St. Bretta Satsuma Mandarin
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

Bottle: Poured a clear yellow color ale with a medium size foamy head with limited retention and light lacing. Aroma of sour notes with subtle mandarin notes and some light funky ester also discernible. Taste is a mix of sour notes with no acidity, some light mandarin notes with light funky Brett notes and some citrusy undertones. Body is about average with good carbonation. Not bad but I was expecting more from the mandarin.

Pours a frosty yellow-orange with a finger of off-white head. Head retention is fair, with no lacing. A sour note opens up the aroma, with a little citrus in the back. Flavor profile opens and exudes sour notes, with a slight citrus tinge to it. Mouth feel is bubbly, and carbonated, with a medium-thin thickness. Overall, a pleasent edition of St. Bretta. The sour notes are certainly at the forefront.

Served in a 12oz snifter.

 

 

Reviewed from notes. Poured from 12.7 oz. bottle into an unmarked pint glass.

A: Very hazy light gold, with a good amount of visible carbonation and a couple finger's of white head that fades quickly.

S: Funky Brettanomyces, barnyard must, lemon citric acid and orange zest. Uncooked bready malt, yeast and wheat. Really nice smell.

T: Brett - barnyard and grassy - with citric acid, lemon and citrus rind. Wheat and biscuit malts. Citrus and grassy hop bitterness in the hang with residual savory funk.

M: Light body but not watery. The carbonation sensation seems a bit low, and low alcohol presence.

O: I thought this was good. The only complaints would be a lack of overt mandarin flavors, and that it didn't taste as good as it smelled. But quite enjoyable nevertheless.

 

Pours pale gold with a moderate white head that dissipates quickly.
Aroma is slightly acidic with both Brett and citrus fruit being pronounced.

Brett and mandarin orange flavors are both clear, with a hint of lemon early. As it warmed a bit, the mandarin dominates. The sourness is pleasant and refreshing (not mouth puckering like a geuze)
As it warmed, a sight funk was evident along with the noble hop flavor/bitterness (no hop aroma though)
Body is moderate to thin, and the carbonation dissipated surprisingly quickly, leaving it only pestilent after less than 5 minutes. The flavors are well balanced and the finish is clean.

I found it to be a very well crafted beer that may improve nicely with age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 fl oz bottle sealed with pressure cap.

poured into HF wine stem.

Appearance: yellow body with 2 fingers of white head. Head drops down to ring around glass.

Smell: Brett forward aroma; Fruity, earthy, musty, and dusty brett. Light sweet orange note and bready malt. Smells like it will have light tartness.

Taste: Light tartness. Light sweet orange citrus that is a bit watery. Would like more orange flavors. Brett is pretty big here.

Mouthfeel: medium body with moderate carbonation. Semi dry finish. Crisp, clean and refreshing.

Overall: I really like brett beers and this is tons of brett with a little bit of orange. Pretty mellow sourness. Another great St Bretta series beer, but not as orangy as I am used to. Chances are the brett was really active in this bottle and overpowered the oranges since this was bottles back in september of 2015.

 

Light orange in color with a thin white head, this beer smells like wheat and mandarin oranges! The flavor follows that, a strong yeast, wheat, and sour mandarin orange... This beer is moderately tart for a sour, and has an excellent flavor balanced out by the bread and yeast undertones. The light, bubbly texture fit the style well.. this is a fun, yet expensive beer.

Fairly wheat and acidic dominant aroma, accented by mandarin oranges. The funk is floral and musty, earthy, and balances fairly well.

Flavor is fairly sour initially, fading to light wheat and biscuity malt in the dry, musty, peppery finish. Notes of citrus emerge from the sour dominance late. The sourness overwhelms a bit too much to allow more subtle flavors to shine.

Oranges- in their slightly under-ripened form carries the culinary delight of tartness, citrus, sourness and a piquant rind-like bite. The Satsuma Mandarina hop covers all of those bases in a single cone of hops. And layered on a soft and sour wheat beer base and we have a crowd pleaser for citrus lovers.

Mouthwatering aromas of succulent, tangy and citrusy goodness perforate the senses and nearly tighten the jaws with its Belgianesque sourness underneath. Foggy and canary-yellow with hints of peach, the ale even looks the citrusy part. And as its bready-sweet taste hits the tongue, the mouth is enlivened with all things fresh squeezed orange juice.

And once the palate saturates with the citrusy wheat beer, the mouth picks up on the soft and citrusy perfume that only coriander offers. With bitter orange peel and those premiere mandarin accented hops hitting a high note, the fleeting sweetness leaves impressions of cream sickle on the finish. Rounded with the musty freshness of weathered orange, a hint of burlap and balsa rounds out the bulk of taste.

Creamy-dry and medium-light, the wheat beer returns with hints of fresh bread dough with those perfumy orange-centered fragrances. A light peppery bite accompanies a medium bitter finish for a sour taste that's short-lived on the palate. St. Bretta is an ultimate thirst quencher that hits a crescendo with the Satsuma Mandarina hops.