1 Door Saison Style Ale
Hermitage Brewing

Darker gold color, substantial granules and other unidentified haze chillin' throughout. Aroma was pretty devoid of anything saison-esque.

Taste was a slightly bitter almost wheat feel, dry mouthfeel, a little spice cabinet and citrus acidic fruit burn. While not a good beer necessarily, it is above average for this brewery, they make some terrible stuff. Still, this doesn't do anything in particular well, and its best marks are really just average.

 

 

 

 

 

A - Pours an almost clear golden-orange with a finger of frothy white head. The head fades down fairly slowly leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of wheat, Belgian yeast, coriander, and a bit of honey. There is a touch of bubblegum and some rustic funk. It smells a bit off though.

T - Starts off with some Belgian yeast, wheat, rustic farmhouse flavors, and some coriander. Through the middle, some lemon zest comes through with a bit of herbal and floral flavors. The finish is a mix of lemon zest, Belgian yeast, funk, honey, wheat, and a bit of spice.

M - Medium-minus bodied with moderate-plus carbonation. Feels smooth with a funky and spicy finish.

D - Pretty drinkable. The balance is not quite right here and there seem to be a few off flavors going on. There is some good saison elements beneath, but are muddled.

 

 

Pours out a heavier golden color with plenty of haze and a nice white head on it. Aroma was largely dry and neutral.

Taste is dry as well, a slight bitterness to it, not much if anything in the way of sourness. A tiny spicy finish to it. Coriander and mild lemon citrus flavor. Hid the alcohol nicely. one of the better beers I've had from these guys, their other 1 door down was terrible.

A slight bump for being relatively cheap given its almost de facto Bevmo contract brew status.

 

 

 

 

Chill hazed gold colored ale with a tall white colored head.

Smells spicy with a little coriander and what I detect as ginseng. No real hop aroma but there is a honeysuckle malt aroma.

Starts off sweet with a taste of flowers and Belgian Candi Sugar. Mildly soapy taste it tastes pretty much like flowery candy.

Mouthfeel is OK.

Overall it is OK, but I would spend my money on the Hennepin.

It's Hermitage night here for me, apparently. Nothing of theirs has ever really blown me away, but neither have I ever been really offended. Can they keep the streak going.

Pours a very clear and very light bodied pale golden. Exceptionally light for the ABV, and exceptionally clear for the style. Head is full enough—a solid fine mesh on the top of the glass. Lacing is good, falling in sheets down the glass. There's some serious things wrong with it, but it looks ok, as a beer in general.

Nose is skunky, funky and rank. Big whiffy aroma of semi-curdled cheese, rubber, ass, seaweed mixed with a predominantly sweet, and rather adjuncty base. It's raw and rustic and definitely pongy, but this is offensive to all the Saisons that do it right.

Taste is even more cheese-like, with a big spicy cheddar bite on the front palate, and a peppered aftertaste that drops out lazily about halfway along the palate. Absolutely nothing on the finish, again suggestion some adjunct. It's extremely savoury, almost like eating cheese and water crackers, and it's not terribly appealing.

Probably the only impressive thing about this beer is the fact that despite the lightness of body and flavour, you can't really taste or feel the 7% ABV (again, probably a touch too high for a saison anyway). But apart from that, this has very little going for it. If anything, instead of accentuating what a good job good saison-brewers do, this one drags them down with it.

Bomber poured into a large tumbler, "1 door" (the label shows a blue door, but only says "saison style ale") is a hazy dull gold with a pretty large white head that leaves nice lace.

Smell is skunky, earthy, some minerality, pepper. Saison for sure.

Taste is also also distinctly within my expectations for the style, if not my ideal, as it's on the earthy, funky side, a fairly herbal bite to it, a bit metallic, iron, as well. Rather spicy, tempered by sweet cereals, the fruit coming out as it warms.

Mouthfeel is dry, some creaminess, and an appropriately light body.

Drinkability is good, as a whole it's greater then the individual components. This is a well done saison. It's strongly on the earthy/spicy side of the saison spectrum, and while I prefer a fruitier saison, it's a matter of taste, not execution. And it's still good, and an impressive stateside example of my favorite style, especially for the price, IIRC $3.50 @ bevmo. Put this in 6 packs and you've got a great summer brew, with the ABV well hidden, and can be lots of fun and lots of trouble.

A careful pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip produces a fat-two-finger thick, pale-tan, off-white colored head. The beer is a hazy, honey color that shows, more of the same (definitely hazy), but with copper notes to it when held up to the light. The aroma smells of a mix of pale malt and fruit, with noticeable components of cracker like grain, hints of biscuit-like malt, sweeter honey like grain notes as well as some touches of pear, perhaps melon, or soft cider notes, though the fruit character is perhaps more non-descript than anything. There is perhaps a wisp of metallic character to this, as well as a touch of herbal character and lemon zest that speaks to some light hopping here. Touches of musty, earthy spiciness suggest at the yeast character. The malt character is perhaps the most dominant part of the aroma, though the other notes are not so far behind.

Prickly carbonation, and a lighter body than I was expecting help to make this fairly refreshing; it is a bit on the cold side, which also makes it seem lighter than it actually is, but this is right in the sweet spot for a Saison. In the long finish you can tell there is some viscousness to the body, though this is certainly a drinkable beer for its 7%. The finish has some characteristic phenolics that hint oat plastic notes as well as a touch of firmness provided by a hop bitterness. The firm hop bitterness is actually found from beginning to end of each sip; up front it is accentuated by the peppery carbonation. There is quite a bit of integrated spiciness to this beer, from the peppery notes that linger throughout, through to the clove and plastic phenolics in the finish and with the earthy spiciness that adds a huge anchor to the flavor profile. The fruit character plays a supporting role in the flavor, but accentuates notes of pear and perhaps a hint of green apple. There is also a touch of floral character to this beer that adds a bit more to the complexity. As the beer warms up some fruity sweetness becomes a bit more noticeable.

This drinks a whole lot lighter than the alcohol suggests, and I am actually quite impressed that Hermitage got this part of the Saison correct, as this is so often the part that American brewers mess up (though in truth the style is open enough that chewier versions exist even in Belgium). In truth, the whole of this beer was much better than I was expecting it to be. It can perhaps be a bit too plastic like or medicinal at times, but this is par for the course with a traditional Saison yeast. It seems like a touch more, or even a lot more, hops would go really well with this Saison; as in truth, this definitely needs a bit more finesse and complexity, but this is enjoyable as is.

A - Murky apricot, white head slow to leave... lots of cling.

S - Spicy, somewhat malty.

T - Yep. Spice. Coriander, mulling to a degree, a little citrus and malt.

M - Medium body, good carb, a little overly spicy at end.

D - Fun to try. One is enough per session.

Served in a Pyramid Breweries pint glass.

A: Slightly hazy straw color.
S: Very floral. Pilsner malt emanates.
T: Mild taste despite the considerable amount of alcohol and a refreshing finish.
M: Unimpressive light fizzy feel.
O: Strong but drinkable and very unique.

An interesting rendition of a Belgian farmer's ale.

I would drink this beer again.