserie Dunham

the least impressive of the recent beers i have enjoyed from these guys, a dry hopped saison type, but it smells a little stale to me, like maybe something went wrong in the shipping or like its been sitting awhile waiting to be tapped. as pretty and lively and bright looking as it is, it sort of just smells like a tired ipa or pale ale, on its way to stale and oxidation, but that aromatic doesnt hang around for very long, and its less a factor in the taste. i still really like the dunham saison yeast here, lightly tangy and with a little earthy rustic charm about it, not quite funky, cleaner than a belgian strain normally would be, intriguing and delicate. the hops taste a little better than they smell, some citrus there, some cut grass and flowers, springy and not bitter at all, a little wet cardboard creeps in here still though. the malt base is nice, wheaty and light but still with a bit of body, well dry, supporting the yeast nicely, and contributing some needed balance for the hops. i suspect this was a bit old by the time it made it to my glass, but i still enjoyed it. i hope to get the chance to try it fresh maybe a little closer to the source some day...

1L howler from Sherbrooke Liquor store. A Saison hopped with Ekuanot, Falconer's Flight and El Dorado, and also a collaboration with Le Sot de l'Ange, which appears to be a winery in France.

This beer pours a hazy, pale golden yellow colour, with three zaftig fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and rather bubbly off-white head, which leaves a decent array of frilly lace around the glass as it slowly seeps away.

It smells of earthy yeast, muddled domestic citrus rind, a further indistinct tropical fruitiness, some grainy and crackery pale malt, a touch of black pepper spice, and some plain weedy, floral and dank piney green hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy cereal malt, mixed pome and citrus fruity notes, a gently phenolic yeastiness, ethereal earthy spice, and more understated leafy, musty, and piney verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is average in its palate-coddling frothiness, the body a solid medium weight, and mostly smooth, with just a hint of yeast acridity maybe not playing nice with the other kids at this particular juncture. It finishes trending dry, the yeast and hops agreeing, as such.

Overall - I'd have to say that while the hops do bring a lot to the table, it's still the yeast that runs the show. Crisp, not too hard to put back, and an interesting example of a 'hoppy Saison'. Though I do wonder what the winery provided, in terms of 'collaboration'?