Houblon De Mer
de Garde Brewing

 

Bottle Date: purchased late 2017
Palate Contaminants: other beer

Color is medium-light straw, and it's plenty cloudy. Lots and lots of very fine white head. Looks interesting.

Scents are pears and some really thick tropical fruit juice, with guava and passionfruit. Those are buried behind lemongrass and funk, though. It's unique, but the balance is off.

Lots of acidic fruit in the taste. Pineapple at first blush, but also something akin to overly ripened guava. Lemongrass, but really, more freshly cut lawn. It's perfumy, too. Bitterness and sourness are the first of the principal gustations, and they simply cover up the sweetness too much, although that pineapple really punches through. White wine minerals toward the end.

Fairly easy to get medium carbonation out with a swish around the mouth. Aftertaste is unsweetened pears and blueberries. Bitter funk sits around in the back of my mouth moreso than I'd like.

 

 

Gold with a fingernail of off white on top. Light lacing. The aroma is of floral hops, sweet saison yeast, and oak. I'm tasting a light amount of funk with notes of green apple, pear, with just a touch of oak and floral hops. The mouth is highly carbonated, dry, and crisp.

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but is a recent release. Pours hazy pale golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lightly tart lemon, lime, orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, apricot, red apple, passion fruit, papaya, guava, mango, melon, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, light vanilla/white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/tropical hops, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lightly tart lemon, lime, orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, apricot, red apple, passion fruit, papaya, guava, mango, melon, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, light vanilla/white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Moderate peppery yeast and tannic oak spiciness; with light lactic tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart lemon, lime, orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, apricot, red apple, passion fruit, papaya, guava, mango, melon, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/tropical hops, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tart/spiciness balance, and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness from tart/spiciness and carbonation, increasing through the glass. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately crisp, bready/grainy/sticky/tannic, and lightly acidic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.9%. Overall this is an awesome wild saison. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/tropical hops, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink with the moderately spicy/tannic and lightly lactic balanced finish. Really well developed and highly funky Brett complexity, with nice hop/oak balance; and a solid pale malt backbone. A really enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.