Cuvée D'Hiver
Driftwood Brewery

Cuvée D'HiverCuvée D'Hiver
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Driftwood Brewery
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Saison
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.08 | pDev: 12.25%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
21
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 28, 2014
Added:
Feb 27, 2011
Wants:
  8
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by LazyL:
Photo of LazyL
Reviewed by LazyL from Canada (BC)

3.88/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A bright crystal clear tellow with a thin whispy white head. I find allot of grassy hemp notes and some Belgian esters. The taste is very fresh. Grass and lemon, with some spice on the finish. The mouthfeel is smooth with a medium body and soft dryness. There is limited bitterness but also not too sweet. This is a good well balanced beer and a easy drinker for 6.5%.
May 15, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by seldomseen from Canada (BC)

May 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by 604growler from Canada (BC)

Apr 03, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by KalanM from Canada (BC)

Nov 29, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

Sep 10, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by 4ster from Canada (ON)

Aug 19, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by cartwar from Canada (BC)

Feb 08, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by Torontoblue from Canada (AB)

Dec 14, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by Mages64 from Washington

Dec 03, 2011
 
Rated: 3.75 by chickenm from Canada (BC)

Nov 21, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by EskimoDave from Canada (BC)

Nov 21, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by pudoo from Canada (BC)

Nov 19, 2011
Photo of DaftCaskBC
Reviewed by DaftCaskBC from Canada (BC)

3.95/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A: 1" white head over golden straw coloured liquid with very good clarity.

S: Citrus and yeast.

T: Yeast up front which transitions to a subtle citrus flavour.

M: Thin viscosity with a medium level of medium carbonation.

O: A good Saison that is not quite as good as the more established European varieties.
Sep 08, 2011
Photo of grub
Reviewed by grub from Canada (ON)

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Viggo brought this one over. Thanks eric!

22oz bottle. Sampled July 1/2011.

Pours hazy deep orangey yellow with a big cap of off-white head. The head drops slowly and leaves a bunch of thick lace as it falls.

Aroma is great. Floral. Nice yeasty saison spice. Touch of funky character. Honey and a bit of caramel. Light alcohol. White bread and cracker. Touch of grain.

Taste is nice. Lightly sweet caramel and honey. Floral and slightly perfumey. Light alcohol. White bread and cracker. Light yeasty spice. Low bitterness level.

Mouthfeel is nice. Around medium body, which is a bit full for the style. Very fine carbonation, just above medium level.

Drinkability is pretty good. The alcohol warmth starts to show through by mid-glass, which seems a little odd for the style, and I'd have thought that big body would have held it down a bit more. I could go for a little more funk, but that's my personal preference for saisons. A solid example of the style.
Jul 01, 2011
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.67/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
worthwhile to try farmhouse. Finally B.C. business picks up, by having a French title that works after having to put in on everything though noone needs French out here. Yellow body with lots of foam head, lacey. Farmhouse aroma, thouh hay and grassy. Smooth mouthfeel. Not too drinkable.
Jun 05, 2011
Photo of Rutager
Reviewed by Rutager from Canada (BC)

4.15/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Appearance. Pours a nearly clear straw with a finger of frothy white head leaving a little lacing.

Smell. Light grains, spicy yeast, some floral, grassy hops.

Taste. Grassy hops, lightly toasted grains, lemons and yeast funk. Slightly acidic with little alcohol presence. Not too shabby.

Mouthfeel. Light body with medium-strong carbonation. Crisp and refreshing.

Overall. Very nice for the style and while not really my thing, I enjoyed this. Do these guys make anything that isn't remarkable?? I plan to find out by trying everything they make and monitor often for consistancy ;-)

Hey Driftwood, do you need a Q&A guy?? Right here.
May 23, 2011
Photo of bobsy
Reviewed by bobsy from Canada (ON)

2.84/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Cheers to Eric for bringing this one over - keeps up my streak of getting my hands on most offerings from this great Canadian brewery. I'm gunning for that fat tug like a German U-boat.

650ml from EskimoDave, thanks! This was a big want. Superbly packaged as always, Driftwood is a Canadian leader in this. Also, love the idea of local growers and glad Driftwood is going to keep doing this - my full support is behind these guys.

Cloudy gold pour with a fluffy white head. Nice retention and lace. Meh on the aroma. Sweet, simple malts, beet, metal, mash tun, earth, mineral. Guess it smells like the soil of Vancouver Island, but mstly it smells of a beer gone awry. Same can be said of the flavour. It tastes a little like taking a sip from the mash tun, and throwing in a few metallic hops and a splash of fruit. Medium body and carb.

A rare, rare miss from an otherwise excellent brewery. I`m guessing this just didn`t turn out as well as they hoped.
Mar 23, 2011
Photo of Derek
Reviewed by Derek from Canada (BC)

4.08/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
A: Clear, yellow straw with a white head, ring of retention, light lacing.

S: A fairly mild nose, but there's considerable depth. A slight earthy funk, floral, lemon zest, grassy, slightly metallic with some grainy biscuit.

T: Steelie grass, lemon zest, metallic earthiness, hints of phenols & funk from the yeast, biscuity malt, modest bitterness, refreshing tang, alcohol is imperceptible. This brew is so delicately balanced the flavours are fairly subtle. Very well crafted; should be enjoyed by all.

I remember the early organic malts that had a distinct graininess, which seemed like the maltster was inexperienced, but this is truly an excellent artisan product.

M: Very crisp, well-attenuated, light to moderate body has a slight hint of acidity.

D: Like water. Ironically, this would be a really great summer brew.
Mar 15, 2011
Photo of canucklehead
Reviewed by canucklehead from Canada (BC)

4.1/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I get that this meant to highlight the winter barley crop from a local producer but this is the perfect summer beer. Very light colour with a crisp citrus nose this beer is lighter in body and taste than the usual Farmhand Saison. The beer is slightly tart but carries off the citrus/yeasty taste that is never overpowering. Very nice beer that would great on a patio
Mar 14, 2011
Photo of ritzkiss
Reviewed by ritzkiss from Canada (ON)

3.53/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
650ml from EskimoDave, thanks! This was a big want. Superbly packaged as always, Driftwood is a Canadian leader in this. Also, love the idea of local growers and glad Driftwood is going to keep doing this - my full support is behind these guys.

Pours a cloudy light golden with a finger of head which has some nice retention.

As soon as you bring the beer to your nose you know something different is going on. Real metallic earthy notes, hints of rusty nails, almost a wheat smell (though there is none), hints of citrus, a little earthy sweetness.

Taste is equally hard to pin down. Metallic earth with hints of rust, a real peppery spiciness, splashes of clean lemony juiciness, a touch of fruity esters, light phenols. Thin body where the malt struggles to hold its own (too bad since they trumpet the malt on the bottling), dry finish. The metallic taste dominates and, while I love the experimental nature of the beer (they're obviously using some oddball yeast in this) and the drinkability and complexity of the project, it doesn't completely come together for me in a balanced way.
Mar 13, 2011
Cuvée D'Hiver from Driftwood Brewery
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 21 ratings