Embrace The Funk - Saison De Bois
Yazoo Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

Bringing a sense of history to both the South and modern day brewing, Yazoo Brewing ages their Wallonian styled Saison on French oak for a sense of artistry and authenticity.

Pouring a bright straw translucence, Saison de Bois crowns with a rich cottony froth. A funk filled scent of sea brine, attic woods, cellar-like conditions, cheese rind and saddle leather comes with a sense of branch dried fruit must and a strong sense of wine. A gentle sweetness of wafer, honeysuckle and agave decorate the early palate in a keen but tepid balance.

As the sourness washes the middle palate, the premiere acidity of lime, grapefruit, vinous spice and crabapple all carry a musty, dehydrated character. Peps of peach, cantaloup and passionfruit all do the same while bringing a rounded fruit flavor. Finishing very winey and brightly oaken, a nutty taste of white pepper, balsa and brine comes quickly.

Quite light in body, the beer's early creaminess gives way to a dry, racy and crisp sourness that's peppery and puckering in an almost acetic, vinegar kind of way. A short aftertaste of fruit must is outlasted slightly by a return of sourdough, sea air and a retro-olfactory horse blanket kind of way.

not sure what batch number i had of this, but likely not number one if it was that old, although then again it was a pull from a friendly cellar, so i guess its possible. seems like the beer has changed from batch to batch, and the one i am drinking doesnt seem like it is mature enough to be this old, the yeast has a newness to it, sure its brett and bacteria and all of that, and sure its tart, but there seems like some cleaning up likely to happen in the bottle with more time, it has that cheerio dust character to it i use to get on new crooked stave releases that were put out prematurely. still a really cool beer through and with the right amount of tartness and lots of wine on it, peach and mango and passion fruit are all there to me in nose and taste, with a little earthy grain spice and oak tannins as well, complex enough, but just not quite as mature and refined as i think i wanted it to be, and that i have come to expect from this embrace the funk series. my buddy, who was a bit more turnt than me, liked this far more than me, whatever you can glean from that. i wish i had more batch information about which one we had, it was late night, but my takeaway from this one was lots of wine, a younger brett vibe, and maybe a little more raw than it could be, but quite wild and unique. id be curious to dip back into this one in another year or so...

Bottle: Poured a clear golden color ale with a nice white foamy head. Aroma of funky barnyard notes with some oak and light vinous notes. Taste is also a mix of vinous notes with some funky barnyard notes and some light vinous notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Funky saison but wine barrel are not as apparent as I was expecting.

Bought during a recent visit to Nashville.

Poured from a bomber into a tulip glass. Cloudy yellow color with a short lived head and little lacing. Pleasant sour smell and taste. Bright lemony taste and some earthy funkiness. Good with food!

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass; Batch #1, no bottle dating. Bit of a slow gusher opener. Pours pale golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big fairly tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, passion fruit, guava, cherry, berries, red/green apple, red grape/wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, oak, cracker, and white bread; with light notes of leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/spicy/acidic yeast, wine cask, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big fairly tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, passion fruit, guava, cherry, berries, red/green apple, red grape/wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, oak, cracker, and white bread; with light notes of leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate lactic tart/sourness, wine tang, and peppery yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, passion fruit, guava, cherry, berries, red/green apple, red grape/wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, oak, cracker, white bread, light funk/vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy/acidic yeast, wine cask, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/sourness balance; and no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tart/sourness, spicy yeast, and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy, and fairly acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 5.8%. Overall this is an excellent sour/wild saison style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy/acidic yeast, wine cask, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the modestly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish, not overly lactic. Very well developed Brett/Bacteria and balanced saison yeast complexity; nice wine cask presence and pale malt backbone against acidity. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

 

Hazy light yellow color with minimal white cap.

A light aroma with elements of richness, some melon, lemongrass (I'll join the pack here), something that manages to be both floral and earthy at the same time. Also an old leather note but all these scents are clean.

Taste on entry is refreshingly tart which is to say announce the presence but not shout loud enough to scare the children. By mid palate the slight melon I nosed earlier has turned into more of a musk melon with the herbalness of leaves and stems thrown in as well. An overall sense of flavors more fruity than vegetal but the whole thing comes across as bone dry so it lacks any fruit sweetness. What I don't taste is malt but I'm not really missing it. Clean finish with a bit of tart bitterness lingering in the aftertaste.

Light to medium texture with balancing carbonation.

An American Geuze without the throat stripping astringency of some Europeans versions. I wouldn't call it mild, it is tart, but it's an embraceable tartness that still walks on the wild side.

Batch 2

Batch 2, poured into a tulip. A very hazy and bright golden color. A vigorous pour produced a thin white head that quickly disappeared, leaving scant wisps in the middle of the glass. The aroma definitely announced the funk in this one: grassy, floral, tart cherries, bready grain, and even some cigar ash at the end of the whiff. As expected this tasted moderately tart with a nice complexity: fruity with cherries and pineapples, grass and hay, funky phenolics, and a subtle breadiness. Medium-bodied and dry on the finish. Another outstanding ETF beer.

 

 

 

Poured into a teku pint.

A- Pours a clean light golden color with a 1/4 inch white head that retains a bit before becoming a thin ring around the edge of the glass and a swirl of sheer surface foam. Semi-resilient lacing leaves small clots behind.

S- Lovely Brett funk brings notes of lemongrass, peach and melon. Definitely on the cleaner side of the funk spectrum.

T- Fruity flavors abound with notes of pineapple, pear and more peach. Dry finish.

M- Tangy and bright with medium carbonation and a light body.

O- Quite impressed by this funky saison. Nothing too crazy, just a simple and straightforward Brett beer.