Saison 1858
Brasserie Du Bocq

JonnoWillsteed from England

3.95/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L- Quick to form head even when *well* rested/chilled and poured *really* carefully, note to others: approach the pour as gently as possible! As is it's dark straw? .... harder to judge as it's notably cloudy ie note2: I suspect this beer cannot be poured other than full-on cloudy. Has a 3Cm just off-white fine-bubble pillowy foam head. [ps 10mins later - head is still holding up really well].
S- Belgium yeast with a timber/leather scent to it, in keeping with the style.
T- The smell carries over directly into the flavour. Most unusually I find nothing else to add to that!
F- I don't often buy Saisons, quite often they seem a bit over bright/sharp for me, but this one is lovely. It has a brightness to it but it's restrained and is amply balanced by the 6.4ABV%. CO2 in the mouth is also really good.
O- Despite the lable sporting a 'World Beed Awards 2013/World's Best Saison' logo I was expecting to probably not enjoy this one; and as always review my thoughts entirely as I find them. Instead, and to my surprise, I'm really enjoying this, it's something different for me and it's shown me what a good Saison can be like. Impressive, I'd happily buy this one again.
Bought from: BeersOfEurope/UK for home delivery. 330ml bottle BB: 30/03/21 £2.49, which is quite a deal for a beer this niche and high quality.

Sep 24, 2020

iguanodon from Utah

3/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

[Original rating 2018-07-13] 750 ml bottle. Pours hazy gold with a big white head. Aroma is yeast, banana bread, spice, citrus, apple. Taste is sweet but lemony. Sweet banana bread finish. Nice steady fine carbonation.

Oct 26, 2018

ThisWangsChung from Maryland

3.58/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy straw color. The head is three fingers high and white in shade. It has that frothy density typical of a Belgian beer

This saison's aroma takes on a definite witbier bend - orange peel and coriander pop distinctively. Initially, there was a nice hint of grass and black pepper, but that's subsided in favor of the additions. There's also plenty of candied sugar coming through. This doesn't strike me as being rustic, though it has some rock-solid qualities.

I pick up notes of orange peel and coriander right at the front of the palate. The yeast profile doesn't seem to create a rustic backdrop of floral, peppery notes, but it amplifies the grassiness at the end (and the additions to start). There are additional notes of cream around the middle, as well as some additional orange on the back end. It doesn't strike me as rustic, but it definitely strikes me as a unique, moderately complex offering.

The feel is very dry, almost parching in fact. This is exactly what I want for the style. In fact, I'd even suggest it's drier than something like Dupont or Hennepin. This makes this stunningly easy to drink, and the easy drinking nature is aided by brisk, vibrant carbonation.

This is a very unique beer - it doesn't strike me as a traditional saison, nor does it seem like some witbier half-assed into a "saison" mold. I think this would be great with something light such as a salad. I wouldn't seek this one out first, but I'd have it again.

3.58/5: Something slightly different (but still familiar) in the saison world

Feb 20, 2018

OlaB from Norway

3.86/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy yellow color with a nice big top of creamy white head, and some sticky lacings on the glass. The aroma is of lemon and orange rinds, grapes, honey, peppercorns, corriander and grassy hops.
The flavour is close to the aroma. Fruity sweetness with spices and a light sour notes, and the finish is slightly bitter from the hops with a weak aftertaste. The mouthfeel is prickly and smooth with a medium body and a high carbonation.
This is a good and easy drikning saison, but is nothing very unique about it.

Feb 10, 2018

Thors_Bounty from Florida

4.32/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I let mine age in the fridge for over a year. Perhaps close to 2 years. I was a little worried about aging this long. We were going to have it sooner, but kept getting put off. Head did not stay long but could still see some bubbles coming up. Nice scent. Easy mouth feel. Simply delicious.

Jan 01, 2018

schavuytje from Netherlands

3.08/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.5

on December 2 evening with friends in Cultureel cafe Gigant with several goats that are already known to me but a Saison 1858 from Du Bocq, their Corsendonk I knew especially the Tempelier de Saison 1858, a light lemon with a predominant foaming yeast taste the wry dry aftertaste makes it a nice saison

Dec 09, 2017

wattoclone from California

4.22/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Drinks like a witbier with less sweetness and spice. The closest beer to this is Hoegaarden on draft which is one of my favorites, but more affordable. I usually avoid saison style beers, but this one demonstrates the variability of the farmhouse style.

Sep 21, 2017

Sabtos from Ohio

3.71/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Foggy pale yellow with a large, bright white uniform head settling to a thin ring.

Smell is pear, apple, faint clove, banana/zucchini bread and grass.

Taste starts bready but in a light, crisp way with fresh apple, pear, a touch of bitter orange rind and hints of apple Jolly Rancher and banana candy.

Light and bouncy froth on the palate with a semi-dry finish.

Jul 12, 2017

joeseppy from Illinois

3.89/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Hazy yellow with floral aromas and tropical fruit. Crisp yet dry medium body. Tastes of orange honey and nuts. Flavors are deep enough. A decent sipper.

Apr 17, 2017

Beginner2 from Illinois

4.09/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had 6 months after the Best Buy date, and it stood up fine. Unusual longevity for a saison.
Glad that Merchant du Vin has brought this one to the States and I look forward to more from Du Bocq.

Looks like a saison should, but not much of a head or lace (might be the age, given other reviews liked it.)
Smells are a bit better than typical; giving me some citrus and spiciness in front of a nice malt.
Taste performs best because this family's yeast really makes the spice and malt play nice together.
Feel is full, but perhaps a bit more dry than often goes well with food.
Overall, full of character. This saison gives Belgian family brewers the great reputation they deserve.

Mar 19, 2017

heygeebee from Australia

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

I've often seen this - never had until now.
It sadly is a skunked bottle - looks and smells the part, all lemons and zest but sadly a badly astringent aftertaste :-(
Will re-visit.

Dec 30, 2016

sjccmd from Minnesota

4.27/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Yeasty, bready aroma. Lemons, hay, fresh flowers. White pepper, pears, tangerine, and kumquats. Pleasant, fruity, floral, and perfume like.

Pours hazy pale yellow with a large frothy white head, great retention and lacing.

Tastes seems initially fruity leading into big bready notes. Graham cracker and bread dough. Light honey notes. Elderflower and chamomile. Hints of banana and vanilla. Somewhat witbier like. Balancing spicy hops leaving a slight lingering bitterness on the finish.

Soft creamy mouthfeel though not heavy and with tons of carbonation. Finish is quite dry.

Drinks a bit like a more robust witbier at times...but I'm not exactly complaining. It's what makes drinking saison so fun, seeing the range of interpretations even within Belgium.

Nov 21, 2016

brentk56 from North Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a hazy goldenstraw color capped by a thick layer of foam; just a strand of lace here and there

Smell: Wheat bread, yeast tones, pear, apple, coriander and licorice

Taste: Tangy wheat bread forward, with lemon, pear and apple tones building; the coriander and orange peel enter in the middle, with the licorice and yeast bringing up the rear

Mouthfeel: Medium body with high carbonation

Overall: An interesting Saison, with an array of flavors; particularly like the licorice in the finish

Nov 02, 2016

drmeto from Germany

4.03/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L:
-pours a cloudy bright golden with a big,frothy,white head
-low to medium carbonation visible
S:
-nettle,zesty,lemon,pineapple,sugar,spicy,yeast,coriander,honey,grassy
T:
-apple,citrus,spicy,clove ,honey,wheaty,pineapple with a light,fruity acidity
F:
-medium carbonation
-medium body
-faint alcohol noticeable
O:
Really nice.

Jul 19, 2016

Bierliebhaber3 from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This saison pours a somewhat cloudy, medium yellow color with a fairly large foamy white head and a slightly high amount of carbonation. The smell is really pleasant and summery with some yeast, a little citrus, and some earthiness. The taste is of yeast, lemon, and coriander. The flavor profile is very classic saison with the possible exception that there isn’t a lot of spice in there. The finish is fairly dry and crisp. The body is somewhere between medium and light, also fairly typical for the style. This is a very nice example of a saison. It doesn’t throw you any surprises, but it has all the right flavors and everything is nicely balanced. This is a great beer to have on a late spring or summer day.

Jun 07, 2016

Smakawhat from Maryland

4.16/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass. Crushed cork, a bit of pull to get out but a solid pop on opening. Best before Sept 23rd 2016.

Really pale lemon, nearly washed out yellow color. Excessive and real impressive amounts of carbonation, literally looks like a snow globe in the glass with many white bubbles all over. Head is classic frothy and bright bleach white. Thick clumpy retention, clingy and soapy. Real nice looking brew.

Aroma is excellent. Off the pop a big sense of ripping husky barley and grain. Out of the glass kicks with large menthol like and dried green herbs. Coriander rich but with a mix of other ingredients that takes a great amount of complexity. Real interesting sweetness to this, stays away from funk and earth though. Probably a bit polarizing for some, but digging it.

First sip manages a solid malt classic honey and sweet Belgian depth of flavor. Mid palate manages a hint of pepper and there's definitely a licorice flavor to this which takes the sweetness to a whole different area. Forgoes farmhouse funk and earthy dry tones for more interesting sucrose and licorice flavors. A hint of faint dryness but taken more so by licorice parching flavor. Hints a creamy mouthfeel as well, which is an odd thing to find in a saison. Even goes into a crazy watermelon angle.

Palate manages a bit more to flavored Belgian Pale Ale status than a saison but it's a neat one. Really neat tasting brew, but many of the other non traditional saison ingredients take it into some real nice tasting territory.

May 07, 2016

superspak from Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 9/23/2016. Pours hazy golden yellow color with a 2 finger dense and rocky white head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, peach, pear, apple, coriander, orange peel, peppercorn, wheat, cracker, light honey, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/earthy yeast, spices, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, peach, pear, apple, coriander, orange peel, peppercorn, wheat, cracker, light honey, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Good amount of peppery yeast spiciness and light herbal/grassy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, peach, pear, apple, coriander, orange peel, peppercorn, wheat, cracker, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy yeast, spices, and moderate pale malt flavors; with great malt/yeast spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. High amount of dryness from carbonation/yeast spiciness as well. High carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, crisp, foamy, and fairly creamy/bready/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent saison! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy yeast, spices, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, refreshing, and highly drinkable. A very enjoyable offering.

Apr 30, 2016

stevoj from Idaho

3.2/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

I had higher hopes for this, as du Bocq usually gets it right. Of the three possible styles , Belgian ale fits the best. Pretty far from a saison, even though that’s what they’re billing this as. For a Belgian ale, its kind of on the light side of the spectrum

Apr 11, 2016

jancona from Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured in tulip glass from 750ml bottle - pleasant smell of ripe lemons with sugar and white pepper. Taste has yeast funk and hay, coriander, orange rind and a lingering licorice finish. Nice carbonated feel. Complex and satisfying.

Mar 13, 2016

Flounder57 from Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

750 ml bottle was poured into a snifter.

Appearance: A two finger billowy head was poured that reduced to a thin layer. It is a golden straw yellow with great clarity and vision of tiny bubbles coming up through the glass. Spottylacing down the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: Herbal, grassy, spicy, and floral hops followed by toasted, pilsner, and pale malts. Hints of vanilla, apple, honey.

Taste: Nice light hop flavor, apple, honey, orange, coriander, saison yeast, toasted, bready, and pale malts. Light bitterness and a bit dry too. Tastes close to a tripel without the spice.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, light to medium bodied, medium to high carbonation, a little dry, and a little chewy.

Overall: Will to say that this saison is quite tasty and enjoyable. Awesome hop flavor, spices, and traditional malt flavor.

Mar 02, 2016

BEERchitect from Kentucky

3.87/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Heading into the Ardennes region of Belgium, the flavor and flare of the farmhouse gets stronger and stronger. And as a gatekeeper of the brewing region, the brewers at Du Bocq give friendly introductions with this Saison that boasts its brewing origins.

Saison 1858 kisses the glass with a hazy blonde austere and a creamy white cap. Its persistent bouquet is rife of pilsner grain, but with an aura of citrus, honeysuckle and spice. Lightly malted and playfully doughy, the taste of fresh baking bread and sugar cookie make a slight headway with the initial sip.

Its supple lager-like maltiness carries a gentle undercurrent to the fruit and spice that plays out above. Apple, lemon and orange with hints of pear brace against slighter notions of freshly grated white pepper and vinous white wine for a gentle acidity in taste and mild late spicy earth bitterness.

Medium-light in its body, the saison is bright and bubbly with effervescence- springing to life with a creamy sparkling wine character. A quick aftertaste of citrus and spice ensures a bright and refreshed palate; perfect for piccata pastas, soft white fish and summer salads.

Nov 21, 2015

sejorules from Sweden

3.89/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A. Pale orange golden cloudy 3 fing of white thick head
S yeast floral ale like
T follows smell a little waterish yeast and floral
F: medium high carb nice and refresh.
O Nice feeling. Not many phases of taste but nice

Oct 29, 2015

buschbeer from Ohio

4.23/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

750ml bottle
Served in an oversized wine glass

This beer pours pale yellow in color and cloudy with millions and millions of tiny bubbles feeding an everpresent white head that leaves chunks of foam of the sides of the glass.

Spicy aromas mix with fresh orange, and I get some lemon too.

The taste focuses on orange and coriander with the spicy yeast notes highlighting the flavor.

Medium and effervescent mouthfeel

My buddy gave me a bottle of this to try. I am glad he did. It is a very light and refreshing beer. Those Belgians just might know what they are doing.

Oct 25, 2015

barczar from Kentucky

3.94/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Very floral aroma, spicy with peppercorns and clove, soft peach, pear, and apple esters.

Flavor is fruit estery, with a very dry finish. Floral notes linger in the biscuity aftertaste. It's a touch bitter.

Sep 19, 2015

patre_tim from Thailand

4.48/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Lemony gold with a nice soft haze. Little carbonation, topped with 2 fingers of off white foamy head.

Lemon rind, Belgian yeasts, light spice like cloves and coriander, a light fruity pear note. Sweet and fruity with an alcohol burn on the nose too.

Great. Belgian yeasts, spicy again with coriander, lemon zest, herbal bitter finish. Sage, some thyme and tarragon.

Light body, medium foamy carbonation.

Found this in Vientiane, Laos and brought it back to Chiang Mai to drink Sept. 3rd, 2015. Very well done Saison, better than any Goose Island version of a saison I've had. True to form and classic.

Sep 03, 2015