St. Feuillien Saison
Brasserie St. Feuillien

Pours a hazy orange brown with an explosive, due to an unruly pour, five to six inch head. It slowly collapses over the next 10 minutes into a rocky and foamy head and then creamy white cap.

Yeasty bready malts abide in the nose, not unlike a Tripel, with some sweet notes as well. Caramel, and a little bit of orange lemon zest. My bottle is fairly old — a few months out from their set expiry date. I suspect this has smoothed the beer out and muted some of the fruity notes.

Lemon flavours on the sip with some grassy notes. Tasty doughy malts and biscuits. A mild savouriness on some sips that is very sweet, a little wooden even. General esters and fruity spices as well.

Light-medium bodied, but very crisp and fresh with a nice long finish, mildly dry, semi sweet, this is an enjoyable saison. I personally very much enjoy the doughy, malty flavours of beers but this might not be what people want out of a saison, so I don’t recommend aging it as long as I did/buying it fresher so you can enjoy the tasty fruity notes that might degrade over time, but this is a deliciously great saison. Looking forward to comparing my bottle with a new, fresh one down the road.

Copenhagen 23/9 2016. 75 cl bottle from Meny, Østerfælled Torv, Kbh. Ø. A declaration assuring me that I am holding a "Belgian farmhouse Ale" and a drawing to assure me that this beer surely do contain hops. Very informative and a little bit American style marketing.

Pours cloudy golden yellow with a white head. Settles as a thin layer of foam stretching to cover the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is sourish and tart. Lots of citrus with an undercurrent of sweetish lemonade. A little Belgian yeast as well giving a little basement vibe.

Quite strong and prickly carbonation and watery palate. Lively texture.

Flavor is medium sweet followed by sour citrus and medium strong bitterness.

The carbonation makes you burp but you feel frigging great while doing it. Just as a Saison should be.

RB transfer

Bottle 0.33L.
Hazy amber body with a large, frothy, off-white head, mostly lasting with nice lacing.
Light-to-moderate malty (straw) and light hoppy (herbal) aroma with heavy notes of fruits (apricot).
Moderate sweet and light-to-moderate acidic flavour with a very light bitter note; long-lasting sweetish finish where the bitter note becomes more evident.
Light-to-medium body with oily texture; average carbonation.

 

L: cloudy, orange marmalade colour, huge head

S: slight citrus notes, bready/biscuity, a touch of nutmeg? Maybe even earth?

T: orangey, then bready and slightly malty with touches of spice. A good marmalade bun, basically. Then ends with some wood and dryness. Really complex and interesting.

F: big in the mouth, creamy, strong carbonation.

O: a rewardingly complex saison. So good I went back the following day for another glass.

 

 

Appearance: Pours a slightly clouded, rich orange color with a massive white head that lingers. Lots of sediment floating within the glass. SRM of 11-12. (4.25)

Aroma: Moderate aromas of orange citrus and tropical flavors upfront. Some light floral and Belgian spice notes of cloves behind that. Pale bread malts within.

Flavor: Strong flavors upfront of orange citrus and tropical fruit. It then turns into the bread malts that interplay with the yeast. The yeast evolves into a floral abut also Belgian-spiced flavor of medicinal and cloves. Finishes with a smooth bread malt, mildly sweet.

Feel: Medium to heavier bodied. Strong carbonation. Soft, smooth, only mildly sweet with a slight lingering Belgian spice.

Overall: A great and authentic Belgian Saison. Nice orange and tropical flavors predominate here. Not as much Belgian yeast and funk, but enough. Slightly sweeter than others, but still nicely carbonated and smooth without being cloying. Sort of reminds me if you turned Bells Oberon into a Saison. Gummy orange and tropical wheat flavors but with a Belgian twist. I would say this would drink nicely as a tropical and orange twist on a Saison and would be perfect on a warm day in the Mediterranean. (Rating: 4.08)

330 ml bottle, BB date 15. Apr. 2014, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. (Think I have a 750 ml corked bottle somewhere too.) ABV is 6.5%. Hazy golden to orange colour, large white head. Grainy and mildly spicy aroma. Medium dry and mildly spicy flavour, refreshing. Tolerable hops in the finish. Okay.

 

330ml can. Bottom lip of can is stamped '21-08-13' for best by date (just a little past that date).
Unfiltered, pale gold colored body. Long lasting tight bubble cap. Webs of lacing.
Aroma of Belgian yeast, with lemon lime and orange.
Taste is yeasty dry, with caramel apple and lemon/lime citrus. Has a little spice. Total yeast and fruit continue in the aftertaste.
Rather thick and dry mouth feel. Very good carbonation.
Multi faceted beer, with aspects, especially flavors, that pop through as the beer is ingested.

Everything that you want from a Saison. The foam dissipated fairly quickly. Smell was absolutely lovely. Fruit smells are fantastic.
Taste was complex, and exploded with a sophisticated and subtle fruit flavors without being overwhelming.
Well done!

 

L: Whoa, did you just pop that open? It's a Belgian. You don't just do that to Belgian. First of all, pour. Keep cold, store out of sunlight. This is farmhouse style ale we're talking about. Pour *GENTLY* and no greater than 35 Fahrenheit. If you want to be extra fancy, give her an easy roll before pouring. You really want to open it up, but don't swirl it after it hits your glass. Be gentle. Have you caught up with me? Okay... Looks: Hazy. Definitely unfiltered, no question about it. Carbonated and active. Glossy, it's going to have a finish. Deep straw color much like the farm it came from.

S: What is that thing about a saison, that makes a saison a saison? It's floor-malted barley. It's bright, it's chipper, it's lively, there's activation, there's something about this brew that is making an attempt to breathe, there's life in this. I cannot begin to describe how it smells, it's coming forth. That crisp, clean, breath of fresh air that saison offers, it's a bit more vibrant, a bit more lively, a bit more... When you pour it, the can should be -inside- the glass. There is a witbier background. I keep coming back to lively, with the witbier essence. A powerful aroma, a yeast that hasn't been finished. Seems like it's Belgian, I don't know why that's familiar, but Belgian is no longer coincidental with 'funk', allow me to explain why...

T: A flavor profile. Let's start with the hops. Some bitter notes that help counteract with the wheat background. I remember having this in 2018... and this is not the beer of yesteryear. They built new facilities in the 2020s. Which is okay, it's commentary not complaint, it certainly isn't my first time encountering this. All it needs is some time for the wood to get worn in. The reason we call it "Farmhouse ale" is the 'floor malted barley', meaning that it has a lot of airflow and interaction with the wood. One cannot easily reproduce that. And have you taken one look http://www.st-feuillien.com/ ? .. Because, I have... And let me tell you that there is something open and refreshing about it, that traditional Belgian background that I often shy from, that they are working towards. Give them a chance, allow them to breathe and they will allow the magic to happen. Please be patient.

F: It has this light, crisp, saison part opens a up a bit--We don't have this weighty thing, this warm buttery cinnamon biscuit that goes Augh--There's something about a saison, a Belgian saison, that I prefer over a Belgian tripel. Whatever it is that they do to make the difference, I like that.

O: It's not a dessert beer, but it's a beer that would be good for dessert. There are beers designed for you to drink all 6 of, all 4 of. This is not it. One would presume you buy a 4-pack. This is a convenience. Four beers are enough to last you four nights.