Sour Apple Saison | Epic Brewing Company

3.81/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Look - hazy yellow color with a lasting white head and skimming
Smell - sweet light spices and grains slight apple
Taste - slight apple but more than the scent, alot of the rest like the scent
Feel - medium full body and a medium carbonation
Overall - pretty good beer

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3.52/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

[Original rating 2012-07-28] Pours a clear gold with a thick white head. Aroma is apple, nutmeg and clove. Taste is sour apple with a bitter finish, some black pepper in the finish. This is very well done, the apple is noticeable but not over done, the belgian base comes through very nicely.

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3.05/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Slightly foggy sparkling pale gold with a fizzy head that condenses to a persistent thin but fluffy film and creamy collar.

Smell is pear, cinnamon and pie crust with clove and licorice, bringing it to an almost potpourri-like aroma, in a bad way.

The "sour" part is more like grapey-lemon maybe, but it's not very present, as the spicy phenolic yeast takes hold. I find myself repeating myself yet again in an Epic "Saison" review--it's so spice-forward it's almost like cinnamon, and I guess that helps emulate an apple-like flavor with an apple pie-like notes, but it's also kind of pumpkin pie-like actually, which ultimately is too weird to fully enjoy.

A very frothy but also light effervescence disappears off the palate quickly to a thin body with a semi-wet, sparkling finish.

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4.18/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This beer was a breath of fresh air very different smells and great flavor. Smells of a basic saison with heightened Apple cinnamon and some anise notes. Flavor started off with a pretty strong licorice but drinking it over time mended the funky and wet hey flavors from the style and the tart apple base with a lot of cinnamon flavor. The ginger really brings it all together. Body is pretty good drinks quite light for 8% with a nice smooth sweet finish. Overall quite worth it for $6 a pour with a 16 ounce pint

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4.18/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

8/22....pours thick hazy dirty gold, with foam that settles out completely. Buttery, apple rum, butterscotch nose. Quite pleasant. Taste opens with a tart apple and spills into a funky yeasty Belgian blend. Slight bitter buried in their too. Complex and wonderful.

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3.69/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Release #66
This pours a clouded golden color with thin foaming. There's a prominent green apple aroma, and for once it's not by accident. I get a hint of funky esters underneath, with a light hint of peach and wet hay. The flavor is surprisingly tart, perhaps due to the extra time I sat on the bottle, with a drying finish. Overall muddled, but subtract the green apple and I might have more kind things to say.

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3.8/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured into pint glass, color is gold, opaque, head is off white and presents thin then dissipates to a ring.

Smell is tart, then light off yeast, than it reminds me off a lighter spiced warm cider with cloves and ginger coming through prominently.

Taste is similar to the aroma with a big tart start, then some yeast dryness and a big finish of the spice mixture, anise, coriander, ginger, cloves are prominent.

Mouthfeel is a bit dry with a touch of sour pucker.

Overall, this is a unique brerw, something I could see pairing with dessert at thanksgiving as it has enough sweetness and spice to mingle well with those flavors.

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3.52/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Release #71

Pours golden with a thick white head that dissipates quickly.Light Lacing. The yeast and malt are the main aromas. My wife could really pick out the apple but I felt they were over powered by the malt and yeast. The taste is very malt and yeast forward. You have to really let this one sit on your tongue to get that sour fruitiness. The longer a drank this beer the more it grew on me. It is a sipping beer, but a single glass would be good on a hot summers day if you had someone to share the 22 oz bottle with. Otherwise, this a dinner party or drinks with friends kinda beer IMO. If you are fan of sours, you'll enjoy this beer. I did.

I felt it was slightly too carbonated but my taste buds might be a touch sensitive because I have been drinking a lot of stouts and Imperial IPAs that are far less carbonated.

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3.55/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

White head quickly vanished to straw body. Fruity, strongly medicinal nose. Tart apple and subdued peppermint taste with pleasingly dry finish. Paired nicely with a star anise and grains of paradise heavy homemade potato and leek soup. I don't expect that I would have enjoyed it as much on its own.

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3.41/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a bomber at the Tempe Bevmo in early August for $9.99. Release #57 bottled on 4/8/15.

Beer poured straw with a decent white head that is leaving some lacing behind.

Nose is slightly medicinal, with Christmas spices.

Taste is slightly medicinal as well, cinnamon, apple juice, slight nutmeg bitterness.

Feel is light to medium bodied with a classic saison feel.

Overall an OK beer, not sure if this is an off batch or bottle. The apple does not compliment the base beer which i have always liked.

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2.98/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a pale gold with a good and long lasting head of foam.

I smell the usual spiciness for the style with some green apple tartness.

Spices of coriander and cloves, hints of barnyard, light tartness of green apples. Not my cup of tea as the tart doesn't compliment the traditional flavours of the Saison.

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3.5/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a crisp pale golden yellow with a frothy and light layer of airy straight white carbonation.

Apple, cinnamon, ginger, and some funk.

Sour apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and funk. Someone went way too heavy on the spice.

Light-bodied, medium carbonation, funky fruit.

Overall, I honestly expected much more from this. It would have been better without the spices.

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3.75/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Type: 22-oz. bottle
Glass: Trappist Westvleteren XII glass
From: Palm Springs Liquor in La Mesa (San Diego), Calif.
Price: $7.99
Purchased: June 14, 2015
Consumed: June 19, 2015
Misc.: Release #27 (SLC #1166), which is (according to their website) brewed on July 11, 2013 & the ABV is 7.90 pct.

Poured a golden, straw, hazy color with 2-to-3 fingers of foamy, white, rocky head, which dissipated pretty quickly. Tons of bubble streams coming up from the bottom of the glass. Minimal foamy lacing on the sides of the glass. Below average retention. (Sight - 3.75)

Smelled cinnamon, nutmeg, green apple, cloves, coriander, nectarine peel and Big Red gum. Cinnamon dominates here. I’m intrigued. (Smell - 3.75)

Taste pretty much followed the nose with cinnamon dominating. Also got nutmeg, green apple, green grape, kiwi, cloves, apple pie, coriander, Ginger Ale and grassy notes. Like a winter Saison. (Taste - 3.75)

Light body. Oily-to-thin texture. Average-to-lively carbonation. Long, wintry finish. (Feel - 3.75)

This wasn’t a bad Saison. Should almost be called a Cinnamon Saison, but still. Would have it again. (Overall - 3.75)

3.75 | 85 | B+

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3.13/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.25

August 28th, 2013 - Epic Brewing's Sour Apple IPA is a puckering punch in the gums, but beer explorers will find something new and interesting here. The aroma is packed with cinnamon and herbs, even massaged kale. For me, it smells like the interior of a small, gourmet suburban food shop near where I grew up. Inside its cramped quarters the smell of the produce section, the bakery and even the deli all mix together, and that somewhat confusing bouquet of expensive freshness is found here, too. Cinnamon and spice appear in the taste too. Apple is a dominant theme (shock!) but it leans towards apple skins, thickened and mashed. In a broader description, I'd say this is like a baked, unsweetened apple pie, though sour and puckering in a way that brushes up against discomfort.

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4.5/5  rDev +25.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

the "pumpkin beer" for those idiots that just love beers with spices. layered, complex, refreshing, drinkable, but with those nice spices accompanying. good any time, but would be perfect for outdoor hot days and also for cool autumn nights on the patio (with a bourbon back). i really like this combination of flavors. nuanced and balanced, and with depth.

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3.46/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

A: 3.5 - Poured into a straight pint, this is a pale yellow beer with an enormous head--a gentle pour resulted in way too much foaming.
S: 3.75 - Well, dibs to them for getting an aroma that matches the desc--quite green apple-y.
T: 3.25 - Green apple flavor, but lacks the acidic tartness that I was hoping for more, though there's a touch of sourness. Not much else here.
M: 4.0 - Good mouthfeel though, with plenty of carbonation, a nice spritzy mouthfeel.
O: 3.25 - One dimensional, for the most part.

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3.58/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Release #52. Poured from a bomber into a snifter, the beer is a bright, slightly hazy, golden yellow coloring with a steady flow of carbonation throughout, and a filmy, wispy, white bubbly head on the surface. Aromas of toasted grain, fenegrin, tart granny smith apple, bubble gum, cotton candy, thyme, and some funky barnyard notes. Pretty dynamic nose. Flavors are tart and slightly sour forward, with a definitive apple character, followed by a tangle of grainy notes, horseblanket qualities, undertones of bubble gum, and an herbal blend of thyme and sage. The aftertaste leans more towards the herbal qualities, as well as the funky yeast characteristics, sort of abandoning the apple qualities. The beer is light and crisp, with a dryness that borders on having astringent qualities. It does keep the palate tight and clean, though. The finish is more of the funky and herbal lingers, with a crisp, dry feel. Interesting brew.

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3.48/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer is yellow in colour with a huge foamy white head.

The smell is sour apple,quite faint. There's yeast, lemon like a regular saison.

The taste is sour apple, lemon some light hop bitterness. There's a bit of a soapy taste as well.

The mouthfeel is light with medium carbonation, very easy drinking.

Overall not very complex and the sour apple is pretty light but enjoyable still the same. The 8% abv isn't detectable at all. If it didn't have a soapy taste I would've rated it higher.

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2.65/5  rDev -26%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75

Appearance - 2.5/5
Pours an extremely clear orange-yellow-gold. No head. Can see the carbonation rising up at a moderate rate. The beers clearness makes it looks almost like a cider to me, which I would say earns the beer negative points.

Smell - 2.5/5
Smells of beer and nutmeg. Smells like a pumpkin beer to me. Not what I want with this beer. Besides the nutmeg, there are subtle bready-spicy saison smells as well.

Taste - 2.5/5
Tastes of alcohol, nutmeg (not nearly as strong as the smell though...thank goodness). I am trying real hard to taste the 'sour apple', but the best I can taste is a vague fruity tartness. Overall, this beer is nothing special, doesn't taste like it advertises, and the taste overall is not very good.

Mouthfeel - 3.5/5
Very smooth. Carbonation is fairly light. Light to medium in body. In between creamy and crisp. While the mouthfeel is nothing spectacular, considering all the low ratings for the rest of the beer, the mouthfeel is the best part.

Overall - 2.75/5
I was really expecting a lot more from this beer. I couldn't taste the sour apple at all, and there was the overpowering and seemingly out-of-place nutmeg flavor. There were really no good aspects to this beer. Not something I would ever get again, or ever recommend. This is my first that I can remember from Epic Brewing, and I will probably not be trying anything from them for a long time.

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3.6/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Batch #45 poured from a 22oz bottle into a tulip
A: Light golden color with a 1+ finger head that quickly settles
S: Green apple, a sour note, Belgian yeast and light malt
T: Sour green apple, Belgian yeast and light malt. LIke the nose. But each very individual, not integrated
M: Light-bodied, sour
O: This can't decide if it wants to be a cider or a beer. It has components of each, all of which are tasty but it just doesn't all fit into a coherent blend

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3.9/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

22 ounce bottle split between a pair of large snifters. Release #41, SLC#1660. Can't read the code printed on the bottom.

Pours cloudy yellow with a small white head, not a great deal of carbonation. Smell is nice. Green apples, funk, greens, slight flower.

Taste is apple juice, tropical sour.

Mouthfeel is creamy and nice. Overall, pretty good.

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3/5  rDev -16.2%

Clear pale yellow/straw colored pour with a minimal head. Aroma has a good bit of yeast and spice and a little grain. Flavor is a very basic saison...yeast and clove are the dominant flavors. There's also a very light tart apple flavor and a touch of ginger. Finishes with a lingering clove flavor. Expected more.

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2.73/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Bottom line: this is an ok Saison. My only problem is that the description is nowhere close to how the beer actually tastes.

There's absolutely zero sour and there's not much of any apple flavor, either.

Tastes like a straight-up farmhouse Saison to me.

Not saying to pass on this one, but don't expect any acidity or tart flavor.

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3.63/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

On tap at The Pint in West Lafaytte, IN.

Bit of a limp pour, for a saison. Dark gold with a small head.

Smells... pretty good! Phew. I get scared with American saisons. Even excellent brewers routinely fuck these up. The apple nodes dominate, perhaps deftly covering up any imperfections in the yeat profile, but there's still a decent kick of yeast spice near the back end.

Tastes a little better than it smells. Tart apples, spicy yeast. The pallet is simple but well balanced, and it makes for a remarkably sessionable high-ABV beer.

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3.31/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Epic Brewing's Sour Apple Saison is a Belgian-style ale that is bottle conditioned. This beer is 8.2% ABV and I drank bottle number 25 of 1800. It pours as a rather pale and cloudy yellow color with low levels of carbonation. The apple smell is light and true to its Belgian origins with floral, almost bubble-gumish notes. The first sip is immediately sweet and fruity, with notable, though light, apple flavors. The acidity is also immediately apparent, though this positively acidulous tone is certainly of fruit origins (almost cider-like, as opposed to a sour beer utilizing wild yeasts). The sour-apple taste is carried by the typical bubble-gummy flavor common to hefeweizens that loses itself in the sweet, and dare I say 'crisp' flavor of this beer. Lovers of the Saison may seek this brew out, but otherwise the cost may be prohibitive for this small-batch of 1800 bottles.

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