Robert Saison
Russian River Brewing Company

 

On-draught @ Bottlecraft San Diego:

Rustic farmhouse yeast. Minerality. Clean drinking. Grassy. Lightly spicy hops. Soft.

A delicate expression of a saison.

B- / WORTHY

 

 

APPEARANCE: The gentle pour came with a quickly foaming, egg-shell-white, rocky head that filled about 50% of the glass. Had to wait for it to settle before pouring more. Eventually, the head stood tall above the rim of the glass, looking like a Slow Pour Pils. The long, slow sink of the foam revealed an unfiltered, pale, yellow beer with some lively carbonation under the still large head.

SMELL: Lovely. Light lemon with a mild, but pleasant funk along with a gentle spice aroma. There's nothing complex about the smell here. It's just smells good and like a more old-world style Saison.

OVERALL: Robert is who I thought he was. True to style, flavorful, complex, interesting, and delicious.





TASTE: The beer hits the palate with a little more spice than the aroma and a stronger funk than those nose suggested. The lemon is still strong, but is now accompanied by a pleasant peppery flavor. More complex than the nose.

MOUTHFEEL: This one is dry all the way with a light to medium body and a lively sparkle on the palate. While the taste is reminiscent of a grownup lemonade on a hot summer day, it can not be described as crisp like so many other beers with similar flavor profiles. The funk is still there for sure.

 

330ml Bottle
BOTTLED ON: 022025
Bottle Conditioned

Poured into a tulip a very nice cloudy dark yellow color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice thick/fluffy two-finger plus white head, which leaves a really nice island and some sticky lacing behind. The nose is pretty nice malty, hoppy, yeasty, funky, with bananas, clove, wheaty/grassy. The taste is very nice, malty, hoppy, yeasty, funky as hell, with a very nice bananas, clove, wheaty/grassy. Medium body, ABV hidden very well, a pretty complex beer, nice dry/bitter finish. Overall, a very tasty beer.

12oz bottle poured into a teku

A- pours a slightly hazy golden yellow with a huge four-finger pillowy white head that stains forever before leaving some lacing behind

S- peppery yeast on the nose gives notes of white pepper, clove, banana, pear, and some phenolic aromas. Underlying cracker malt with a hint of bread dough

T- white peppery yeast is known immediately; spicy, musty, clove, banana runts. Mid-palate gives some doughy malt and a hint of grannysmith apple. The finish gives lemon peel, peppery yeast and clove. Lingers of apple and earthy yeast

M- medium body with high carbonation leads to a foamy and bubbly mouthfeel that turns creamy into a velvety finish

This beer requires a heavier pour than you’d expect. I found it bitter the first time I had it from being overcarbed. Delightful this time.

Poured from 330mL bottle into my 8th Wonder chalice. Bottled 2/2025.

Appearance: light golden-yellow hue with a dash of haze, a very strong effervescence, and a thick, persistent head of pillowy ivory foam. Charming!

Smell: slightly sweet malt with just a little bit of funk and some very welcome hints of pear. Really, quite good indeed.

Taste: just a great malt flavor with just the right balance of sweet, bitter, and funky. Very well put-together!

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: just a really balanced and refreshing saison in the very "classic" mode. I wouldn't hesitate to drink this again and again.

Hazy yellow color. Medium-sized, white head. Herbs, fruits, and spices in the aroma. Dry taste with herbal bitterness. Not as good as some other beers from this brewery, but they set the standard very high.

 

Bottled on: 7-25-23

A - Hazy straw yellow with a light, thin frothy layer.

S - Nice light, airy, subtle earthy citrus aroma.

T - Light lemon and citrus with an earthy presence and a subtle amount of twang and light citrus bitterness.

M - Medium body with light airy carbonation and makes the mouth water.

O - Nice, refreshing, and airy.

375 ml corked and caged bottle. Dated 7/25/23

Pours a cloudy light yellow color, with foamy white head. Minerally and herbal aroma, crackery malt. Similar taste, very dry finish. Thin bodied, lively carbonation

I have developed a dense, thick head of white ultrafine carbonation over several pours from the bottle, straight-on. Smells of yeast and sourdough, pepper, funk, leather, orange juice, and it somehow reminds me of daffodils- I have never smelled a daffodil that I can recall. The body is a golden straw color, pretty hazy as well as a scattering of fine sediment, delicate bubbles are rising all over the place.
The head has finally subsided, time to taste... hm. Ok... hm. Sour waterlogged carboard. Maybe it's just too fUnKy for me... but it's definitely not for me. Disappointing after the bouquet on the nose. Dry.
Light body, delicate carbonation, slightly filmy.
Opened 13.5 months after bottling- perhaps that can account for the flavor, despite refermentation? I can't imagine this is what they were going for, no offense. Looked nice, smelled nice, felt ok. Taste no good :(

 

 

Hazy & pale yellow with a thin white head, deceased yeasties swim aimlessly around the bottom of the glass. Lovely aroma: very fruity, pear & pepper. Salty, sour with mild bitterness. I’m disappointed that the fruitiness hasn’t made the transition to flavors but there is some straw, coriander, pepper, not much more recognized. Thin& very dry. Low carbonation & little effect of alcohol with the mouth. Overall: not the best saison but with trying.

Pours murky, pale gold in color with one quarter inch head. Taste is big straw, coriander, turmeric. Lightbodied, moderate low carbonation, funky. Good not great saison. Clean and worth a try.