Dark Matter
Perihelion Brewery

dark saison, a style i love and would love to see more of, even more robust on the malt side than a biere de garde type, although this has some of that fuller, sweeter grain character, and its well short of being roasty and bitter from that, but it has some nice depth to it while also falling victim to some of the same pitfalls as icarus, their classic saison, namely being a little overly estery into the early phenolic range, and also being less carbonated than a saison really should be. mahogany to brown in the glass, short lived off white head settling back to a thin ring pretty quick, some shine. the nose is autumnal to me, a chestnut sort of earthiness, acorn, fallen leaves, wet outdoors this time of year, felt right for the season and the weather when we were in, some malt sweetness here too, caramel and raisin, light peppery yeast character, vinous a bit too, more of that as it warms. the flavor is maybe marginally less complex than the aroma, but similar. tart cherry, red wine, mulling spices like anise from the ferment, and some toasted heartiness here, i think quite interesting, and the recipe seems a little ahead of the execution from a technical standpoint, but i found this pretty successful. i am a tough critic with saison, and i realize that, perhaps being unfairly harsh to this, but it lacks the life i like in the style and amateur and rustic are unfortunately not interchangeable here. enjoyable sipper, but i wasnt interested in making an evening of this one. still, loved the place and would recommend a visit, clever beer list and delicious homemade food in a real chill space.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark reddish brown with little light transmission in the glass and a nice, three finger, active khaki head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of lightly grainy malt with some toasted malt, saison yeast, light grassy hops; lightly floral. Flavor is dark toasted and grainy farmhouse malt, saison yeast, hints of caramel, cocoa and dark fruit; a little funk in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and active, spicy carbonation. A unique take on a saison that is primarily a traditional farmhouse grainy malt base and yeast with some dark malt character. Almost a hybrid of saison and a rauchbier. I was skeptical of this until I tried a taster and was instantly impressed. This bottled version is a little fruitier and more highly carbonated than the kegged taster, but just as enjoyable. This is a bottle dated from June of last year, but still tastes fresh and flavorful. The combination of my preferred profile for a saison and some dark malt in quite a winning one. I like this a lot.