Desert Island Series: "New World" Saison
Heavy Seas Beer
- From:
- Heavy Seas Beer
- Maryland, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Saison
- ABV:
- 6.5%
- Score:
- 85
- Avg:
- 3.63 | pDev: 9.37%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jul 17, 2016
- Added:
- Jul 01, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 2
SCORE
85
Very Good
85
Very Good
We asked our brewing team what beer would they brew if they were stranded on a desert island. Each beer reflects the brewers' unique approach to beer and taste. There will be an extremely limited amount of each beer produced so be on the lookout when they're available, they won't last long.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by bluehende from Delaware
4/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had at a tasting with a small pour in a pint glass from a keg.. This was one of the stars of the night. Very spicey and heavy with the classic saison yeast flavor.
Nov 07, 2015
Reviewed by ThisWangsChung from Maryland
3.15/5 rDev -13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.15/5 rDev -13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
32 oz growler into a teku.
Appearance: Pours a (disappointingly) clear amber color. The head is a finger high and eggshell in shade. Head retention isn't bad, and its texture is typical for a saison (slightly foamy and creamy). Also style typical, there isn't a lot of lacing sticking to the glass.
Smell: Well, I do pick up some saison notes (grass, black pepper, and sesame seed), so that's a good start. And once it opens up, I also pick up subtle new school hop qualities (read: tropical fruit). Things are looking promising. Too bad it's let down by seemingly excessive sweetness. This style shouldn't be dominated by candied sugar! All in all, interesting in some aspects, disappointing in others.
Taste: This works better. It starts off with a combination of piny bitterness and black pepper, before something interesting happens in the mid-taste. Namely, I get some nice berry flavors - even some twinges of tropical fruit. It finishes with more general grapefruit qualities. Although it's not as sweet as the nose suggested, I still get a bit too much candied sugar all around. While it lacks in rusticity, it does show off its hop profile decently. All in all, this is a beer I'm pretty ambivalent on - some parts of it I really enjoy, others not so much. It does just enough to end up being slightly better than average flavor-wise.
Mouthfeel: While it's not a bone-dry saison by any means, it's not the sloppily under-attenuated mess I feared. Still, it does seem excessively bulky when it hits the palate. Drinkability is decent, though. Either way, I still think it could use a little more carbonation to clean things up and give it a Dupont-esque fullness (instead of the syrupy fullness this has).
Overall: This is FAR better than Red Sky at Night, that's for sure. The hop bitterness/flavor gives it a nice dimension, plus it meshes very well with the farmhouse yeast. Still, it's also too sweet at times, and isn't very rustic. I probably won't revisit this one without a few more tweaks.
3.15/5: Not great, but it'll do on a desert island
Oct 04, 2015Appearance: Pours a (disappointingly) clear amber color. The head is a finger high and eggshell in shade. Head retention isn't bad, and its texture is typical for a saison (slightly foamy and creamy). Also style typical, there isn't a lot of lacing sticking to the glass.
Smell: Well, I do pick up some saison notes (grass, black pepper, and sesame seed), so that's a good start. And once it opens up, I also pick up subtle new school hop qualities (read: tropical fruit). Things are looking promising. Too bad it's let down by seemingly excessive sweetness. This style shouldn't be dominated by candied sugar! All in all, interesting in some aspects, disappointing in others.
Taste: This works better. It starts off with a combination of piny bitterness and black pepper, before something interesting happens in the mid-taste. Namely, I get some nice berry flavors - even some twinges of tropical fruit. It finishes with more general grapefruit qualities. Although it's not as sweet as the nose suggested, I still get a bit too much candied sugar all around. While it lacks in rusticity, it does show off its hop profile decently. All in all, this is a beer I'm pretty ambivalent on - some parts of it I really enjoy, others not so much. It does just enough to end up being slightly better than average flavor-wise.
Mouthfeel: While it's not a bone-dry saison by any means, it's not the sloppily under-attenuated mess I feared. Still, it does seem excessively bulky when it hits the palate. Drinkability is decent, though. Either way, I still think it could use a little more carbonation to clean things up and give it a Dupont-esque fullness (instead of the syrupy fullness this has).
Overall: This is FAR better than Red Sky at Night, that's for sure. The hop bitterness/flavor gives it a nice dimension, plus it meshes very well with the farmhouse yeast. Still, it's also too sweet at times, and isn't very rustic. I probably won't revisit this one without a few more tweaks.
3.15/5: Not great, but it'll do on a desert island
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