Saison Christophe
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

I also had this beer at the Oregon Brewers Festival. As it had been a retired beer I was excited to try it and made it my first of the day.

It had the expected golden color, and appeared a bit hazy with yeast. It's hard to tell what a beer really looks like with those plastic cups, you mostly have to look down into the beer once the head has subsided, but that was not a problem as it dropped almost immediately. That, however, may also have been from the cup, although I did have beers afterwards that held well.

The aroma was also as I'd expected. It was malty, a bit honeyish, subtly fruity (apple, apricot) and gently herbal. I didn't get a real distinct note from it other than the sweetish malt.

And that continued into the flavor. I was expecting a bit more spiciness and yeast character, but it was pretty well restrained. I felt it was a little sweet, and a bit too malty overall. Perhaps whatever spiciness was there was just lost in it, but on the other hand, I'd imagine that any yeasty character would have come through.

Overall I found it a bit out of balance, and to be honest, not really enjoyable as it was a little bit too malty and flabby. Better luck next time. Or, perhaps this was an old keg that lost some of its bitterness through aging?

This is back in business. Had at the OBF.

A - Poured a hazy yellow with 1 fingers of white head. Dissipated fast leaving no lacing.

S/T - Honey, cloves, coriander and nectarine esters.

M - Light to medium bodied, malt dominated and sweet.

D - Good. Nothing to write home about, but a decent saison none-the-less.

Nice to see a saison in Portland. This one is part of Widmer’s collaborator series whereby the quasi-gigantic Widmer Brothers brews the recipe of an intrepid home brewer – presumably, in this case, a guy named Christophe.

Saison Christophe is notable for its spiced cider properties. The spice may be derived from cardamom, coriander, orange peel, ginger or all or none of the above. But there’s also a spry apple flavor that rounds out the spice rack with a fruity balance.

A rustic Belgian aroma emerges from a thin, wispy white head, while the body is copper-gold of distinctive crystalline clarity.

This beer has great charm and delicacy. Recommended.

Saison Christophe was sampled at the Widmer Gasthaus. The descripion at the Gasthaus indicated that this was a collaborator beer, though there was no indication who the collaborator was. In the glass, the beer was a clear golden copper color, and was topped by a thin white head. The orange-tinged nose was mysterious (in a good way) and rustic, with lightly woody, vaguely smokey spice notes...fennel, oregano(?), and black pepper pungency. Sipping the beer revealed a sweetish and spicy orange-lemon citric tinged malt base, that soon dried up a bit and let off subtle notes of coriander, some other undefined spices. The finish was crisper and lightly astringent, with a moderate citric spicy bitterness and long lingering citric and spice flavors. A residual sweetness was also observed. While this saison may hold more sweetness than it should for the style, the flavors and spice components were full, well developed, and balanced. The body was appropriately medium-light, and the carbonation was a tad fluffy as it should have been. Suprise, suprise, Widmer can make a good beer, and a Saison at that!