Saison Amer: El Dorado
Afterthought Brewing Company

Really pretty poured of hazy bright orange, and effervescent bubbles. Smell is mineral, hay, herbal, orange, lemon, candied peach, and lots of brett. Taste is funk, minerals, hay and brett right up in your grill, with the fruit subtly coming in with hops. Little more balance would be preferred. Feel is hoppy, yeasty, dry, and carbonated. Solid

Deep saturated orange, light haze and ample foam, minimal lacing.
Tropical dry hop aroma, Brett funk, candied lemon peel, wet hay.
Pleasantly tart and crisp, lemony, oaky, Bretty. Bone dry finish with some lingering leathery Brett funk. Juicy and fruity up front, tart lemonade, snappy and brisk. Carb tends to ebb away after a bit. Nice balance to this, enjoying the hop aroma, lemony tartness, and Brett funk woven throughout.

500ml
$9.99
Iron & Glass - Romeoville, IL

Saison Amer, the El Dorado version, is quite the looker. It's apricot orange throughout with a mild haziness. The body simply glows whether backlit or not. Innumerable streams of carbonation rush to the surface. The foam rises quickly to two fingers of soapy white, bubbly and crackling. It also fades rather quickly, eventually settling at a foamy ring and random islands.

The nose on this saison is very fruit forward off the bat. Jammy, overripe apricots kick it off with a good backing of orange marmalade. A whispy, musty orchard fruitiness runs the middle. There's a touch of funk in this one, horseblanket, but it's subtle and well integrated. Straw and wildflower pollen. The El Dorado even brings about a touch of artificial, candy-like sweetness; think, peach rings.

The flavor profile builds on the nose a bit, pushing the dry hopping aside in favor of the base itself. It's musty off the bat with those orchard fruit esters. The El Dorado shows itself in the middle with the apricot and orange marmalade I mentioned above. It also has a handful of peach rings thrown in for good measure. The mustiness pushes all the way through the finish where it's met with the more barnyard like qualities of straw and minimal horseblanket and a touch of Band-Aid.

The body is a little flaccid upfront with a somewhat syrupy feel. This quickly gets washed away as the carbonation picks up but it still doesn't quite fit. It's spritzy on the backend and swallow with a decent lingering bitterness and an eventual dryness. This beer is thirst quenching and amazingly easy to drink.

Saison Amer is juicy and medicinal all in one. It's refreshing and complex. Funky and fruity. There's a nice bitterness to go with that unique hop, El Dorado. There's welcomed orchard fruit esters and a well rounded funkiness. I would like to try the other hop variations of this guy.