Saison Vice - Beer Camp #30
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

 

 

 

I had a draft of this at Rattle & Hum last weekend, which must have had 30-plus Sierra brands on draft as a part of a promotion. As with many of the styles I tried, this was the first Saison I have had from Sierra Nevada.

I sample the Vice and the Versa together. Both are almost identical but the vice was a little spicier and the versa had a thicker mouthfeel. Both poured a light straw with a healthy saison-style head. Aroma was intense with belgian yeast and some hops. Flavor was also very true to stye and well crafted. Notes of lightly toasted bread, very yeast forward. Both beers are very good and I was glad to have tried them side by side.

On draft at Rattle n Hum, NYC.

I did a side by side with the Versa, so see my review of that for most of the applicable details.

The Vice, although obviously similar to Versa, expressed a sharper and peppery hop. Not better, just different. Both are excellent saisons and I am happy I could try them together.

Golden and clear with a soft white head that grips the glass well. Starts with a note of hay with citrus and clove. The taste is in a similar vein; a light sense of hay with a hint of clove and spice. It is not as sour and funky as I typically like my saisons. Good mouth feel, full and bubbly. Goes down easy, but not as complex as I prefer a saison.

From notes, side by side blind with the Versa. Enjoyed this, but thought the Versa was a bit better.

Pours a bright and pale gold color with a nice white head.

Aromas are of candied citrus, light spices and pepper.

Taste starts of with a creamy, malt, hard candy flavor. Beer then settles into some mild spices, a little pepper, and lemon, but the spiciness from the yeast is more toned down when compared to Versa.

Nice mouthfeel. Full and with good prickly carbonation.

Drinkability is good. A very solid saison.

A - Pours a nice hazy golden color. A nice finder of white head on top with okay retention and some nice lacing.

S - A little bit fruity and a a bit hoppy. There is a bit of spiciness in the aroma also. Also some light bread/yeasty smell.

T - Sweet and citrus up front. The maltiness comes up next and smooths out the sweetness. This is joined by some spiciness and the finish is strong of the yeast flavor.

M - Over all very dry, but the carbonation level, which is a medium-high, balances that. The tartness is also very pleasant on the tongue.

D - There is a lot going on in the flavor of the beer, which is a bit complex, but it is all well balanced and the dryness makes for a very drinkable beer.

On tap @ the Tap& Mallet (Rochester, NY) on 10/30/10. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a hazed gold, topped with a ½ finger of bright-white frothy head. This retains with about a ¼ finger of creamy richness, which throws a foamy cascade of lacing up on the sides of the glass that hangs in some sticky swathes. The aroma smells fresh cut grass, bitter earth, peppery clove, while fleshy fruit and bready malt gives this some sticky heft in the nostrils. Nice complexity here.

The taste is tight and crisp with sweet biscuits and green bitter citric character. There are LOTS of dry peppery notes here, which feel a lot like clove or coriander. A lot of the fruit that I got in the nose seems to be pared back here a good bit. Dryness and bitter tones hang on the tongue in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a crisp and prickly carbonation that fills up the mouth but then eases up some as you near the swallow. This is pretty easy and smooth feeling overall.

I liked this for the most part, as it had a good complexity and a body that gave this some presence. The only drawback for me was the spiciness from the yeast, which added a thickness to the flavors that cut back on the drinkibility of this for me some. This is still a rather well done Saison though.

Another Sierra Nevada beercamp beer. Someone local was involved in this one and gave me the scoop. They brewed a batch of saison and split it. The vice has Fantome yeast that their microbiologist removed all the other stuff in there. The vice versa was made with LaChouffe yeast.

A: Beautiful hazy golden color. A half finger of white head. My guess is they filtered this beer as there is not much of anything floating in suspension.

S: They filtered out the bret and spiders out of the Fantome yeast and that is a shame but it still smells good. light spiciness. Corriander. Little bit fruity.

T: Just a champ of a drinker. The pilsner malt comes through nice and clean. Touch of spice. Not that complex a taste but it tastes super fresh even though this was brewed in August. The esters come across nicely. Little hint of that fantome thing going on.

M: Very dry. Well carbonated.

D: Would have been better weather for this in August but it is a great beer. They really should release this as a seasonal. Super refreshing and dry. I wish they really turned Fantome loose on this one but they do have a lot of Pale ale to make. Really nice beer.

on tap 9/19/10 at Amherst Brewing Company

A - this saison pours a light golden wheat color with a thin wispy head that fades swiflty, no visible carbonation

S - funky, yeasty, bready, there is a respectable background hop profile, a strong citrus zest, very lemon-end of the citrus spectrum, some faint sweetness

T - citrine and sweet up front, a banana or bubblegum type sweetness, a definite spice element crops up, reminiscient of coriander or clove, this separates the sweetness and the bready/yeasty finish

M&D - nice layered flavors, complex enough to be enjoyable without pretentious, who would expect anything less from SN, quite an impressive Saison, well done SN

A-Hazy rich golden color
S-clovey and citrus, tangerine/oranges, slight banana hints
T-lots of citrus fruit, good spices, a little peppery, light funk at the end
M-Great carbonation, slightly tart
D-Awesome, I killed half the growler this evening, the rest for tommorow after a full day of working around the house.