Les Quatre Saisons: Saison au Miel (Wildflower Honey)
Left Hand Brewing Company

It is back to/on The CANQuest (tm) fora bit as I CANduct CANother short brewery horizontal! This end of this adventure will segue nicely into a couple more horizontals & all in furtherance of TheCANQuest (tm). It's all very exciting!

From the CAN: "Les Quatre Saisons[:] Saison au Miel (Wlidflower Honey)"; "Employee Owned. Righteously Independent (tm)"; "Brewed on the banks of the mighty St. Vrain"; "Est. 1993"; "Saison Ale brewed with Wildflower Honey"; "Dry and crisp farmhouse-style ale. Mild tartness softened by Colorado wildflower honey."; "10 IBU"; "Ingredients: Rocky Mountain water, Malted Barley, Rye, Wheat, Rolled Oats, Wildflower Honey, Hops, Yeast".

Being as that it was a Saison, I did some in-CAN agitation before I Crack!ed open the vent. I followed with an inverted C-Line Glug into the awaiting goblet. This led to the creation f two-plus fingers of fizzy, foamy, soapy, eggshell-white head that quickly fell away to wisps. Color was a slightly-hazy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7), the color of … honey! 8=O Nose did not smell like any Saison in my exbeerience! The usual funk was replaced by a honey sweetness. Mmm. My ex-Old Lady was & is an apiarist & would cart honeycombs around in her car. Who needs air freshener when you've got fresh honey?!? Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium, but soft, thanks to the oats. The brewery described the taste as having a "Mild tartness softened by Colorado wildflower honey." Softened? More like pummeled, tenderized & then steamrolled! Softened up with a flamethrower! When in doubt, ALWAYS check this site's "Style Guide" - "Specialty ingredients, including spices, may contribute a unique and signature character." Fair dinkum, The sweetness of the honey was prevalent throughout, which is why my cause for alarm. No worries, though, everything was tickety-boo. It was not TOO sweet, though, or I would have been put off. The wheat lent a slight tartness to the proceedings, but I still was not getting the usual barnyard funk that I generally associate with a Saison. Not that I was complaining, mind you. There is a very real reason that Saisons fall very low on my Style depth chart - I just get burnt out on their flavor(s) very quickly. Not so with this one. Finish was "Dry and crisp" as advertised by the brewery. I wonder why this has been discontinued. It was very pleasant throughout. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

Spicy, but only a mild flowery taste. The honey shows through on the back-end of the tasting. Highly carbonated but still recommend getting it on tap. Pleasant representation of saison.

 

Bottom of the can stamped "Best by 07/22/2018."
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a glossy burnt to copper color with no head or lace. Decent transparency about it. No matter how hard I tried to pour.
The aroma had a huge sweet bready/Belgian yeastiness up front. Light sweet earthy to grassy to honey and a light whiff of banana estery sort of appeal.
The flavor yields to the sweet side of the bready/yeastiness. Banana estery sweetness, yes, but somewhat mild. Mild aftertaste of sweet bread/Belgian yeastiness and a touch of honey.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt on par. Extremely bready and honey smooth finish.
Overall, not a bad saison, but I feel like the yeast wasn't entirely used properly in this beer as I would have hoped for a slight spicy component to come out and that didn't show up.

 

Nice dry saison. You can taste the honey yet the beer isn't sweet at all. Some nice spicy notes from the yeast as well as a touch of banana/bubblegum esters.

Crusher Saison. And I love honey like a fucking grizzly bear. Nice mix.

 

3.13/5: The sweetness conceals the rustic qualities too much for me, but at least the honey keeps the palate dry

Mild honey aroma with a touch of spice and yeast. Pours a clear light amber with a dusting of white head. Nice spice profile on the beginning, with a dry earthy finish. Medium body, and a nice drink as the days start to warm up.

 

 

 

Snagged a single for about $2.50 very fair for a pounder into a pint glass.
A - Color is a very clear dark amber yellow beer with a 1/2 inch of frothy head that seems to fizz out rather quickly to a decent lace.
S - Belgium yeast and honey smells good and sweat.
T - Very smooth balance of peppery saison and sweet wildflower honey. Actually quite surprised it drinks like a mead but taste like a beer!
M - Smooth crisp body very easy to crush at almost 7%

Overall this may be one of the better beers I have had for the night. Not too much saison dryness and mends perfectly with the honey which also tends to dry out a beer when used. Not sure how they did it but this is the perfect combination!

 

Pours gold with a fluffy head that dissipates in a minute or so

Smell-Belgian yeast, honey, flowers, and some spice

Taste- Belgian yeast and big honey flavor. Sweetness gives way to some tart fruit flavor.

Mouthfeel- Less crisp than I prefer in a saison. Medium body.

Overall- Tastes good. Not super saison-like though.