Saison
Issaquah Brewhouse

As I've mentioned before, I have a love-hate relationship with Rogue. Their Issaquah location is handy, as it's right on the way to my parents cabin. It's annoying, because the food isn't good enough to warrant a stop. If I'm by myself, I love pulling off to have a beer. If I've got the boys or my wife with me, it simply isn't worth it. So, in complete violation of the above statement, I took wife, boys and brother in law there last Saturday.

My brother in law had just pulled in to town on Amtrak, so we picked him up at the station and headed out to the cabin in North Bend. He hadn't eaten yet, so we pulled into Issaquah to do that. As is typical, it was a disappointment, but this saison was not.

Saison is not a style I'm super familiar with, other than my periodic dances with Ommegang, but I've always enjoyed the Hennepin a lot. Also, Arlen Harris is back in the Seattle area after his brief dalliance with Rogue's new Eugene location, and has taken over the reins in Issaquah. So I've got high hopes. He's come back to Issaquah with the stated purpose of experimenting more with Belgian styles, and this shot appears to be the first one across the bow of the previously pedestrian offerings of this brewpub.

Apparearance: This was really the only area I felt was off. I'm used to a somewhat cloudy, unfiltered look to the Hennepin, but it still has a visual cleanness to it that this beer simply didn't have. Truthfully, in appearance I would compare it to a can of Widmer Soup (sorry, Widmer Hefeweizen). It's not off putting or unappetizing, just curious.

Smell: Mmm...this is one fruity motherfucker. I love that smell. I'm assuming here that Arlen is actually using a Belgian yeast in this beer, and it's paying off huge dividends for my huge ass nose. Marvelous.

Taste: Again, I only have Hennepin to compare this with, and it holds up pretty nicely. Hennepin is a much more perfected beer, but this is nice. A light bit of malty sweetness at the beginning, but the fruity, yeasty finish is what dominates this beer. Those flavors stick around for quite some time, playing very nicely together.

Mouthfeel: Contrary to the appearance, this is a nice, crisp feeling beer in your mouth. I (for no reason at all) expect my saisons to have a light mouthfeel, but not without a somewhat solid malt presence. This beer delivers very effectively.

Drinkability: Well, if I hadn't had my wife with me, I would have had two. However, she was pissed off at her brother for drinking too much on the train, so I abstained. Very nice, and I should have grabbed a growler of it to enjoy at the cabin (of course, there was also that whole "driving the kids back" thing that probably would have gotten in the way as well. Curse public safety!).