Convergent Evolution
Banded Brewing Co.
- From:
- Banded Brewing Co.
- Maine, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Saison
- ABV:
- 6.9%
- Score:
- +9 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.17 | pDev: 0%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Sep 21, 2023
- Added:
- Sep 21, 2023
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by Cathartes from Massachusetts
4.17/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.17/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Seeing summer off with my first saison.
16 oz can acclimated to 47°F and poured into a tulip glass.
Pours a cloudy, vibrant, dark gold with a 2.5 finger sudsy white head leaving light splotches of lacing.
Initial aroma is sour, consisting of peaches, wet grass, yeast, and a cola/sassafras note. After agitating, yeast is concentrated into a musty smell backed by fruit esters that I find quite nice.
Initial taste before swallowing is a slight alcohol burn, tasting very much like pear and/or brandy. A clove/spice note is present, feeling tingly, this really tastes like Christmas. After swallowing, a slight alcohol burn first occurs, becoming a warmth afterwards, the pear and clove flavors present through the whole process. In the aftertaste is a yeasty bread flavor, a lot like bread in fact, and very wet and sweet, contrasting the slightly dry taste in the middle. Also present in the middle is a slight astringent bitterness, seeming to exist simultaneously with a fruity sweetness. Letting the aftertaste sit a while creates a grainy taste, reminding a lot of sprouted bread. I'm enjoying the fermented yeasty taste, couple with the noticeable alcohol, it really feels like almost like a spirit, but a good deal more tolerable, perhaps a fortified wine instead? It's nice.
Mouthfeel is better than what I'd consider average for a beer. It's not terrific, but it's nice. I'd say it has slightly more body, and that it flows smoothly. What's interesting is that something that isn't a dark/darker beer having a higher alcohol content and feeling smooth is a little jarring, it flows in a way that almost feels cooling, but then I get warmth from it, just a little unusual.
Overall I quite enjoyed it! I didn't have any mental frame of reference, as it was my first saison, but it's about what I expected. I loved the high level of spiciness, which melded brilliantly with the fruity esters, as well as the alcohol presence, creating what felt like something sort of different, meant in a good way. I also found the bready yeasty taste quite enjoyable. I will say I found it a little challenging to drink 16 oz, and that 12 would have perhaps suited it better, but I still enjoyed. Definitely seemed like a good introduction to the style, and makes me excited to try more.
I will probably pick up another at some point, likely a few times, but it won't be in more than singles.
Sep 21, 202316 oz can acclimated to 47°F and poured into a tulip glass.
Pours a cloudy, vibrant, dark gold with a 2.5 finger sudsy white head leaving light splotches of lacing.
Initial aroma is sour, consisting of peaches, wet grass, yeast, and a cola/sassafras note. After agitating, yeast is concentrated into a musty smell backed by fruit esters that I find quite nice.
Initial taste before swallowing is a slight alcohol burn, tasting very much like pear and/or brandy. A clove/spice note is present, feeling tingly, this really tastes like Christmas. After swallowing, a slight alcohol burn first occurs, becoming a warmth afterwards, the pear and clove flavors present through the whole process. In the aftertaste is a yeasty bread flavor, a lot like bread in fact, and very wet and sweet, contrasting the slightly dry taste in the middle. Also present in the middle is a slight astringent bitterness, seeming to exist simultaneously with a fruity sweetness. Letting the aftertaste sit a while creates a grainy taste, reminding a lot of sprouted bread. I'm enjoying the fermented yeasty taste, couple with the noticeable alcohol, it really feels like almost like a spirit, but a good deal more tolerable, perhaps a fortified wine instead? It's nice.
Mouthfeel is better than what I'd consider average for a beer. It's not terrific, but it's nice. I'd say it has slightly more body, and that it flows smoothly. What's interesting is that something that isn't a dark/darker beer having a higher alcohol content and feeling smooth is a little jarring, it flows in a way that almost feels cooling, but then I get warmth from it, just a little unusual.
Overall I quite enjoyed it! I didn't have any mental frame of reference, as it was my first saison, but it's about what I expected. I loved the high level of spiciness, which melded brilliantly with the fruity esters, as well as the alcohol presence, creating what felt like something sort of different, meant in a good way. I also found the bready yeasty taste quite enjoyable. I will say I found it a little challenging to drink 16 oz, and that 12 would have perhaps suited it better, but I still enjoyed. Definitely seemed like a good introduction to the style, and makes me excited to try more.
I will probably pick up another at some point, likely a few times, but it won't be in more than singles.
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