Crushable Saison
Brasserie de la Senne

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. Drank last night from a stemmed Southern Tier glass.

I picked up a little of that "soapy" flavor in the hops, but it seemed to fade as I drank more sips. The initial taste caught me off-guard due to that aforementioned flavor. After that, the beer was increasingly more drinkable.

Not one of my favorite recent beers, by any means, but it was enjoyable. Nothing extraordinary. 3.5 stars.

Pour is light hazed yellow with a tight white head. Nose is bright, leather brett up front with a nice smooth lemon and citrusy herbal hop. Taste has a stronger saison yeast presence and more leathery brett. Notes of spice, lemon comes in, hops are predominantly grassy and herbal through the finish. Light body and well carbonated.

 

Hazy light yellow body with a big øl soft head that gently collapses to a thin covering.

Citrus, melon, floral, a little cracker and musty.

Citrus, bread, fairly pronounced bitterness for such a little beer. Light, tingly, and dry.

Quite a hoppy little guy here. Really nice.

I enjoyed this courtesy of my brother, poured chilled from the bottle into a goblet.

The color is pale golden with slight hazed apricot hue with frothy white cap with stringy lace that sticks and average sized bead. The smell is earthen with herbal hop aroma and light grainy husky scent with light yeast ester which has a slight citrus rind accent. The feel is very tangy and medium carbonation pushes a high bitterness perception with mild body and dry spicy finish.

The taste is very good with hops up front bringing a spicy slight lemony flavor with mild dry and cracker-like malt somewhat on the low side malt flavor wise with a mild astringent hop quality with herbal and grapefruit type bitter element with a subtle peppery quality from the yeast as it finishes dry and light. This is a good hoppy pale belgian-dry and drinkable.

 

 

 

 

Philadelphia's Tired Hands brewers team up with Belgium's De La Senne for an authentic yet rustic farmhouse ale that shows as much charm as it does challenge.

Crushable Saison kicks off with a bright straw appearance until the yeast folds in to create a slight goldenrod hue through its bready haze. Its tangy and grassy scent rises to greet the nose while the first sip is supportive with cracker-type breading as soft confectioner's sweetness.

But once the middle opens, its farmhouse roots show: shifting to a spicy, grassy and herbal balance, a nearly light-stricken cannabis note rises. With its trailing sweetness, the taste of citrus rinds project with lemon, orange and apple hiding behind the earthen spicy.

With sweetness fading into the recesses, a malt structure remains with a wafer-thin substrate; just enough to support its lingering bitterness, spiciness and dried fruit peel. Bouncing off the tongue with ease, its medium champagne effervescence and racing acidity finishes as much like wine as it does ale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.2oz bottle. Poured out a golden orange color with a small, tan head of foam. It left some lace on the glass. It smelled phenolic with spices and yeast with a sweet caramel presence. Spicy and yeasty taste with some sweet caramel and fruitiness.

 

 

 

 

11.2oz bottle. Bottled 10/10/2013 and best before 10/10/2014. Served in a pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a pale straw yellow with 2 fingers of a white, soapy head. Excellent head retention. Body is lightly hazy with very high visible carbonation.

Smell: Lemon rind, grass, light funk, doughy, yeast spiciness and a slightly skunky smell as well.

Taste: More or less the same as the aroma. Lots of yeast spiciness, grass, mild lemon, slight breadiness in the finish. There's a strong, somewhat off putting, bitterness throughout, that lasts long into the finish and aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with very high carbonation. Probably a bit overcarbed.

Overall: I've never had anything from Brasserie de la Senne, but as a big Tired Hands fan, this was a huge disappointment. Not an awful beer, but not good either.

 

 

 

 

Pours a cloudy straw color with huge soapy head that slowly settles to a quarter inch. Big chunks of lace haphazardly strewn about the place. Smell: grapefruit peel, weedy, lightly doughy, pineapple note. Taste: grass, citrus and light tropical flavors with a crackery malt backing and a little pepper in the finish. Basically a nice hop heavy APA (or, ugh, "session ipa") that's been saison-ified just a bit. Don't expect any big funky / yeasty characteristics and you'll be happy. Quite cru/ooshable.

 

Opened 3.27.14
Bottled 10/10/13
BBD 10/10/14

A - Pours a murky, pale yellow with a huge off-white soapy head with great retention.

S - Grass, floral, skunky-funk.

T - Grass, wheat, floral, funk.

D - Tons of carbonation with a light body.

O - Light and airy, floral and light funk. Nice.

 

 

 

330 mL bottle poured into a HF wine glass

A: A cloudy straw yellow body with a sparkling thick white foam head about 2" high that holds on for several minutes, but leaves no lacing. The head readily reforms upon swirling the glass gently. The beer has very fine carbonation with tiny bubbles.

S: Hints of citrus and Belgian pale malt with overtones of grass and hay. Notes of pepper and a touch of barnyard funk. Strong sense of aroma dry hopping.

T: Classic saison with an emphasis on lemon and grapefruit followed by a pleasant hop bitterness. A slight grassy finish that doesn't linger, but fades into a clean dry palate.

M: medium body with high carbnonation typical of a Belgian saison. No oily aftertaste..

O: Crushable describes this well...a blend of old world Belgian tradition withTired Hands new world hoppy addition. I'd drink this any day.