Raiden Imperial Saison
Sound Brewery

Poured from a brown 22 oz. bottle. Has a golden/orange color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is funky, lemons, grains. Taste is of malts, spices, a touch of lemons and alcohol, easy drinking for the abv. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is an enjoyable beer.

 

 

Poured from a bomber into a Duvel tulip. Cool Mortal Kombat themed artwork... novelty purchase.

L: Clear light golden pour with 3 fingers of thick foamy head. Great retention and lacing.

S: On point for the style... grassy, belgian yeast, and citrus.

T/F: Sharp flavor... sweetness up front and light grains. Saved by the complex yeast esters and some bittering hops. Lemongrass, spice, and mild citrus. Light bodied with zesty carbonation. The finish is lemon and spice.

O: A surprisingly good beer (and I had admittedly low expectations given the Mortal Kombat theme). Good flavor.. a little sweet but nice complexity and pretty on par for the style. Glad I tried it.

22oz bottle with no date. On sale for 4 bucks

Knew I had to buy this the second I saw it, even with the high likelyhood that it would be awful. Poured very cloudy, smell is grainy and sweet. Tastes very fruity, from both the hops and yeast, with a sour/salty finish and noticeable booze presence.

Surprisingly good budget saison

Because the flavors of Ralf Jones’ Galactica Phantom can explode in the taster’s mouth, this brewery made this beer instead! Honestly, I’m also not a fan of product placements, but I figured there is an opportunity to try something not commonly brewed like this Imperial saison. Does it taste like a Imperial Saison? Let’s find out!

The color is slightly cloudy gold, with the phenoly ester grain aroma. Meanwhile, the flavors consist of honey, mild apricots, phenol esters and slightly piney-to-grassy hops that isn’t so in your face. However, although it is part of the style, the extra alcohol is a little too much despite being within the Saison category. While this beer fits within that category, it is a decent offering overall. In terms of blonde ales in general, I recommend the 805 from Firestone Walker Brewing and the Blondie from Acoustic Ales Brewing. For those looking for a similar beer to Raiden, the Groupie from Acoustic Ales Brewing is the preferred setup. Yes, this is too strong for those specializing in the straightforward Hadokens, Shoryukens and Tatsumakis! Those who like the malt-forward flash kicks, like Guile’s Flash Kick/Somersault, Kim Kap-Hwan’s Hienzan and Saki Tsuzura’s Claimh Solais, may appreciate the flavors without the massive hop bombs interfering with the action, but will most likely be knocked out by the ultra alcoholic finish.

22 oz bottle poured into a tulip.

Appearance
Hazy gold. 1+ finger of creamy white head. Moderate carbonation.

Nose
Wheat, lemon, potpourri, caramel, orange zest, cracker, and Pilsner malt.

Taste
Wheat and crackery Pilsner malt. Potpourri, pink peppercorn, and orange zest. Lemon zest with touches of caramel.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus bodied, crisp, off-dry, and well carbonated.

Overall
My expectations were pretty low so all-in-all it's not a horrible Saison.

 

Poured into a narrow Ommegang chalice: color is straw, a light haziness, head is brighter white, fine to small bubbles that present about 1/2 to 1 inch thick then dissipate to thick top with nice lacing on the glass sides.

Smell is grainy, then fruity, some esters, but a lingering sweetness with some light yeast phenols and spice.

Taste is less grainy than aroma, not much biscuit or wheat, then sweeter esters with some light yeast byproducts. I would call it a muddled flavor with out of place balance for saison: its sweet, not much breadiness and not very dry, though the hops are earthy.

Mouthfeel is sweet and linger sweet at first, then some very light dryness on the finish.

Overall a less than exciting saison, but it hides the abv very well.

I am personally not a Saison guy however this was a decent beer.

Chill hazed golden ale with a small white colored head.

Smells of malt and yeast with a mild coriander scent. That sums it up no nuances.

Starts out sweet for the style. Yeast and coriander and mildly bitter with no off flavors. Clean flavor without any complex flavors.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a solid if not complex saison.

Poured from 22oz. bottle to tulip.

A: Hazy full yellow, with a small white head.
S: Orange, Clove, Lemongrass, Banana, Fresh cut grass, and White bread.
T: Bright fruits up front: orange, lemon, mango. Light malts at the middle of the palate. Soapy and spicy finish.
M: Medium.
O: Not bad!

Appearance - Pours hazy and dull orange in color with an off-white, quarter-finger width head that fizzes away rather quickly, leaving a mostly barren surface and a thin ring of suds around the edge of the glass. No lacing.

Smell - Lemony aroma with lesser hints of spice and funk.

Taste - Follows the nose. Mild lemon throughout, with a bit of green banana and some spice. Malty sweetness comes through mid-taste and builds in the finish, giving the brew a sweet, slightly tangy finish that lingers in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Light-to-medium in body with tingly, soda-like carbonation. Fair smoothness with a crisp, slightly dry finish.

Overall - A decent saison, but a bit sweet in the finish, and I'm not too high on the big, carbonated bite. Unfortunately for this brew I had North Coast Le Merle last night, which is a rock solid, classic example of a saison, and this one simply falls short by comparison.

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a slightly hazy golden amber; the hazy is interesting because it looks like fine silt in a river, rather than consistent opaqueness. A thin white head dissipates to persistent patches and light lacing. Aroma of saison and Belgian yeast, grainy malt, Belgian spicing, mild light stone fruit; leans towards a tripel profile. Flavor is grainy malt, saison yeast, pepper and Belgian spices, light stone fruit, white wine, mild yeast funkiness. Medium bodied with sharp, peppery carbonation. Tastes like I expected an imperial saison to taste; the base is fairly classic grainy malt, saison yeast with hints of wild yeast, clove and mild notes of fruit. The flavors were more robust due to the ABV and that made the spicing a little over the top on first taste, although that balanced a bit more as this warmed. The aftertaste is actually closer to traditional saison flavor than the initial sip, possibly due to flavor oversaturation due to higher ABV. The aroma got me pining for a tripel, but I'm quite happy with the results. Sound does a good job with Belgian style ales and that's true with this one. I tried this series only because of fairly good reviews here; I ordinarily avoid product association beers, which usually do not turn out very interesting. This series is well done and a credit to the brewery.