Harvest Saison
ShawneeCraft Brewing Company

 

Color is fine but it pours pretty flat. Aroma has a heavy dose of cinnamon & nutmeg, but there is a distinct lemon note poking in there which really doesn't jive with those more robust notes. That follows through on the tongue, with a tart zest upfront leading into a pretty limp spice note at the end. Has a little bit of a coughdrop vibe going on. Beer is thin & flat for the most part. I get trying to do something outside your typical pumpkin beer, but this one is disjointed & dissapointing.

 

 

Once again, it falls to The CANQuest (tm) to make anything happen with regards to CANned beers. I see that my local, in-person trader, tone77, did his part by reviewing the one that I got for him. My holdup was that it required an approved pic and it got shunted to the side in favor of other CANs & bottles. I was finally ready to drink it last night when I realized that it still needed a pic. Mission accomplished! Kudos to this site for really expediting picture approval.

From the CAN: "Not some cloying pumpkin-pie [CAN]coction, ShawneeCraft Harvest Saison is a big, bountiful Belgian farmhouse-style beer. it is well-attenuated and hopped in a way that pleasingly balances the fresh pumpkins (many coming from our own Great Shawna Farm) and spices. The resulting quaff is fulfilling, highly aromatic, and perfect for autumn weather."

I just love hearing the Crack! of a CAN being opened. I usually celebrate with an inverted Glug, but due to age, I am going with a gentle one. I still got a finger of foamy, French Vanilla-colored head with decent retention. Color was a gorgeous Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a familiar clove & cinnamon spiciness, but with a slight funkiness to kind of change things up. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was spicy, but with an odd mustiness. Not better and not worse than many pumpkin ales that I have had, but decidedly different. The finish was slightly tart and definitely dry thanks to the combination of spices and the yeast doing its job. Well, it really was not my thing, but if you like saisons or if you dislike cloying pumpkin ales, then I would give this a try.

I'm doing my snowbirding thing, but still trying beers from the large package I recieved from woodychandler before I left PA. This beer is one of them. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a cloudy, medium brown color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of spices, earthy, very light pumpkin. Taste is funky, spices, some pumpkin, yeast, a little unusual. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer.