I Rate Saison
Brasserie de la Senne

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a lightly hazy, medium golden amber with a fine, three finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, brett, tart light stone fruit and hay. Flavor is lightly grainy malt, lemon, tea, very funky brett, vague stone fruit. Finishes very dry and bretty. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp carbonation. Although this showed up in our area a few months ago, it is apparently hitting the two year mark, with a best by date of November, 2019 (has both brewed on and best by dates: huge kudos to all breweries who put this information on their labels). It popped aggressively on opening and I grabbed a glass expecting a gusher. Fortunately, it just foamed a bit and got a fine pour; big, bold white head though. This is one of the more bretty ales I've had, but it is not tart and within my comfort zone. Really an all round, dry, classic brett forward saison. . Rustic yeast and grain. Nicely made as expected from de la Senne. Glad I picked it up even with some age on it.

one of the best from one of the best. this saison and belgian pale thing is what these guys excel at the most in my experience, and i am in love with just about all they do. i had never heard of this one before and was over the moon to find one sitting there on a random warm shelf, what a treasure! i knew the beer would be yeast driven and interesting, they always are from these guys, but i didnt know it would rank among the best i have had of their work, its just immensely delicious, a perfect expression of this brett type, and a beer i could drink enthusiastically every day for the rest of my life, this is the kind of beer i most like to drink. its hazy pale straw colored with yellow edges, a frosted luster, and a tall, active, creamy white head with near perfect retention. the aroma is striking to me, fruity brett fully developed, some noble hop bitterness, blooming flowers and their pollen, fruit wood, potpourri, lemongrass, green tea, its insanely dynamic, tons of funk, minerals, and earthy rustic malt, but its also clean and professionally done, i smell for a long time before i taste, taking in all it offers. the flavor is every bit as dynamic, refined, interesting, and delicate as the aroma, the brett totally drives this and puts off some really cool fruity tones, green banana, papaya, lemomgrass, and elderflower, along with its more familiar belgian esters, wet animal, and barnyard funkiness, some burlap or something here too. the spelt is cool on the grain side, earthy and grounding but also able to uplift the other elements. there are some bittering hops here at the end with a lime note as well, all in exceptional balance, like an ecosystem or something. wonderful complexity as it warms, but i hardly let it and can barely set my glass down, insanely refreshing with all the carbonation it has, this really is effervescent. i adored this, one of my favorite saison types in a long time, and my only regret here was not buying more than just a single bottle. this should be in a 30 pack of cans, i could drink nothing else! not to be missed, drinking amazing right now!

 

 

 

 

 

330 ml bottle, Beer Merchants, Manchester. Warning - went up like Vesuvius when cracked !! Only about 5 beers have volcanoed on me over 10 years, one other being Orval. Brett is a very wild yeast, lol. Pours cloudy golden with a huge white foamy head. Nice lacing. High carbonation. Aroma - Straw, funk, overripe orchard fruits, bready/yeasty. Taste - Dry forefront, straw, funk, hay, bread/yeasty overtones, dry long finish. Beyond the opening issues was a very nice well balanced crafted brett ale.