Noble Oaf (Dry Hopped Edition)
Refined Fool Brewing Co.
- From:
- Refined Fool Brewing Co.
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Belgian Saison
- ABV:
- 7.3%
- Score:
- +9 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.83 | pDev: 0%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Nov 30, 2015
- Added:
- Nov 30, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.83/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4.25
3.83/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4.25
750 mL bottle with a differentiating sticker slapped onto the regular label; picked up at the brewery about a week after its release. Served well-chilled at first, but it had plenty of time to warm up to cellar temperature.
This variant has the same bronzed-amber hue as its antecedent, not to mention a similar foggy, borderline-murky complexion. The head, on the other hand, is generous in both quantity and retention, which is not a feature I recall from the original. The aroma has its own lively grassy/green and spicy hop feel to it, almost reminiscent of a Belgian IPA, particularly given its overall yeastiness. Overripe orchard fruit, banana and bready rye malts are also present.
Bready rye malts and subtle caramelized sugar sweetness are featured with each sip, alongside fruity notes of banana, plum and pear. The dry-hop treatment aids the base saison's flavour somehow - this variant just tastes a little more 'Belgian', if that makes any sense (I doubt it). It makes the profile feel a lot greener - grassier, spicier and more herbal, with subtle rye spiciness and yeast leading up to the finish. Again, the Belgian IPA comparison seems apt, though the aftertaste lacks the intense astringency usually found in that style - as well as the ethanol warmth (the 7.3% is not much of a factor at all, at least until you stand up). Medium-bodied, with low carbonation levels and a smooth, relatively weighty feel on the palate - seems a little limp for a saison, but it makes for a good quaff other than that.
Final Grade: 3.83, a B+. It's great to see the brewmaster experimenting with Refined Fool's core brands - I mean, it's hard to think of a better way to gradually tweak and improve their recipes over time. While Noble Oaf has never been my favourite of their primary labels, I will say that this dry-hopped version is a definite (though not necessarily enormous) improvement over the original. Thumbs up, and I hope to see more batch variation releases like this in the future.
Nov 30, 2015This variant has the same bronzed-amber hue as its antecedent, not to mention a similar foggy, borderline-murky complexion. The head, on the other hand, is generous in both quantity and retention, which is not a feature I recall from the original. The aroma has its own lively grassy/green and spicy hop feel to it, almost reminiscent of a Belgian IPA, particularly given its overall yeastiness. Overripe orchard fruit, banana and bready rye malts are also present.
Bready rye malts and subtle caramelized sugar sweetness are featured with each sip, alongside fruity notes of banana, plum and pear. The dry-hop treatment aids the base saison's flavour somehow - this variant just tastes a little more 'Belgian', if that makes any sense (I doubt it). It makes the profile feel a lot greener - grassier, spicier and more herbal, with subtle rye spiciness and yeast leading up to the finish. Again, the Belgian IPA comparison seems apt, though the aftertaste lacks the intense astringency usually found in that style - as well as the ethanol warmth (the 7.3% is not much of a factor at all, at least until you stand up). Medium-bodied, with low carbonation levels and a smooth, relatively weighty feel on the palate - seems a little limp for a saison, but it makes for a good quaff other than that.
Final Grade: 3.83, a B+. It's great to see the brewmaster experimenting with Refined Fool's core brands - I mean, it's hard to think of a better way to gradually tweak and improve their recipes over time. While Noble Oaf has never been my favourite of their primary labels, I will say that this dry-hopped version is a definite (though not necessarily enormous) improvement over the original. Thumbs up, and I hope to see more batch variation releases like this in the future.
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