The 750 Saison

If one year old, I'd say give it a shot, if two years old, I think you should only try it if you are very curious (and it helps if it's in a cooler). If I remember correctly, the date is on a little sticker on the underside of the bottle.

 

From the label: "This dry farmhouse beer is further enhanced with an addition of sour ale." That's kind of an odd statement. I guess it's blended.

 

Saint Somewhere Punaise de Amour

This beer came from a crowler. It wasn't featured in my group photos. Punaise de Amour translates to "Love Bug." It features "wild yeast" from open fermentation and Brett. It was made with hibiscus flowers and coriander. Like every Saint Somewhere beer in this thread, it's 5%.

Carbonation is very very low. I suspect that this beer had low carbonation to begin with, and the crowler didn't help matters. The color is amber with some pink/orange/brown. It tasted of raspberries. It's a bit sour. Unfortunately, I'm getting some heavy nail polish remover... and it's getting in the way. There's a delicate beer underneath it though.

I appreciate the philosophy behind Saint Somewhere. They picked their focus, and they stick to it without going overboard. That's becoming increasingly rare. That isn't to say that they don't try to put their own stamp on things. They clearly worship at the Belgian altar, but they also try to keep a foot in Florida (as the hibiscus shows).

 

Mystic / Stillwater - Fist Bump The Void

I thought it would be nice to feature a fresh Mystic beer, but this is one annoying (yet tasty) beer.

First off, I liked the old un-hip branding much, much better. I also liked the old un-hip names much, much better.
This is a "black saison" (ugh), with star anise and gentian root. I've had black saisons before, from Stillwater (surprise surprise).
I was hoping that the spices would be subdued so I could get a sense of the different flavor profile of a black saison.
No such luck. This beer tasted like lots of liquid black licorice mixed in with a saison. Why make this beer a "black saison?" In this case, it's no different than adding food coloring. They simply made the color match the licorice taste. Kvetching aside, the beer was delicious. I love saisons, I love black licorice. Would I buy it again? No way. I'd rather have actual black licorice and a Saison Dupont instead. I don't need my beer to mimic other foods like this.

 

Firestone Walker Opal

I see on their website that Firestone Walker now packages this in a 12oz bottle. When did that happen? I haven't seen these ever. All big bottles of Opal are old around here. This bottle is a year old.

The beer is a gorgeous hazy yellow. The carbonation is smooth but lively and terrific. The beer is dry and chalky. It has a nice lemon/pepper profile. The hops provide a citrusy quality, and I feel like they are a bit too heavy handed in the mix. This is a saison that feels like a old school saison taking a California trip. It's a little malty. Beyond the citrus notes, the hops give it a slight bitter finish. Its only downside is that it feels a little simple for some reason.

 

Two Roads - Roads Garden

I've included the picture of the Southampton beer for comparison.

Two Roads brew master, Phil Markowski, used to brew at Southampton. Roads Garden features flowers. Specifically: Calluna Vulgaris, Lavandula Angustifolia, Matricaria Chamomilla, Calendula Officinalis, and Hops. The label lists the flowers just like they appear on the label of Cuvee des Fleurs... "hops are flowers too" joke and all. Talk about a non-non-compete. I guess you can "take it with you."

I always saw this beer listed on tap at the brewery. I'm glad they decided to bottle it.

You can see in the pics that Roads Garden is a much lighter color. This could be an indication of a recipe difference, or it could simply be the oxidation in the Southampton beer. The Two Roads beer just hit the shelves.

This beer immediately feels like a huge improvement over Cuvee des Fleurs. The biggest reason for this is that the flower flavors in Cuvee des Fleurs took over the beer, and the flower flavors in Roads Garden are much more in the background. They add a little complexity and are much less identifiable. The bottle of Cuvee was a showcase for the flowers. Did the flower flavors take over in the aged beer, did Phil refine the idea with better results, does Phil have more control over the brewing process at Two Roads? Who knows why. I do know that Roads Garden is a much better showcase for the talents of the brewer.

The beer is high in alcohol (8.9%) but it doesn't seem to be a problem. This isn't a hot beer. The malt is crackery. The finish is spicy. The beer is lemony, fruity, and yeasty. It manages to be characterful and drinkable. I'd never guess 8.9% ABV. A wonderfully pleasant surprise of a beer.

 

Yeah, I was considering writing the same thing in my post.

 

Transmitter S6 Rye Saison

I sent this brewery an email to find out if there was brett in this beer. They never responded.

The beer is dark amber in color. The beer is prickly when swallowed. It has a sour element to it. The sourness is a little bit reminiscent of the sourness in Rodenbach.

It's dry, fruity, and lemony. Surprisingly, I wouldn't guess it had rye if it wasn't in the name. It's an inoffensive beer but it doesn't inspire me to drink glass after glass.

 

I left the biere de gardes out of this blind tasting (except for the "old world one"). I also left out the black saison. This was a group of seven - a far more sensible number than the bigger groups that preceded it.

Here's how I ended up ranking them according to my preference. All of the usual disclaimers apply.

7. Saint Somewhere Punaise de Amour
6. Saint Somewhere / Jester King - Bouteille Vert
5. Saint Somewhere Traditionnel
4. Transmitter S6
3. Firestone Walker Opal
2. Two Roads - Roads Garden
1. Saint Somewhere / Brasserie Thiriez / Brasserie de la Senne / Brasserie de Blaugies - Fraternite

The big surprise for me was putting the Saint Somewhere / Jester King beer so low. I was getting nail polish remover from it. I didn't pick up on this when I had it on its own. That makes two Saint Somewhere beers in this group with this note. A shame. Punaise had it much worse. Once you get this as you're drinking, it's a deathblow. At the same time, Saint Somewhere came in at the top spot... but the hand of the collaborators is really apparent in Fraternite. The European approach to this beer made it stand out in this American pack. It was actually a dogfight between Fraternite and Roads Garden. The two were so nice and so different. Roads Garden having so much yeast personality and Fraternite having so much hop personality. It was a tough call.

 

The Bruery / Bruery Terreux - Saison Rue

The next group of beers that I'm popping and uncorking are the ones where the label mentions that they have Brettanomyces in the mix. That isn't to say that some of the beers that I've already featured didn't have the "British fungus," it's just that they didn't say so on the bottle.

Saison Rue was one of the first beers at The Bruery. It has since migrated over to the Bruery Terreux. This is considered a separate brewery from The Bruery (sort of). Terreux translates to "earthy." It is dedicated to "wild" beers.

This amber/brown beer is a year old. Carbonation is very low compared to the average modern saison. It feels very soft. There's a fruitiness that reminds me of mixed berries. There's a bitter finish but it's very restrained. Appropriate to the name of the brewery, it's a little bit earthy. The beer is 8.5%, and unfortunately there's an alcohol bite (especially in the finish) that just ruins this beer for me. I tried eating certain foods with it in an attempt to hide this, but it didn't help. All in all, a strange but not totally pleasant/unpleasant drinking experience.

 

Looks good doesn't it? I had the pleasure of going to a Belgian restaurant. Two of the best meals I've ever had were at Belgian restaurants. In this case, I just had to get the "farmhouse ale mussel pot" for the obvious reasons. The creamy and salty broth is made with a saison. I was nerdy enough to ask the waitress what beer they used, and she said she didn't know but it's usually a saison on tap. That would mean that this broth was either made with Saison Dupont or Goose Island Sofie. The broth didn't taste saisony, but it was delicious. It's not uncommon for Belgian restaurants to have all sorts of dishes made with various Belgian beers.

Along with my meal I had two draught beers: Poperings Hommel Bier - a great, rich, and (smoothly) hoppy Belgian blonde, and Goose Island Lolita (which I never had before). I surprisingly didn't care for Lolita and it's super-dry / raspberry / sour profile. It could have simply been a case of being too damn full from all the food.