Ovila Abbey Saison With Sage
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Ovila Abbey Saison With SageOvila Abbey Saison With Sage
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From:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
Saison
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.83 | pDev: 8.09%
Reviews:
35
Ratings:
89
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 14, 2020
Added:
Dec 27, 2015
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  12
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by polloenfuego:
Photo of polloenfuego
Reviewed by polloenfuego from Canada (NB)

4.17/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours a beautiful clear hay/gold with a fluffy 2 -3 fingers of head. The head takes quite a while to break, and there is generous lacing. The smell is traditional saison, a touch of candi, nice spice with hints of pepper and perhaps a touch of sage. The taste follows the nose, and is quite enjoyable. The pepper and sage are far more present than on the nose. The feel is nice and full with medium carbonation.

A pretty good saison. I liked the addition of the sage, and it went down easy.
Mar 23, 2017
More User Ratings:
Photo of RMW66
Reviewed by RMW66 from Australia

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Seems confused to me - abbey style seems to be a pale Belgian style ale, which is more malty than a usual saison. Only slight funk and overwhelming sage / herbal / earthy flavors. Misses the mark IMO.
May 14, 2020
 
Rated: 3.94 by DigitGrowler from Kentucky

Oct 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by TheHopsman from Nebraska

Jul 11, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by a77cj7 from South Dakota

Apr 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by BenHoppy from Michigan

Jan 09, 2018
Photo of Vixie
Reviewed by Vixie from Florida

3.88/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours a nice clear golden yellow color with a slightly off white head that slowly dissipates, leaving a thin layer of foam across the top.

Nice floral outdoors type of smell to this. I feel a good saison should remind me of the outdoors, and this one definitely does. Floral and pepper seem to dominate the smell, and works very well here.

Sweet up front, mostly citrus and honey. The sage adds some spice to it, giving it a touch of pepper, and some light bitterness on the finish.

Solid and smooth going down, with a high amount of carbonation.

Overall I would say a better than average saison. It hits all the right notes for the style, from the look to the smell to the taste. It's too bad this one is retired, I would buy it again.
Jan 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by Patches826 from Massachusetts

Oct 16, 2017
Photo of bnes09
Reviewed by bnes09 from Illinois

3.51/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Golden yellow with a subtle off-white head. Sweet, honey like aroma with hints of sage spice. Dense and syrupy, sweet body with subtle sage and yeast funk. Not very complex and too sweet overall for my taste.
Sep 15, 2017
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.72/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I dunno what the deal is, but the ever impressive Sierra Nevada seemingly makes even MORE attractive looking beer in the Ovila series. Let's dive in.

Pours a yellow with good clarity, glow and a full 1" of white head on the top and above average retention and lace. Cool aroma, super allergic to sage, but it works with the phenolic saison yeast.

Taste isn't as phenolic, more of a clean vibe with sage. The sage is noticeable and not just something to write on the side of the bottle. A little bit of a bitter and then dry mouth feel and finish to it. Not highly hopped, but you still get citrus/grapefruit notes, albeit somewhat mildly. Its not a big barnyard funk saison, its more of the clean style, with a truckload of sage. Interesting and good, but no FOMO for sure if you miss it.
Aug 16, 2017
Photo of wmartin
Reviewed by wmartin from North Carolina

3.13/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
This was brewed once last year and generally available as a boxed set with 2 other kinds of beer. Occasionally you see it sold separately. At this point, it is hard to find any copies anymore, and I really won't recommend acquiring any anyway. This review is to document how the sage flavor held-up over time.

I acquired 2 bottles at the same time by mail order a year ago last spring. Drank one immediately. I found the sage flavor remarkably clear and strong. Making a sage saison makes some sense as saisons lend them selves to herbal overtones, and I think it was well crafted. However, I really didn't like the strong sage flavor all that much. It was a little over-powering and I debated pouring or finishing the second half of the bottle. Because the sage flavor was so clear and crisp, I decided to finish it. If you love sage, this was probably tremendous. I found it difficult. So, what to do with the second bottle? I decided to store it for a year to see if it improved through fading of the sage flavor. It was stored at closet temp (~72F) for 15 months; and I finally dared to try it. Upon opening the closet-aged bottle, I immediately smelled a very nice whiff of sage that was very pleasant, so I had some hope the beer would taste nice as well. However, upon tasting it, the sage flavor had, indeed, experienced quite a drop-off. I would sat 90% of the sage flavor was gone from 15 months of room-temp storage. There was more sage flavor remaining on the nose than the palate. Despite the drop-off of the main feature of this beer (the sage-forward flavor), I actually liked the bottle-aged version better because the fresh version was just too strong. I had no trouble finishing the bottle, but it was good, not great, tasting like a basic ale with a hint of character. The saison yeast flavors were not that strong either.

Review is based on the aged bottle.
Aug 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.8 by GregSemenza from Connecticut

Aug 01, 2017
Photo of Wasatch
Reviewed by Wasatch from Colorado

4.02/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Box Set One Of Three

750ml
Caged/Corked

Poured into a tulip a pretty nice clean/clear dark golden yellow color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice thick/creamy one-finger plus white head, which also leaves some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, yeasty, with a good dose of sage, slight pepper, licorice. The taste is pretty nice, malty, yeasty, with some sage, pepper, licorice. Medium body, ABV hidden pretty well. Overall, a pretty tasty brew.
Jul 30, 2017
Photo of Dewsby
Reviewed by Dewsby from Kentucky

4.3/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
L) Pours a lovely amber. The head is an offwhite with good retention and lacing.

S) The sage is definitely present in the aroma. It is an herbaceous bomb with plenty of lemon zest, light caramels, and a bold spice to back it up.

T) The taste covers everything present in the nose, although the spice is more subtle than the nose would indicate. Slight peppercorns with a strong lemon and pleasant malt backbone work wonderfully well with the light hoppiness and herbal overload.

F) Medium carbonation and body. Works very well with everything at play. It has a very "wet" feel and is a pleasure to drink.

O) This is a fantastic saison. Do not purchase without a love for sage, it's unavoidable in this one. Absolutely fantastic beer to pair with any acidic or light food.
Jun 28, 2017
 
Rated: 4.19 by generallee from Virginia

May 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by cmoore32 from Nebraska

Apr 23, 2017
 
Rated: 4.01 by DownyIsHungry from Minnesota

Apr 02, 2017
 
Rated: 3.59 by baklo from North Carolina

Apr 01, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Hellpop65 from Kansas

Mar 27, 2017
 
Rated: 4.17 by Commandophile from Illinois

Mar 21, 2017
Ovila Abbey Saison With Sage from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 89 ratings