Vidal Saison
Social Kitchen & Brewery

The opposite of the Simon, I take it. Darker in color with less noticeable character tones. It hits me as too sweet; almost cotton candy like, though not that extreme. One dimensional, though not missing the mark and not a pleasure to drink. A nice drinker, and the 8.1% abv is nicely masked. It would be nice to have some more complexity, but I'd also like to be worth $75 million and own 3 Ferraris. Such is life. The beer stands on its own and does the job well, especially when you consider the style. My third, and last beer, on my first visit to Social. I'm impressed enough to come back tomorrow to try a few other things.

A - Served a rich copper-red color with a thin finger of frothy slightly off-white head atop. The head faded fairly quickly leaving behind some nice lacing in the process.

S - The aroma is a mix of sweet caramel malts and some biscuit malts. There is also some yeast and oak mix in as well. Just a touch of spices in the background.

T - Started off with a mix of sweet caramel/biscuit malts with some yeast and light spices. Through the middle, more yeast character with some oak and some roasted flavors come through. The finish is a mix of malts, yeast, and oak that linger.

M - Medium-plus bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth and fairly dry from the oak and spices.

D - Fairly drinkable. Very different and unique saison. Interesting mix of oak and darker flavors mixed in with some more traditional saison elements. Worth a try.

Golden amber in the tulip glass. Brewery notes call this an "imperial oaked amber saison" with French oak. Big flavor of browned biscuits. Not so much of the Belgian flavors but tangy and bright along with the yeast. Rather dry and very drinkable. Modest carbonation but good mouthfeel. Great choice for a stronger beer as an alternative to the sweeter Tripels or hoppier DIPAs.