Raison Merveilleuse
Siboire - Dépôt

fashioned as a session belgian, this was one of the very best beers we had in here. its not too belgiany that the hops arent front and center, but its also not so hoppy and abrasive that the fruity and spicy nuances of the yeast cant be appreciated. its a wonderful balance in a style i am starting to seek out and enjoy more and more lately for some reason. this has a really citrusy hop profile, but also a fresh vegetal just picke organic spiciness, and i think whatever hops these are, are perfectly selected for the yeast in here, which has a soft peppery complexion along with more familiar orchard fruit and taffy belgian esters. the hops make it finish almost like an ipa, with the bitterness being fairly substantial, but it also drinks really easy, fresh dry cereal grain base and low abv but still some nice round body and effervescent carbonation, lemon and orange notes from the hops go nice with the fruitiness of the yeast, and it finishes very cohesive and fresh in all of its complexity. a very dialed in recipe, super crushable beer thats just full of flavor, not fermented too warm either, which is an issue for a lot of these. great beer!

The BA site says retired, but I was served some today at Siboire's new location on the main in Montréal. Pleasant if a little thin. The citrusy hops rather overwhelm the estery fruitiness which recedes into the background. For a better example of the Belgian Saison / IPA hybrid go for the Belgian IPA at Radical Road brewing in Toronto.

Tap at the brewpub: Poured a golden color ale with a nice foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet Belgian style malt with nice citrusy hops notes. Taste is also a mix of sweet Belgian style malt with fruity ester and nice dry citrusy malt notes with limited bitterness. Body is about average with good carbonation. Well brewed, refreshing and enjoyable.