Opal
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Looks like a saison, light and bubbly, initial high fluffy head. Yeasty, spicy aroma, fresh mown hay, taste is a little spicier, white pepper, flowers, wine grapes. Chalk dry, but refreshing, and light enough for a hot day.

 

 

 

 

 

[Original rating 2015-12-12] Pours clear gold with a huge white head. Aroma of spice, white pepper, faint clove, yeast. Taste is bitter, dry, peppery. A good but not exceptional saison.

 

 

 

A 650ml bottle with a bottled-on date of March 26, 2015. The label says enjoy within 120 days, however as this bottle is now 948 days old it's fair to say that it's out of date. Purchased ages ago from the Brewdog webshop. Described on the label as a dry-hopped saison; let's see how it holds up....

A: Poured into a tulip. Bottle conditioned. A bright, hazy golden hue with fine suspended sediment and good carbonation. Yields a large head of creamy white foam that lasts for a few minutes before slowly settling as a patchy surface layer.

S: Aroma of intense, fruity yeast esters with hints of spice, mild herbs, subtle banana, soft anise, earthiness, a touch of grain and a vague leafiness. No aromatic hops to speak of. Excellent nonetheless - yeast character is superb.

T: Tastes of fruity Belgian yeast with notes of spice, light herbs, faint banana, earthiness, subtle grainy malt and stewed hops. Dry, with a delicate bitterness upon swallowing. No aroma hop character.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry, with lively carbonation and great body. Slightly astringent. Aftertaste of earthy yeast, mild fruity esters, subtle stewed hops and faint grain.

O: A quality saison which has held up well despite its age. Looks great, while the aroma and flavour are a solid blend of fruity yeast esters, spice, subtle herbs and earthiness. Nice body; smooth and textured. The loss of aromatic hops is unsurprising, however this still goes down a treat. A fantastic brew that is certainly worth sampling.

Pours a perfect and hazy yellowish gold with a finger of white head. Smells of spices, yeast, light malt, and fruit. Tastes of belgian yeast, grains, non-bitter hops, spices, and some slightly sweet fruits. Medium in body and medium-low in carbonation. Wait, this is a 7% beer? I swear you wouldn't even think it was close to that. Anyways this is an incredible example of a Saison. My bottle is about 1 year aged as that's how I found it at the store. Are you supposed to age Saisons? I don't know but it's still damn good.

 

 

This was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a semi-hazy crisp burnt colored yellow. Rimmed finger’s worth of lacing appears after the head dissipates. The smell starts off with Belgian sweet yeasty to some light Belgian sugars. Sweet grass, light citrus, white pepper and some black pepper. Runs together into the aftertaste and gives off a semi-dry finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a nice sessionable feel to it. Carbonation runs fairly light. Some yeasty stickiness hits but isn’t cloying. Overall, an absolutely wonderful saison, boom!

A beautifully sandy opaque color with a 2 finger puffy head with lots of lace left behind. A great appearance.

Nose - Clove and pepper notes, with some orange pith and lemon. Slight banana.

Taste - Starts pretty peppery, with a nice soft fruity explosion in the middle, full of banana, pineapple, and lemon. It fades off to what I'd imagine sticky notes tasting like. Kind of papery, adhesive-like.

Feel is effervescent and carbonated, pretty creamy from the left over head. A slight dryness on the finish.

Overall a pretty decent Saison. I'd give it another try.

nice and solid

 

 

A lovely amber color, clear as day with a constant steam of tiny bubbles rising to a modest white head. Aromas of grain, spices & yeast. Salt & pepper up front, some fruitiness but not sweet, slightly spicy, with a bitter & grain finish. Spiced & carbonation make for nice mouthfeel. Very good farmhouse ale.