Saison Noir
Rockmill Brewery

3.74/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Look - Black saison, so odd what has a great head, hard to rate it less than 4
Smell - slight roasty like a brown ale with a little bit of marshmallow
Taste - taste like a brown with a little bit of wine. Very toasty toasty
Feel - medium lighter body with lots of carbonation, to much carb
Overall - not a fan

 312 characters

3.41/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Aroma has roasted notes that tend towards coffee, and the beer pours an opaque black with just a dusting of light tan head. The body is much lighter then it appears, with a light refreshing mouthfeel. This bottle appears to be a bit undercarbonated for the style, which usually has very lively carbonation. I pick up a little bit of spice and dark fruit, but none of the funky notes that can be traditional in a Saison. Overall, a middle of the road Saison.

 461 characters

4.09/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Big and black enough to be really top notch; but, not quite balanced between malt and bitter. Palate is almost burnt in their trying to make it special.

 152 characters

3.94/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed from the 750 ml bottle in a snifter. This unique saison pours a rugged black with subtle brown highlights and a very nice head of foam that subsides to a thick ring, light pooling layer, and nice light lacing. Nose is subtle yet complex with dark fruits, light wine notes, and brown sugars with subtle char. Flavors exceed the nose with dark cherries and subtle dark cocoa on the front and middle, dark fruits hit the sides, and tobacco and light pepper notes follow the back with light mineral notes with subtle citrus. Nice mouth feel, perfect carbonation, refreshing for such a dark brew, and a nice lightly tart and subtly dry finish. Solid and unique. Would love to visit this brewery.

Cheers

 712 characters

4.1/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Why in the world this is considered a saison is beyond my beer knowledge. Looks, smells, tastes, and feels more like a porter. Overall I respect Rockmill and have enjoyed everything I've tried from this brewery. But in my opinion the only thing they got right about the description of this beer is it has touches and notes of tobacco and creme Brule.

 350 characters

3.9/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

375 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/23/2014. Pours fairly pitch black color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a large amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, licorice, raisin, prune, fig, red grape, tobacco, pepper, clove, herbal, light smoke, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roasted malt and fruity/spicy yeast notes; with good strength. Taste of big chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, licorice, raisin, prune, fig, red grape, pepper, clove, tobacco, light smoke/char, herbal, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Good amount of earthy/peppery yeast spiciness and light tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, licorice, dark fruit, pepper, clove, and yeast/roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt and fruity/spicy yeast flavors; with a great malt/yeast balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. High carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth, moderately crisp/prickly, and lightly creamy/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice farmhouse imperial stout style. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt and fruity/spicy yeast flavors; and very smooth and crisp to sip on for the ABV with the high amount of carbonation. A very enjoyable offering.

 1,650 characters

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured (well, after several attempts) from tap at Craft Kitchen, La Mesa CA. Deep reddish black with ginormous khaki head. I think that was more the tap than the brew, though. There were some clear spice notes in the aroma (coriander, pepper) but also a deep malty sweetness. The flavor carried those same spices, but the maltiness and roasty flavors dominated the palate. Really like a spicy stout. A touch of citrus pop at the end. Fairly full bodied as expected with that level of maltiness.

 496 characters

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottle conditioned and unfiltered. It's appearance is rich black with raspberry fringe lacing. Aroma and tastes of candied fruit, sweet potato, and creme brulee. Hints of caramel and mild tobacco in finish. Tasted from a 375 ml bottle on June 20, 2015.

 256 characters

4.05/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

The color is Brown with slight dark red hue. Dark berry aromas with caramel. T: great raspberry ,tart plum , fruit tannins, oaky spicy. F: is a medium body with light fading carbonation. If you like wines and beer this is fun beer.

 234 characters

4.09/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml caged and corked bottle. Served in a Unibroue tulip, the beer pours dark brown/black with almost an inch tan head. Head retention is good, and there's a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like roasted malt, dark fruit (grapes, plums), and some chocolate. It tastes like dark fruit (red grapes/wine, plums, fig), roasted malt, chocolate, tobacco, blackberries and a bit of coffee and tart fruitiness. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a little creamy and coating with moderate carbonation. To me it seems more like a Belgian-style stout than a saison, but I think it's a tasty brew anyway. Certainly worth trying if you come across some! $14.99 a bottle.

 686 characters

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

375ml bottle poured into a tulip
A: Very dark brown, almost pitch black with a 1/2-finger head
S Roasted malt, cocoa and Belgian yeast
T: Tropical fruit, Belgian yeast, malt and cocoa. The finish is lengthy but turns unpleasant in a way I can't quite point my finger on
F: Medium-bodied. Pleasant initially but I'll echo my finish comments
O: Agreed this is borderline stout like. I like it except up until the finish, unfortunately it's distinct and lengthy enough it drags the whole beer down a notch. The rest of Rockmill's beers remain favorites

 549 characters

4/5  rDev +4.2%

Hardly a saison. More like a roasty stout aged in red wine barrels--maybe with saison yeast I guess. Really nice but very unexpected. Probably gets downgraded by people expecting a typical saison.

 196 characters

3.7/5  rDev -3.6%

As much of a "Belgian stout" as a "black saison", the robust character of the ale shares a firmly roasted base flavor, but the common Belgian-esque balance of fruit and spice, along with piquant vinous acidity, all play out beautifully over the char.

Dark brown in its color, its darkness is aided by a firm yeasty haze. Billowing with a tall frothy lather, its dark foam sells well an appearance of latte. And that character isn't far off as the nose inherits the strong scent of fresh-brewed coffee, cocoa, roasted walnut and a sharp, dark fruit tang. Robust in initial taste, the wonderful flavors of burnt sugars wrap around the roast, softening its blow.

Expressive carbonation keeps the ale both creamy and light on the palate and body lightens considerably as the scorched molasses-type sweetness disintegrates and the fruit and spice medley take hold. Grilled blackberry, blackcurrant, red grape and plum tease the tastebuds with light fruit juice and its tangy bite. And that's counter to the spicy rebuttal of fresh-cracked peppercorn, woodish tannin, and light aniseed.

Approaching the dry acidity of merlot, the beer's creaminess waivers in favor of spice, alcohol warmth, powdery char and plum skin astringency. The tandem of pepper and tannin work in the beer's favor to keeps the distinctive ale both appetizing, complex and dangerously approachable.

 1,368 characters

3.19/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

A: Pours a deep black color with a half finger tan head. Looks super dark for any kind of saison.

S: Nothing about this beer is saying "saison" to me in any way, but this smells pretty good. Blackberry, espresso and dark chocolate mingle pretty well here. Again, nothing saison-like in the slightest, but this doesn't smell bad.

T: Just kind of weird for me. Tart black cherry skin mingles with chocolate covered raisins, tart plum and raspberry truffle. Some of the darker flavors work here, but the tartness is really off. A really strange beer that I definitely will not be going back to.

 594 characters

4.08/5  rDev +6.3%

Dark chocolate, espresso, and roasted malt dominate the aroma. Flavor reveals a roasted malt base, with notes of chocolate weaving throughout. There's undercurrents of raisins and vinous notes.

 193 characters

3.4/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Bottled 3/14/14.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, dark fruit, char, molasses, smoke, and tobacco aromas. Taste is much the same with slightly sour roasted malt, dark fruit, chocolate covered berry, and char flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roast bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer with a solid set of smells, but the slight tartness in the flavor clashes somewhat with the other flavors present.

Serving type: bottle.

 729 characters