Peppercorn Saison
3 Stars Brewing Company

Peppercorn SaisonPeppercorn Saison
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From:
3 Stars Brewing Company
 
District of Columbia, United States
Style:
Saison
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.84 | pDev: 12.24%
Reviews:
32
Ratings:
191
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 08, 2022
Added:
Feb 04, 2013
Wants:
  9
Gots:
  53
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Summerteeth:
Photo of Summerteeth
Rated by Summerteeth from Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Good.
Mar 08, 2021
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.89 by caffeinelogic from New York

Jun 08, 2022
 
Rated: 3.84 by HarlotBronte from District of Columbia

Mar 13, 2022
 
Rated: 4.4 by DAllen6701 from District of Columbia

Oct 14, 2021
Photo of cyclonece09
Reviewed by cyclonece09 from Wisconsin

3.71/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours orange yellow with a fluffy white head. Smells of sweet grain. Tastes of sweet grain with some peppercorn spice. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.
Dec 21, 2020
Photo of GarrettB
Reviewed by GarrettB from Colorado

3.79/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
April 10th, 2016 - I like peppercorns. I like saison. Do I like a peppercorn saison? Yes! But maybe not more than a pint. It does smell like pink unfermented peppercorns and a light salmon and crab freshness, so it features a seafood cuisine forward face. The flavor is also delicious, with a slight pickled taste coming from the peppercorn taste, and a brilliant mouthfeel. It also leaves an elegant aftertaste of that fresh seafood. But the 5-star seaside platter flavor profile is still just slightly strange for a beer, which means after about 16 oz. I'm satisfied, leaving another 6 oz. or so in the bottle to share.
Aug 14, 2020
Photo of ImAHatGuy
Reviewed by ImAHatGuy from Virginia

4.98/5  rDev +29.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
This is the hardest beer to review for me. On tap this might be the best beer around. Myself and multiple of my friends think this is the best beer in the DMV area. However, out of a bottle it’s pretty average. It really needs to breathe and you only get that on tap. In short, it’s near perfection on tap but out of the bottle, don’t bother.
Aug 05, 2020
 
Rated: 3.24 by Jaasoares from Virginia

Jul 16, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by eluvah from New York

Jul 09, 2020
Photo of MrOH
Reviewed by MrOH from Maryland

2.79/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.75
Canned 07/03/19, but refrigerated the whole time, so I guess a review of how it aged under those conditions for almost a year?
Pours a clear straw gold with a big white head. Retention isn't great, but a layer of foam always remains. Spotty lace
Sweet malt, a bit of fruity esters and some peppery spice. A little bit of tomato?
Banana-like esters, tomato leaf, slightest hint of fresh pepper, sweet malt.
Fluffy mouthfeel, yet dry. Carbonation is right on.
I've had this when fresher, and liked it much more then. Just trying to go through some stuff at work that's been sitting around a while and never got around to reviewing. This beer is much better fresh than 10 months old, even if that 10 months was under 40*F
May 02, 2020
Photo of Taybeh
Reviewed by Taybeh from Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
At the tap room in Takoma Park, into a shaker. Pours a somewhat hazy dull goldenrod, nice tight bright white head, great lacing. I get some good muted peppercorn, as well as some hefe-level banana, which I find odd for the style. The spicy and yeasty notes are well done. Carb is middling...about right for the style, neither too soft or too lively. There’s not much in the way of layers/it is a bit one-note, but...that one note is pretty good.
Jan 11, 2020
 
Rated: 4.19 by DrBass from Maryland

Dec 16, 2019
 
Rated: 4.09 by rpjterp from Virginia

Jul 28, 2019
Photo of mynie
Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
The pours is aggressively carbonated but it settles after a few seconds. Clear, dark gold.

Aroma is white pepper and yeast spice. Clean and crisp. Nicely done.

The flavor isn't quite as clean as the aroma, but it's still good. Pepper and yeast spice up front, moving into a lightly fruity middle that's a bit off for a saison but works well with the spice profile. The finish is spice, fruit, and some light cereal grain that just doesn't quite work with the beer's early stages, but it's not weird enough to throw off the balance entirely.


It's hard to make a saison like this--spice forward, with no tartness or funk to mask any imperfections. I applaud 3 Stars for the effort, the product is pretty good. Many very well established brewers, like Rogue and 3 Floyds, have released much lesser versions of this type of beer. I doubt I'll be revisiting it, but it's a promising showing from a young brewery.

EDIT: After having a second during dinner, and now opening a third, I have to up this beer a few notches. It really comes together on its own terms, and it's a wonderful compliment to food. I take back what I said: I will be buying another sixer.
Jun 13, 2019
Photo of brureview
Reviewed by brureview from Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Very drinkable.
Spicy aroma/taste different and more mellow than the Clown Shoes Pink Boots Saison
I drank last night.

Very smooth MF.

Not overdone. So it’s two Saisons in a row which are enjoyable.
Perhaps American brewers are finally getting the hang of the style.
Stay away from too much carbonation, and keep the flavors balanced.
Apr 08, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by zonker17 from Texas

Mar 26, 2019
Photo of joekoz007
Reviewed by joekoz007 from Maryland

1.33/5  rDev -65.4%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
Belgians are not my favorite style but I still drink some. I just couldn't drink this one. Smelled of rotten bananas. Tasted like peppered bananas and formaldehyde. Total drain pour. Maybe I got a bad bottle.
Mar 08, 2019
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.86/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
A decent saison; It seems to know how to go with food (I had it with appetizers and collard greens.)
Looks are average, could have a more inviting foam. Smells mostly of malt; but I detect some spices that act mysterious.
Tastes are balanced and clear; the pepper is there, but not pushing out the fruity malt. Finishes fine (thin doesn't bother me in this style... cleansing the palate is key and this saison does.)

My first from 3 Stars, so I went on their website (Not as sophisticated as the competition.) But they sure are sophisticated in their brewing after only 5 years organized. They have two membership clubs (one for barrels and one for wilds.) But more importantly... this is my first beer from DC, where I lived for 8 years in my pre-beer days (1986 to 1994). So, they get an OA hug for bringing culture to a place that needs to get more transcendent about itself... fast.

3/28/22 Three years later, I snag the same saison in DC's Craft Beer Cellar (forgetting that I had it before)... but I'm glad I did. It was my chance to edit the above review and improve its Taste rating. More important, I get to see how 3 Stars has grown (a better website and a quite full portfolio.) And I had Peppercorn with food and it passes my chief saison test. While Peppercorn is their flagship, 4 of their most rated BA brews are Belgian-inspired. So, I even give 3 Stars more OA Hugs because of their dedication and effectiveness and their Belgians that I hope to try.
Jan 17, 2019
Photo of Sheppard
Reviewed by Sheppard from Massachusetts

3.79/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pours golden. Sweet bready and banana aroma. The Belgian yeast really carries this with a slight underpinning of earthy peppercorn character. It's perfectly alright.
Jan 15, 2019
 
Rated: 3.79 by AngusOg from North Carolina

Dec 24, 2018
Peppercorn Saison from 3 Stars Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 191 ratings