Boulevard Saison - Brett carbonation

This is horrible news but before the rumors start flying I'd like to hear additional reviews from this years batch.If you have 'em, crack one open and let us know!

 

I have two 2012 bottles, ill let you know

 

The Brett character takes time to really come out in almost any beer. It may be good NW, but I'll wager with a few months to a year later it'll be very different.

 

You don't have to wager unless you want to lose. It's a completely different beer after a few years and much better imo. I don't tick beers so instead of throwing around terms like "horse blanket" "barnyard" "cat feces" or whatever the best way I can describe the difference between the old and new is that the fresher they are the more clean and refined they taste whereas with age they become more tart and the brett definitely has more of a presence. IMO, fresh is good but aged is really f'in good, excellent. Luckily I figured this out a few years ago so I'm now at the point where I can drink exclusively the aged ones I have and buy the new ones for next year and the year after.

 

I've only ever had Saison-Brett with several months to a couple years on it, so I can't speak to what its carbonation should be like fresh. But I'd think even fresh, it would have some carbonation, or it wouldn't be considered ready for distribution by the brewery. Every bottle I've ever had has had tons of lively, effervescent carbonation. This is one of my all-time favorite beers, BTW. So this would be hugely disappointing, although I'm sitting on about nine bottles from last year so I'm not too concerned personally.

One thing we do know is that, if there's something seriously wrong with this beer or a specific batch, Boulevard will refund the money. I got checks for both the 2011 Chocolate Ale, which was undrinkable, and the 2010 Imperial Stout, which showed signs of infection but was still pretty good.

 

Cant speak for the 2012 bottles yet, as I have not picked mine up yet. The ones that I have had are way more carbonated than a Tank 7.

 

they were pre-aged when I traded for them. The date codes on it was 2009-2,
and I had it earlier this year.

 

I thought you said you were drinking the 2012 release? Saison-Brett has a 2-year "best by" date. The bottles I bought last year (batch 2011-2, bottled in March 2011) say "best by 03-2013." So if you're saying that you had a 2-year-old Saison-Brett (bottled February 2010) that was completely flat, I'd say you probably just got a bad bottle.

Side note: Why do people keep adding an invisible U in the phrase "best by"—as in, this beer is best by (date)? I've seen this more times than I can count. It's perplexing, really, it is.

 

Best Buy is an electronics store

Best Buy is an electronics store

 

In that case, I refer you back to my first post.

 

Popped one yesterday, carbonation was fine.

 

Could have been a defect with cork. Hopefully next one is better for you

 

Even though this might be an isolated incident and Boulevard doesn't have any official refund offer for this beer, it might still be worth the OP's time to send an email to [email protected] and provide a description of the issue, along with the information they ask for with the Chocolate Ale refund: http://www.boulevard.com/beers/chocolate-ale-refund-announcement/

They might just send him a check to buy another bottle of Saison-Brett, hopefully this one fully carbonated. Can't hurt to ask...

 

I bought several bottles of the 2011 batch and everyone that I have opened from the 1st day all the way up until 2days ago were VERY carbonated, actually the amount of carbonation has been my least favorite/flaw about this beer.

 

You would win that wager. I had my last 2010 old bottle around March and it was the best of the lot. Nice tartness/earthy funk. I'd like to see what 2+ years does to this brew, but waiting that long is usually an exercise in self-control that I can't accomplish.

 

I've had two of the 2012s. Carbonation is high. Almost to a flaw, as colt45n pointed out.

I have another couple sitting in the cellar. I'll test the carbonation on those next year.