Scratch Beer 14 - 2008 (Saison)
Tröegs Brewing Company

Scratch Beer 14 - 2008 (Saison)Scratch Beer 14 - 2008 (Saison)
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From:
Tröegs Brewing Company
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Saison
ABV:
6.7%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.02 | pDev: 7.71%
Reviews:
67
Ratings:
75
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 01, 2014
Added:
Sep 29, 2008
Wants:
  7
Gots:
  0
Scratch #14-2008 is our interpretation of a farmhouse ale—a once near-extinct winter-brewed (and summer–imbibed) Belgian ale. celebratory brew starts with a black pepper and ginger nose. The nicely carbonated brew releases a honey-malt flavor that gives way to a tart crisp finish that masks the elevated ABV. We use a blended yeast strain (Saison Dupont & Le Chouffe) to create the traditional peppery, spicy earthy flavors of the saison. Slight hints of ginger also come through in the finish. Drink it ‘til the wedding bells chime!

25 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by JohnGalt1:
Photo of JohnGalt1
Reviewed by JohnGalt1 from Idaho

4.15/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Dan threw down as he always does.. the 14 was honestly only added to my wants not that long ago... yet here it is.. in my New Belgium snifter..

Fantastic 2 finger head.. great lacing atop a slightly hazy golden straw brew..

The nose is lite yet fairly phenolic.. peppery and with touches of band-aid... earthy comes to mind.... pale malts... yet dry.

Again.. lightly phenolic with soft pale malts.. slightly sweet throughout.. yeasty.. but not overdone.. fresh cut hay and some mild ginger.. green apple skin with some fruity pineapple as it warms up.. surprisingly complex for an American take on the style.. the body is lite/medium with a crisp carbonation.. some white grape essence arises at room temperature.. and it becomes alot more well rounded..

I love a great saison.. and honestly, I really appreciate a fresh American attempt.. this is pretty damn good.. I am glad I was able to try it on the fresher side.. but I bet with a little age, it will become a bit better..

I forgot to look at the ABV before beginning the review.. but it seems that it may be a touch on the high side.. the body may be light.. but it is pretty filling.. be careful once reaching the bottom of the bottle.. a big sheet of yeast will end up in your glass.

I need to say thanks again.. Dan approached me this time around.. and I haven't even touched the good stuff yet. Please .. Please... don't quit trading .. at least with me. ;-)

4/4/4.5/3.5/4
Mar 12, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Nov 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by pwoody11 from Delaware

Sep 07, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

Jan 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by t0rin0 from California

Mar 04, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by oline73 from Maryland

Mar 07, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Khazadum from Illinois

Dec 15, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Gonzoillini from Illinois

Dec 15, 2011
 
Rated: 3.75 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Nov 15, 2011
Photo of brokensail
Reviewed by brokensail from California

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Another round of thanks to Greg for this one.

A: The beer pours a clear golden orange color with a nice big white head that clings to the glass.

S: A mild funkiness to the nose with a big time floral aroma. A touch of honey on the nose with some mild grass and earth to it as well. I get a little bit of spice, particularly white pepper and some light fruits.

T: Sweet fruits, lots of pears and apples, with a little bit of white grape. Some white pepper notes, a little bit of coriander, orange zest, and an overall earthy and grassy aroma. Plenty of yeast and some pale, bready malts.

M: Medium in body with a fairly high level of carbonation.

O: A really nice surprise. This beer is fantastic and easily one of the better Scratch series beers I've had.
May 17, 2011
Photo of mynie
Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

4.2/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pretty pour. Maybe a little aged, but this beer is a little aged so whatever, all doubting benefits may fall upon it.

Smells like spice, sunshine, and bananas. That there is a saison smell. Not very intense, but, again, the age.

Tastes like it smells. The yeast is especially prominent, spicy and chewy, and it falls really nicely into an aggressive, strong malt that's nicely bitter for having aged.
Feb 10, 2010
Photo of portia99
Reviewed by portia99 from Massachusetts

4.37/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
12oz bottle received in trade with Hophead101. Thanks. Poured into a gold rimmed Buzzards Bay fluted glass.

A - Pours a hazy golden yellow color with 3 fingers of whipped cream like white head, with very good staying power...wants to last forever. Takes a couple of pours with time for the head to die down to get the whole bottle into the glass. Neverending supply of bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Very active beer.

S - Yeasty and very fruity...combination of oranges, apples, lemons, tangerines. A touch tart and tangy on the nose. Very potent aromas - can smell them from several feet away. This might be the best smelling saison I've ever experienced. Really phenomenal.

T - Taste goes right along with the aroma. Tons of fruits, especially the orange and lemon coming thru. On top of that, there is a really good yeasty spiciness in there. A little bit of bready malt in the background, but this is largely masked by the intense fruit and spice character. Not quite as impressive as the aroma, but a very good interpretation of the style.

M - Fairly thin in body with tona of carbonation. The carbonation makes this very lively and prickly on the tongue and carries the fruit and spiciness to all corners of the mouth.

D - Man, I wish this was a 22oz bottle, or I had a couple more of these stashed away. This is a very easy drinker on its own and would be perfect with a nice meal. The saison style is one of my favorites and this one has to be up there as one of the best I've had. Anybody have more of this? Any chance of this becoming a regular offering from Troegs? Probably no on both...oh well. Glad I at least got to try it.
Feb 06, 2010
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Pours a hazy pale golden color with a small, but well constructed head that leaves a nice pattern of lace in the chalice

Smell: Rather sweet, with candi sugar, peppery yeast, overripe bananas and white pepper

Taste: Opens with a sweet and fruity flavor, redolent of candi sugar, bananas, clove, white pepper and a hint of cardamom; after the swallow, both the sweet and spicy flavors step it up a notch to the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with prickly and potent carbonation

Drinkability: Too sweet and not enough herbaciousness to be a top drawer saison, to my palate; it is more like a Belgian Golden
Dec 08, 2009
Photo of craytonic
Reviewed by craytonic from District of Columbia

3.18/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Appearance: Pour is a nice orange-haze-yellow, tiny specks of lacing. The head took quite some time to settle.

Smell: Lemon, belgian yeast, cloves, white pepper, bit of funk .

Taste: Lemon grass, belgian yeast, cardamom, cloves, white pepper, lemon, light belgian saison funk.

Mouthfeel: Thin but a bit creamy, even at 6.7% the alcohol is noticeable. A bit more carbonation than necessary.

Drinkability: Bit below average saison
Nov 08, 2009
Photo of callmemickey
Reviewed by callmemickey from Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A: Bright, somewhat hazy lemon-yellow body. Nice, fluffy white head. Great retention and dense lacing. (Lots of sediment in the bottle as this has some age on it, but I successfully kept the vast majority out of the pour).

S: Soft lemon zest. Light spice of clove and coriander. Draws much from a belgian strong pale with some banana and yeast as well. Not particularly "farmhousey."

T: More of the same. Perhaps a bolder citrus profile that carries over a nice spice undercurrent. Again, this is more on the belgian strong pale end of the spectrum.

M: Effervesecent and light bodied. A really nice crisp finish that has some bite to it. Refreshing as all hell.

D: Top notch. I docked it some points in the smell/taste categories as it was lacking some funk, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying this nicely crafted brew. Now if only Troegs would brew a saison regularly.
Aug 30, 2009
Photo of AltBock
Reviewed by AltBock from Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
12 oz. bottle with a plain white label with a big gray "S" in the middle and the series number and brewed year at the top. Scratch 14 was brewed in late 2008. Served in a Troegs pint glass.

This Scratch beer poured a pale Canary yellow with some bright sun yellow highlights along the sides. As you can tell, this was a very yellow beer. Don't pour the whole bottle into the glass because there is alot of yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Sitting on top of this bright yellow beer was a 1+ inch sized fluffy cotton white head of foam. It had the best retention. The head of foam only receded when beer was taken out of the glass. When it recede, it left behind a huge amount of sticky streaks of white lace.

14 had a nice little potent aroma to it. It just filled to the edge with rich tart lemon, ripe banana, cloves, a whiff of coriander, a hint of wild flowers, and then the aroma finishes up with a touch of yeast, tart grapefruit, and black licorice. I don't know where that black licorice came from, but it made for a nice treat.

The taste was just as good as the kick ass aroma. The two flavors that flexed their muscles were the ripe banana and the cloves. When those 2 flavors had enough, they let through some sweet grapefruit, lemon peel, coriander, a dash of black pepper, a mix of citrus and exotic fruits, and a hint of malted wheat. This Saison was just packed with great citrus flavors.

This was an easy drinking light bodied beer with a full flavored aftertaste of cloves, ripe banana, malted wheat, coriander, and a hint of yeast.

Please Troegs, do not scratch this beer!
Aug 22, 2009
Photo of tpd975
Reviewed by tpd975 from Florida

3.92/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
It's a hot as hell day in Florida (like there is a cool one this time of year) and Saison was calling my name.

A: Pours a nice light straw yellow hue with some nice floatage going on. Nice fluffy white head with light retention. No real lace noted.

S: Simple Saison aromas. Aroma fresh ginger, banana, citrus, yeast, coriander, and clove.

T: Nice yeasty start. Hints of banana and the above mentioed spice. Light hints of apple, fresh Florida citrus, and a touch of white pepper in the finish.

M: On the lighter side of medium. Crisp and refreshing in this heat.

D: Drinkable I just popped open my second one. So goes my supply of this one.

Thanks to whoever sent this one to me.
Jun 13, 2009
Photo of youngblood
Reviewed by youngblood from Indiana

4.12/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
First experience with a Saison here...

Looks almost like champagne. Highly carbonated with slight golden coloration. Slight fizzing head that dissipates quickly.

Smells very spicy and fruity. Lots of banana and pear. Some coriander and lemon peel. Very nice and clean.

The taste follows the scents closely. Bit more of a yeasty aftertaste coming through though. Very complex yet easy on the mouth.

Nice light mouthfeel. Slightly slick.

High drinkability, especially with summer coming around. Was a big fan and will seek out more Saisons.
Jun 11, 2009
Photo of natasharai
Reviewed by natasharai from Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Appearance: Poured with a large bubbly head that turned creamy and smooth as it dissipated. Dissipated to a 1cm layer head that remained throughout the whole glass leaving a some lacing. The beer is a pretty yellow golden color and became very cloudy and murky looking when I got the yeast in my glass.

Smell: Sweet fruit similar to apples and pears with a hint of banana, spiciness from the yeast, tangy malt, and some honey

Taste: Pears and banana, honey, spicy yeast, berries, raisins, and a wonderful tangy after taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, slightly sticky, nice tang and very small pucker feel, leaves mouth pretty clean.

Overall: Very drinkable, this is a wonderful representation of the style!! Nice sweet fruity flavors with spice and wonderful tangyness toward the end.
Jun 11, 2009
Photo of HopHead84
Reviewed by HopHead84 from California

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
An extra received in a trade, I think it was from DRINKNDRIVE.

Poured into a tulip, the beer is very light golden, straw colored. It's effervescent with a signature gigantic foamy saison head. It recedes slowly leaving a little lacing.

The aroma is peppery phenols with some light citrus in the form of apples, lemons, and oranges. A low level of floral hops is evident. The malt is pretty light beneath the other aromas and the alcohol is hidden.

The flavor is peppery with orange and lemon. The malt character is soft beneatch the fruit. The hops are low but noticeable, imparting earthiness to the flavor. There's a hint of tartness. The finish is spicy, fruity, and dry. The alcohol is well masked throughout.

The beer is light bodied with high carbonation and a dry mouthfeel.
May 27, 2009
Scratch Beer 14 - 2008 (Saison) from Tröegs Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 75 ratings