Red Rye Saison
5 Seasons Westside

 

Appearance: Golden-amber body with a respectable clairty to it and topped with a fine, white head.

Smell: Bready, lightly toasty, lightly sweet-scented maltiness with notes of orchard fruits, raisins, spice, dried herbs, and alcohol.

Taste: Bready and with a sweetness of golden syrup, hinting even at almond sugar. Full fruity accents of Golden Delicious apples and golden raisins. Splash of herbal, floral minded tea. Spicy yeast component as well as the piquant rye character. Medium bitterness. The maltiness return as sugar glazed toast. Pear and banana later on. Some heaviness on the finish, though the carbonation tries to lighten things up.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-high carbonation.

Overall: It's pretty good. The parade of saisons is never-ending here at 5 Seasons!

On-tap at the brewpub.

Pours a clear bright amber color with a one-finger slightly off-white head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of slightly grainy medium malts with mild amounts of pear aromas. Also present are more prevalent as the beer warms are hints of spicy rye.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Moderately dry malt flavors kick things off. Joining in shortly thereafter are crisp pear flavors with very light hints of green apples. Earthy hop flavors work their way into things midway through the sip before fading out into slightly spicy rye flavors. The rye and fruit flavors carry through to a moderately bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with smooth carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I finished my glass without a problem and could have another.

Overall I was hoping for more from a saison from 5S with my favorite adjunct but it just didn't deliver. This is likely just a result of two different flavor profiles that don't compliment each other more than anything else. Still, it's a solid and interesting beer that's worth a shot.