Saison
Allagash Brewing Company

Straight pour from a 12oz pry-off bottle to an oversized wineglass (Jester King stemware). There’s some dating or batch information printed in white ink on a black rectangle at the far right side of the label above the barcode (“0705 13:21”), which I’m optimistic would indicate a bottling date of July 5 of this year, but it’s hard to say. Either way, it may be very fresh and has been refrigerated for a couple of days.

Appearance (3.5): Two fingers of bone-white foam rise off of the pour, capping a bright yellow, hazy body. The head dies down at a pretty average pace, leaving some light, lacy collars that don’t stick around long but are very pretty while they do. Not great retention, but it’s pretty all the same.

Smell (4.25): Bright, snappy citrus with juicy and grassy tones—bitter orange, lemongrass, green tea, and jasmine come to mind. Dry cereals (oats, cracked wheat, French country bread) offer a lean but firm structure for the hops and yeasty phenols to jump off of.

Taste (4.25): An easy, smooth malt body that brings to mind dry, grainy bread with just a bit of honey offers a perfectly dry, well-designed structure for the beer’s other flavor notes. Juicy jasmine, sweetened green tea, orange peel, sweet grass, pineapple rind, and a lightly tart, bright bitterness surfaces right toward the end. The dry malt and grassy bitterness make for an assertive springboard that makes the juicy floral and citrusy notes really shine, especially as the beer warms up a bit.

Mouthfeel (4.5): The dry, medium-weight body feels smooth with an evenly-distributed, fine-grained carbonation that foams up nicely and roundly toward the end, taking the edge off of the bitterness and dry malt. Exceedingly drinkable.

Overall (4.0): This an excellent, American-styled, classic saison—not funky, not overly hoppy, not wild, but balanced, full-flavored, and still understated where it counts. A lot of saisons of this breed tend to have a rather full malt body and big, fruity yeast notes, while this beer downplays the malt body (as the classic Belgian styles tend to). Keeping the malt body understated risks the possibility of off-notes produced by the yeast or hops to poke through, but Allagash did such a good job wrangling the yeast and keeping the hops in balance that it could stick to a moderate, dry malt body. This is very affordable and incredibly easy to drink, not to mention an excellent example of the style. Highly recommended.

Hazy, yellow color. One finger thick, white, soapy head. The aroma of spices and citrus with malt in the background. Same notes in taste. Dry finish with floral bitterness. Delicious saison!

 

 

Very thin straw yellow pour. I think in a blind test most people couldn't pick out this pour next to Coors Light outside of the better, foamy head on the Allagash. Pleasant, strong smell of green apples, barnyard funk, white pepper. Bright, lively taste with lemon pepper, straw, yeast. Mild, gassy aftertaste. Looks like a dog, but tastes much better than that.

Cloudy gold straw hue on the pour, with some head and ample lace. Slight bready aroma. Taste is malty, peppery, slightly fruity and overly dry on the finish. I like this brewery a lot but this is not one of my favorites -- maybe this style is not to my liking. Bottled 07/09/20.

 

 

 

 

This is a great saison. At first I thought the hops were too spicy or piney but now I think it works. I usually like my saisons with more of a nobel hop character but this one has grown on me. Also Allagash tends to use more local hops so it's probably hopped with ME grown varieties. You have to love that. It's an interesting take on a saison with a bit of a twist in the unique hop flavors. I get a lot of cascade grapefruit in this.

12oz bottle. Poured out a slightly cloudy, straw-yellow color with a small, off-white head of bubbly foam. It receded to minimal lacing. It smelled of cracked wheat, grains, caramel and spices. Sweet caramel taste with a spicy bite and fruity finish.

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a mason jar. Almost clear yellow with a 1/4 inch frothy head that dissipated quickly to just the edges of the glass. Smells as it should. I taste a citrus funky farmhouse flavor that is a little spicy. Clean and fresh. Very crushable. A solid saison that is not overpriced, readily available and never disappoints. I highly recommend it to anyone that feels like a saision once in a awhile.

 

 

 

L: pale lemon yellow with a loose white head that dissolves into a lacy film
S: very mild citrus and pine
T: mild lemon and pine with a slight acidic tartness
F: smooth with a slight tingle, dry as the back of the tongue
O: delicious. This is a go-to when I tire of lagers. Very well balanced with a enough hoppiness to make you want to refresh without being bitter or sour and a great alternative to an IPA