Saison Du Hill
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

From a small bottle left over from a competition...perhaps World Cup. Copper gold ... small lingering head. Aromas of exotic fruit rinds and melon. Flavors as they should be for saison...fields of grass and herbs, some funky fruit, wonderful complexity. This I could do a big bottle of...very easy to drink with fun complexity.

A- Poured from the tap with a diffuse white head and little bits of lacing over a hazy, almost opaque, solid yellow body.

S- The nose features a little bit of cooked vegetable (DMS). Once you get past that, you have a crisp crackerlike malt base, and some farmhouse-like cellar-like phenolics.

T- The DMS is barely noticeable on the palate. As expected, you get that base of crackerlike malt and cellar-like phenolics, with some additional impressions of lemongrass and a touch of mild acidity (which is refreshing). The dry finish lingers with some of that acidity and some light pepperiness. NOTE: as the beer warmed, some mild banana esters were noted on the palate.

M- Thin body. Generally soft carbonation. No astringency.

D- Easy drinkin'. Another good hot weather brew from Iron Hill.

A: Hazy orange-yellow body. Moderate sized white head. Decent retention and spotty lacing.

S: Light lemon, a little bit of yeast, grains, and light malt. Pleasant, but fairly simple.

T: Like the nose, its mostly a soft lemon/citric flavor upfront. Grains, wheat, and yeast fill out the rest of the profile.

M: Light to medium bodied. Smooth, even carbonation. Refreshing finish.

D: A nice, but simple saison. Really doesn't stand up with the other saisons you can buy for the same price or much cheaper. Worth a try though.

750 ml corked and caged bottle. Big thanks to April and John for leaving this in our cooler at DLD.

Pours a lightly cloudy orange amber, peach coloured, medium sized white head forms, quickly drops to a thin layer, settles to a nice thin layer and thick ring around the glass, drops a ton of lace on its way down. Smell is very grainy and bready, orange peel, some biscuit, very dry aroma, kind of lemony, some light spicing, light bit of honey and hay, peppery, pretty nice. Taste is similar, pretty clean, and lagerish, light honey and hay, some wheat, light spice, coriander and some orange peel, pretty basic but pretty refreshing, not a bad saison. Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium to high carbonation, pretty drinkable stuff. Not a bad saison, but a little too clean and malty for my tastes. Thanks April and John!

got this one from Aprilluvsbeer. thanks april!

750ml bottle, corked and caged. sampled june 24/09.

pours hazy orangey yellow with a big cap of fluffy white head. almost looks like there's sand in the bottom of the glass. the head seems to last forever and leaves spotty lace behind.

aroma is nice. light alcohol. touch of light spicy character. bit floral too. white bread and cracker. light caramel sweetness. touch of lager-y character too. bit of orange peel.

taste is nice. white bread and a bit of cracker. low bitterness level. touch of orange peel and light spice. bit of alcohol. fairly straight-forward and mellow.

mouthfeel is good. medium-light body with a nice dry finish.

drinkability is good. nice balance. a little simple and lacking in complexity, but a solid and tasty beer none the less.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy lemon color with a nicely whipped head that persists reasonably well and drapes a few shards of lace

Smell: Floral lemony character, with some hints of clove

Taste: Opens with a distinct bready yeast flavor that builds in a lemony spice direction by mid-palate; band aid phenols start to creep in after the swallow

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with low to moderate carbonation

Drinkability: A decent take on the style, but lacks some herbal complexity and the lively mouthfeel of the top tier examples