San Salvador
Ballast Point Brewing Company
- From:
- Ballast Point Brewing Company
- California, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Saison
- ABV:
- 7.5%
- Score:
- 85
- Avg:
- 3.67 | pDev: 13.9%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 7
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Nov 30, 2014
- Added:
- Aug 26, 2010
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
85
Very Good
85
Very Good
No description / notes.
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Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota
3.68/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.68/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
First had: on tap at Teresa's, Wayne, PA
A pleasantly flavorful dark saison. Served in a tulip glass, dark, rusty, chestnut brown color, almost opaque, with a rocky off-white head that retained and laced nicely. Very aromatic, with scents of fruit essence and peppery spice. An unexpected blast of spice on the tongue, with definite notes of cinnamon and sage, honey, notes of citrus zest and berry sweetness, mild herbal hops, with some licorice in the finish, especially as it warmed a bit. Medium body, lots of character...not what I'd call a "typical" saison, but it's a very diverse style, so what's not to like here?
May 11, 2012A pleasantly flavorful dark saison. Served in a tulip glass, dark, rusty, chestnut brown color, almost opaque, with a rocky off-white head that retained and laced nicely. Very aromatic, with scents of fruit essence and peppery spice. An unexpected blast of spice on the tongue, with definite notes of cinnamon and sage, honey, notes of citrus zest and berry sweetness, mild herbal hops, with some licorice in the finish, especially as it warmed a bit. Medium body, lots of character...not what I'd call a "typical" saison, but it's a very diverse style, so what's not to like here?
Reviewed by yourefragile from District of Columbia
2.8/5 rDev -23.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
2.8/5 rDev -23.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
On draft at Railroad St Grill in Linfield, PA.
Pours a dark, clear plum amber with a light tan head. Head fades quickly to a collar and light lacing. Exceptionally spicy and fruity nose, nothing to suggest this is a saison. Overall the nose is a pleasant blend of sage, wild berry, citrus, honey, and mild wheat. Scoring the aroma so low since, you know...saison. Flavor follows suit with an initially off putting strong sweet, fruity medicinal punch. Dries out through the body as more spices and sage appear on the palate and finishes with some traditional saison earthiness. A little too much heat as well for a saison in the finish. Medium thick, well carbonated, crisp body. Not a bad beer, and I'm all for experimenting with styles, but this was lacking too much in the balance or saison areas for me to finish more than half of my glass.
Feb 04, 2012Pours a dark, clear plum amber with a light tan head. Head fades quickly to a collar and light lacing. Exceptionally spicy and fruity nose, nothing to suggest this is a saison. Overall the nose is a pleasant blend of sage, wild berry, citrus, honey, and mild wheat. Scoring the aroma so low since, you know...saison. Flavor follows suit with an initially off putting strong sweet, fruity medicinal punch. Dries out through the body as more spices and sage appear on the palate and finishes with some traditional saison earthiness. A little too much heat as well for a saison in the finish. Medium thick, well carbonated, crisp body. Not a bad beer, and I'm all for experimenting with styles, but this was lacking too much in the balance or saison areas for me to finish more than half of my glass.
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington
3.48/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.48/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
At The Linkery in San Diego, where they said it is made with manzanita (berries?), wild sage, and local herbs. Attractive dark amber in the glass with modest head. Flavors start to pile up in the back of the throat. Rather rich and medium bodied. Just a slight medicinal taste, but enough warm malt to make a pleasant contrast. Not much carbonation on the tongue, and not much aroma either.
This made me think of the Craftsman Acorn Saison I had last week. Yet another experiment in using local wild flavors, but not overdone. Rather bitter aftertaste with the modest sweetness.
Dec 12, 2011This made me think of the Craftsman Acorn Saison I had last week. Yet another experiment in using local wild flavors, but not overdone. Rather bitter aftertaste with the modest sweetness.
Reviewed by HopHead84 from California
3.8/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.8/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
8/18/2011
On tap at Home Brew Mart.
A: Burnished dark gold and transparent with a finger of white foam.
S: Aromatic sage and Elderberry with light pepper notes. Smells quite nice. Light wheat and orange with a prominent floral presence.
T: Mild pepper-like spiciness up front with apple and pronounced sage notes. Wheat is evident and there's a little orange zest. The Elderberries kick in late palate, but I don't know what Manzanita berries taste like so I can't say whether or not I taste them. There's just a dash of booze.
M: Medium body with high carbonation.
Overall: A good Saison made from local San Diego ingredients. Recommended.
Aug 18, 2011On tap at Home Brew Mart.
A: Burnished dark gold and transparent with a finger of white foam.
S: Aromatic sage and Elderberry with light pepper notes. Smells quite nice. Light wheat and orange with a prominent floral presence.
T: Mild pepper-like spiciness up front with apple and pronounced sage notes. Wheat is evident and there's a little orange zest. The Elderberries kick in late palate, but I don't know what Manzanita berries taste like so I can't say whether or not I taste them. There's just a dash of booze.
M: Medium body with high carbonation.
Overall: A good Saison made from local San Diego ingredients. Recommended.
Reviewed by tyrsis from California
3.87/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.87/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On-tap at the Urge Gastropub Total Tap Takeover.
It's much darker than most saisons I've seen, a clearish amber red color.
Smells great, tons of spices I can't pick out. Sweet, like honey, maybe some orange peel.
Taste is just a spice explosion. It's times like these I wish I knew more about what could go in to a beer to make it taste like that. I had my wife try it just in case, and she agree (and liked it.)
Mouthfeel is good - medium body; crisp.
Drinkability is good alcohol wise, you don't taste the 7.5%. However it's a bit on the sweet side, so it might be tough to get through more than one.
Overall, a nice twist on a traditional saison.
Mar 10, 2011It's much darker than most saisons I've seen, a clearish amber red color.
Smells great, tons of spices I can't pick out. Sweet, like honey, maybe some orange peel.
Taste is just a spice explosion. It's times like these I wish I knew more about what could go in to a beer to make it taste like that. I had my wife try it just in case, and she agree (and liked it.)
Mouthfeel is good - medium body; crisp.
Drinkability is good alcohol wise, you don't taste the 7.5%. However it's a bit on the sweet side, so it might be tough to get through more than one.
Overall, a nice twist on a traditional saison.
Reviewed by notchucknorris from California
3.82/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
3.82/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Had on tap at the brewery.
A: Clear amber with a very slight brown cap.
S: Smelled like the San Diego countryside with a touch of saison funk.
T: This was an incredibly difficult beer to pick individual tastes out of. There are so many things thrown in here that the result is an explosion of flavor without any true highlights. The beer is pretty sweet and syrupy with sage and honey being the two things I tasted the most.
Glad I got to try this one, but not one of their best beers.
Jan 27, 2011A: Clear amber with a very slight brown cap.
S: Smelled like the San Diego countryside with a touch of saison funk.
T: This was an incredibly difficult beer to pick individual tastes out of. There are so many things thrown in here that the result is an explosion of flavor without any true highlights. The beer is pretty sweet and syrupy with sage and honey being the two things I tasted the most.
Glad I got to try this one, but not one of their best beers.
Reviewed by emmasdad from Colorado
3.05/5 rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
3.05/5 rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
On tap at Ballast Point's original location (Homebrew Mart) in Linda Vista. Poured a medium to dark brown color, with a good amount of light brown foam on top. This one had a very pungent nose, with phenolic smoke, menthol and orange peel. Somewhat spicy on the palate, with a little Belgian yeast and more of the smoke. Very untraditional for a saison, and somewhat challenging to drink a lot of.
Aug 26, 2010
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