Straight Up Saison
Epic Brewing Company

iguanodon from Utah

3.13/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

[Original rating 2012-08-11] Pours gold with a thick white head. Aroma is straw, spice, yeast. Taste is pretty much the same with a bitter finish. Lively carbonation. A good attempt at a saison but not quite there.

Oct 03, 2018

LAp from Ohio

3.94/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very impressed with this beer actually, despite the underwhelming things I'd heard about it. Refreshing to taste an adjunct-less saison again. Great, clean, traditional Belgian with no frills. A very well-crafted beer.

Mar 07, 2017

MFMB from Idaho

3.8/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a hazy bright straw yellow. Smells of Belgian yeast light apples and pear. Tastes of sweet malt, apple skin, pear, Belgian yeast and clove. A bit of asilky smooth mouthfeel, medium body. It's good not great. Refreshing.

Aug 20, 2016

biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.79/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

22oz bottle, @7.9% ABV, and release number, I'm gonna say '35', because, y'know, printing issues, and all. More single-batch, yadda yadda yadda release 'goodness' from this pan Rocky Mountain brewing concern.

This beer pours a clear, pale golden yellow colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and slightly bubbly bone-white head, which leaves but a few examples of remote islet lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of grainy and slightly crackery pale malt, a touch of gritty wheatiness, muddled domestic citrus flesh, mixed pome fruity notes (so, apples and pears, yeah), edgy white pepper and coriander spice, and a subtle earthy, leafy, and grassy green hoppiness. The taste is bready and doughy pale malt, a lessened wheaty joint, some muddled citrus and apple/pear fruitiness, loitering yeast, ephemeral white pepper and clove spice, and more plain leafy, weedy, and somewhat perfumed floral hop bitters.

The bubbles are fairly understated in their muted and otherwise don't give a shit frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and mostly smooth, just a touch of yeasty intransigence making unwelcome waves here. It finishes off-dry, the base mixed malt keeping the party going, amongst the lingering yeasty and fruity hop esters.

Overall, this is one heady and engaging New World Saison, as the uptick in both the hop and alcohol measures cannot be denied. Easy to drink, especially with the pretty much obfuscated near 16-proof booze quotient causing no problems whatsoever. Yeah, Epic has gone, well, more or less straight up epic with this particular offering.

Jun 10, 2016

pat61 from Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

This is taken from tasting notes.
A: Pours a cloudy straw color producing a stiff, finely bubbled meringue-like white foam cap that lings to the side of the glass leaving thick lace.
S: Over ripe fruit, slight funk, spice, citrus.
T: It starts spicy and then moves to citrus with a slight funk. It has an underlying sweetness throughout.
F: A big velvety bodied saison with average carbonation to a little below average.
O: A pleasant saison that could use a little more attenuation and carbonation.

Apr 07, 2015

beergoot from Colorado

3.83/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Bottle label notes: RELEASE #15, 7.1% ABV, DEN #1522

Clear, light and bright yellow body with lively carbonation and a bubbly, frothy, white head; decent clumps of lacing left on the glass. Grass and old lemon aroma; sage and pepper; mild bread-like yeast notes. Spicy, fruity, tart and dry flavors that mirror much of the aroma. Medium body with a very dry finish.

Straight up and straight forward. Plenty of zesty citrus and peppery spice flavors wrapped up in a nice dry finish. The body is somewhat overly carbonated and slightly thin, but otherwise, everything comes together nicely. A solid offering...

Sep 27, 2014

SHODriver from North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

batch #16

A: poured into a tulip to a hazy light yellow topped by a dense and soapy three finger white head that retains well and leaves excellent lacing
S: smells of peppery yeast, some dry malt, fruity esters and a slight herbal note
T: taste starts off with some fruity esters and then moves to some peppery and spicy yeast, slight phenols as well and some light bready malt. swallow is slightly alcoholic with more fruitiness spice, and herbalness
M: this beer is somewhat light with slightly prickly carbonation and a drying finish
O: this beer is clean, refreshing and very drinkable. It's very well made and it hits the marks that I'd expect to find in a saison. Alcohol content might be a little high but it's still pretty solid

Jun 02, 2014

StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.99/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

what makes this saison special is its mouthfeel. its so frothy and thick, but well carbonated and light in that way, that its entirely a stand out from the crowd. i love all the body and bubbles, and would love to see more saison do that. the beer itself is maybe a little on the generic side, but it is extremely well made. blonde and sunny but cloudy, with a tall and lasting bone white head. the nose is their classic saison yeast at epic, same one thats in the other saison beers or a near cousin of it, and a big dose of fresh and sturdy wheat malt. its simple but delicious, with some light tropical fruit notes, balancing hop bitterness, and a long white wine yeast profile to the finish that fades into a white pepper complex on the swallow. it would be a B+ without such a wonderful mouthfeel, which pushes it easily into the A range for me, its just so frothy and creamy and refreshing at the same time. like drinking a beer cloud, i love it. amazing how they can bring us beer this good this cheap, under 7 bucks on shelves for a bomber of this beauty, its an easy choice.

Apr 22, 2014

corby112 from Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Release #15

Pours a cloudy, bright golden yellow color with banana-like hues and a two finger frothy white head that slowly settles into a thick, lasting ring. Very good retention, taking a while to settle and leaving streaks of soapy lacing behind.

Earthy aroma with a decent musty farmhouse presence along with zesty spice, sweet citrus, bready yeast and ester-y light fruit notes. Funky yeast along with straw and hay followed by a strong yeast character. Lots of bread along with some bubblegum and banana. Peppery spice with hints of ginger, coriander and clove. Citric acidity with strong lemon pith and grapefruit. Decent balance in the nose but feels very American with lots of wheat beer characteristics mixed in there.

Slightly watered down and light bodied with crisp carbonation. The earthier farmhouse notes are a bit toned down and the bitterness/hop presence is stronger than expected. Dry and earthy with hints of grass, pine, wet hay and straw. This is complimented by a prominent zesty spice presence that lingers throughout giving off hints of white pepper, ginger and coriander. The citrus presence stands out but it tastes less like a wheat beer than it smells. Some bready yeast but the banana and bubblegum notes found in the aroma are muted. Strong lemon acidity in the dry, slightly tart finish. Refreshing and pretty easy to drink but it lacks some depth/complexity. I prefer for the funky saison/farmhouse flavors to be stronger but they are pretty tame here.

Apr 21, 2014

Zorro from California

3.39/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Slightly chill hazed sunny yellow gold beer with a medium sized white colored head.

Smells of toasted grain and coriander with sweet honeysuckle and flowers aroma. Lesser lemon and pepper scent. Faint hint of mint.

Starts out semi-sweet and herbal spicy. Crush pineapple fruit flavor. Drys out after a bit and the pineapple turns to lemon. Green spice taste of cardamom. OK but it's no Hennepin.

Mouthfeel is Good.

Overall an OK Saison if you want one with a citrus bent to it.

Mar 23, 2014

Omnium from Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Bomber > Pint Glass

A - Pours out hazy straw yellow color with tons of head, almost half a glass ful, big and thick sudsy kind, huge bubbles, lots of thick patches of lacing going on.
S - Smell is kinda subdued, some clove, nutmeg, lemongrass, grapefruit, wheat.
T - Up front is some of those beglian spices, some ginger, then a big tart wave, lemon juice and wheat, some pepper.
M - Crisp, light refreshing traits, but still tart and a little too peppery.
O - Despite my ratings I think it is a good representation of a standard saison, its a little more tart and spicy, but still shows what the style is usually about.

Sep 18, 2013

im4beer from Utah

3.82/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a bomber bottle purchased at the brewery with a small head that dissolved quickly leaving micro lacing. The nose is crisp and light with hints of citrus and wheat. The taste is citrusy and fresh with a slightly bitter aftertaste. The carbonation is pleasing and crisp. Overall, I really like this beer. It's light and citrusy with a moderate amount of farmhouse funk.

Apr 27, 2013

tlazaroff from Virginia

4.21/5  rDev +15%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very bready, doughy, yeasty, and it has a light funk to the nose that is mixed with apples and pears. It's unlike any other saison that I've had before, and I like it. It smells fresher, less oderus and more intriguing.

Light and pale straw in color with a full, bubbly, frothy, crisp, white head that just sticks to the glass and never dissipates. Wonderful head retention, and a lot of carbonation bubbles holding it in it's place.

Moderate funk and fruit is what I immediately pick up. Yeast, and sourdough bread on the midpalate to finish. Light to moderate body with a big dose of carbonation makes this effervescent but it doesn't foam up on my tongue like I would expect. It's smooth, and somewhat creamy. I like it a lot.

Nov 02, 2012

superspak from North Carolina

3.8/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 5/24/2012. Pours very hazy golden amber color with a nice 3 finger fairly dense white head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Some nice foamy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of big lemon zest, orange zest, pear, pepper, clove, wheat, grass, herbal, earth, and yeast spices. Very nice and well balanced aromas with nice complexity. Taste of lemon zest, orange zest, pear, pepper, grass, wheat, clove, herbal, earth, and yeast spices. Light citrus tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus, light fruits, pepper, grass, herbal, clove, wheat, earth, and yeast spices on the finish for a while. Good balance and complexity of flavors; with a lightly cloying earthiness after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a fairly chalky, crisp, and prickly mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very good saison. Nice amount of complexity and balance; and smooth to sip on. Definitely enjoyed this.

Oct 03, 2012

mactrail from Washington

3.68/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Seems like the classic Saison, American style. Clean but full of yeasty Belgian flavors. Lighter bodied, with just a nice touch of malty sweetness. Crisp without being acidic.

Pours an attractive pale yellow in the Leffe goblet. Thin veil of foam that lasts nicely as you sip. Pleasant carbonation with tiny bubbles. Malt is light but has a bready flavor. Lemony and fruity, perhaps a hint of apples and green papaya. Plenty of bitterness of the funky sort. Dry finish. Quite drinkable, if a little austere. I certainly wouldn't call it as sweet as many Saisons.

From the 22 oz bottle.

Sep 10, 2012

UCLABrewN84 from California

3.82/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Congregation Ale House in Long Beach, CA.

Pours a hazy yellow with a foamy tan head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, yeast, and spices. Taste is much the same with a mild amount of spice bitterness on the palate after each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is very drinkable and refreshing.

Aug 21, 2012

trxxpaxxs from New York

3.78/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours a great cloudy straw with a massive amount of pure white head. The foam settles nicely leaving some great lacing on the glass as it drinks.

S: The nose is decent. It's funky, spicy, and crisp. I get hints of fresh-cut grass, yeast, all-spice, and coriander.

T: It's big and sweet up front, but immediately turns into a funky mess. It's gets tangy and spicy in the middle, and finishes bitter and dry.

M: Light bodied beer. It's sweet and wet to start but finishes super dry and biting. The bitters linger on the palate for a quite a bit.

O: This beer is ok. It's really nice up front, gets a bit off in the middle, and finishes too bitter. With that said, it's pretty darn drinkable, and the citrus notes throughout are nice. I'd drink this again if the price was right.

Jul 07, 2012

Halcyondays from California

3.77/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bomber, Release #4,

A: Pours a clear goldenrod with a medium full white head, solid retention, nice lace.

S: Pears, yellow apple, very estery, floral.

T: Pear and banana, floral and very yeasty flavours. Some peppery spice on the back end.

M: Fairly light-bodied for the style, crisp, lightly bitter aftertaste.

O: An interesting saison. The filtered clearness through me for a loop, but the overall flavours are quite nice. Worth a try for sure.

Jun 02, 2012

EgadBananas from Louisiana

2.94/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bright, hazy, sunny color with a big fluffy two fingers worth of head. Lace was nice and retention was good. Aroma was heavy of the sweet fruity esters, yeast, herbed bready notes. Tastes was sweet and fruity, yeasty and bready. Had a bit more citrus rind than the aroma, but sweeter than I really like my Saisons. Feel was creamier than crisp, carbonation was median. Not a bad saison but just run of the mill at best.

Jan 27, 2012

greenmonstah from New Hampshire

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz bomber included as an extra by a very generous trader. Release #3, 7.0%ABV


A - Yellow, clear but slightly cloudy, with a whole bunch of bubbles. Nice finger or two of white head and great retention.

S - Lightly spicy, banana, sweet corn. The sweetness is a very strong aroma. Belgian yeast spice contributes but doesn't lead.

T - Peppery, banana, yeast and slightly sour. Almost tastes "musty" -- but not in a funky way like a sour. Lemony and sweet.

M - Medium body with loads of carbonation. A bit sticky.

O - Overall nothing special. A Straight-Up Saison, indeed. Nothing to make it stand out as great -- but nothing bad about it either.

Oct 29, 2011

John_M from Oregon

3.65/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a striking gold color with good head retention and lacing. The nose on this beer is pretty aromatic, showcasing white pepper, considerable honey and bananna, light ginger and some noticeable clove. The beer smells as if it will be fairly sweet.

While the flavor profile provide some of the sweetness I was expecting, there is considerable hoppy bitterness in the finish that helps to counter it. Otherwise, the flavor profile was fairly pleasant in this beer, if just a bit simple and one dimensional as well. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a moderately long, sweet and bitter finish. The bitterness is sufficient to dry this beer out at the end, though the sweetness still dominates the flavor profile. Also, the flavor really seemed to drop off on the finish in this beer, which was not something I was expecting. Drinkability is OK, with the alcohol well integrated into the flavor profile.

A nice enough beer, though not something I thought was so wonderful that I need to try it again any time soon. Also, I'm wondering if the brewer is tinkering with the recipe a bit. The bottle I obtained in Minneapolis listed the alcohol in the 7% abv. range.

Oct 24, 2011

kagent777 from Utah

4.32/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Release number 3 7.0 ABV. Poured into a red solo cup from a 22 oz bottle.

Appearance: Nice billows of head sit above a dark straw colored beer. This one leaves lacing even inside a plastic cup.

Smell: Nice typical Belgian smell, with heavy clove and other spices. No sense of malts in the smell.

Taste: Clove spiciness all the way through the taste. No real malts to speak of, the yeast are the star of the show. They really dominate almost to make this one one sided. There is no wild aspect to this clean Saison. Very refreshing even at 7.0 ABV, cannot taste the alcohol.

Mouthfeel: A middle of the road body, with enough carbonation to lift it.

Overall: An adventurous beer, for this looking for something different. I enjoyed this one a lot. Not for the average beer drinker.

Oct 07, 2011

BeardedBoffin from New Mexico

3.2/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Straight up--Release #2--is from the exponential series of Epic Brewing. The beer exits the Bomber a surprisingly light golden color with thick creamy cap of white foam. The aroma is tame saison: sour, yeasty, spicy, and peppery. Very dry on the palate--sourish with a very dilute texture. The flavor of sour orchard fruit up front moves to sourness through the center. Watery through the finish as it turns a tad toward the off side from the sourness. This is not the boldest of Saisons, but very drinkable.

Sep 21, 2011

twiggamortis420 from Texas

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz bomber courtesy of biglobo8971. Pours a somewhat clear, light gold color with a large, fluffy white head. Nice retention and lacing.

Nose is clean, honeyed malts and hefty grassy hops. Yeast is white bread and full of melon-y fruit esters.

Taste is interesting, decent amount of hops on the front and back along with a light malty sweetness that is more sugar-honey than actual graininess. Yeasties are fighting for attention and actually throw a moderate amount of esters, but they cant quite hang with the sweet grains and hops. Pretty good brew for my first EBC offering, a little too sweet for me and lacks enough yeast presence to push it into 'A' range, but a solid offering nonetheless. Thanks B-dawg!

Aug 14, 2011

Mebuzzard from Colorado

3.63/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Ok, sun is out, let's crack this mutha open!

Golden pour, a bit murky. Head is pretty darn big and puffy white.

Spicy aroma with a relatively strong push of sweet malt. Tingles my nose. No more, I'm just gonna drink it.

Crisp pop to it, carbonation is cleansing. Spicy up front, bubble gum and some medicinals. I like the malt undertone, gives it a nice sweetness and not a yeast-bomb. That said, the flavors are foremost yeasty. Some unripe apple skin and orange zest. Spicy. It is fairly clean, and I'm gonna drink it pretty quickly.
A touch thin--if I wanted to shake a stick at something.

May 27, 2011