Mabon
White Birch Brewing

 

 

 

 

Vessel: Purchased in a 22 oz. bottle. Consumed from a tulip glass.

Appearance: Pours a thick dark brown head that is very slow to dissipate, and the beer is black… as advertised.

Smell: Notes of coffee and alcohol.

Taste: Distinctly bitter. It has a mild pepper/spice to it as well. Mild coffee and chocolate are present.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, smooth.

Overall: This is my first “black saison” and it was pretty good. It went down pretty easy and was solid all around. The bitterness was slightly over powering towards the end of the taste. Not my favorite beer but it might be yours so it's worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

The beer pours a dark brown black, with a beautiful thick coffee tan head with velvety small bubbles. The beer’s body is dark black and impenetrably opaque, helping to give this black saison a very stout-like look. The beer’s lacing is thicker in body forming curtains along the glass. On the nose the beer is lightly of roast and chocolate with a nice, almost sour funk hiding beneath the smell and providing light notes of peppercorn. On the tongue the beer tastes wonderfully stout-like, with roast and light char alongside slight chocolate sweet flavors with lactic sour flavors hiding beneath. The beer begins with light roast and almost lactic sugar creaminess, before opening into bigger roast that touches upon char and very slight sour apple before the roast hits char and washes it away. More fruit character appears as the beer warms, but the stout properties are still forefront in the taste. The finish lingers with roast and very light acidic sour. On the mouth the beer feels medium heavy and creamy smooth on the tongue, though a little watery in the finish. The mouth is left dry from the roast, but wet on the sides from the acid. Overall, I am a fan of this beer, but am a little confused with the style. It is far more a sour stout than a saison, as it does have that slight acidic sour to give it a strange flavor profile. I like this beer, but I think black saison is not the best definition for it. It is interesting, complex, and tasty. Try this beer.

 

 

Bottle shared by Chris and Jason. Served in a Hill Farmstead glass.

A - Tan foam settles to a thick collar, wispy patches, and minimal lacing. Very dark brown body - definitely a 'dark saison'.

S - Farmhouse yeast is dominant and it's a touch phenolic and peppery, light cocoa dust, a bit of roasted grain.

T - The taste is quite similar, with flavors of dark bread, cocoa, phenolic farmhouse yeast, and a vague seltzer/carbonic acid flavor. Nothing mind-blowing, but solid for the dark saison style. Like eating some very yeasty dark bread.

M - Medium body, dry texture, a bit of warming alcohol, and a clean finish. Carbonation is moderate and quite pleasant.

D - This isn't a style I tend to like, but it's fairly well-executed. This is one of the best things I've had from White Birch, which means it's on par with a really mediocre Three Floyds beer. Might be worth trying if you're in the New Hampshire area and it's cheap, but otherwise somewhat forgettable.

Poured from a bomber into a tumbler pint, the beer is an extremely dark, chocolate-brown highlighted almost black coloring with a short, dark brown, frothy head that settles into a filmy coating. Aromas of roasted coffee, cocoa nib, and some funky and spicy characteristics. Initially smells as expected, but with an interesting twist at the end. Flavors are rich, with a dark, roasted coffee backbone supporting a cocoa nib highlight, as well as some farmhouse spicing, including coriander, jasmine, and pepper. Very dynamic, and very smooth, with a bitter, resiny hop closing at the end of the palate. The aftertaste is smooth, with a touch of bitter coffee and smooth, creamy chocolate. Very easy to drink. Smooth, rich, and fairly light finish thanks to a subtle carbonation and the drying effect of the hopping. Very drinkable.

Pours a pretty solid black color with a decent sized tan head that persists for a while leaving spotty lace on the way down. Smells of dark chocolate, caramel, spicy wheat, and a hint of pepper and other spices. The flavor definitely holds a lot of roast and chocolate along with a bready and caramel malt sweetness. Light spice and a hint of tart fruit cuts through the malt quite nicely. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet fruity tart mouthfeel going on. That's a nice beer. Kind of like a fruity Belgian stout or a roasted saison.