South Austin Brewing

I couldn't bring myself to buy one of those as it is way overpriced.

 

When I had it at the brewery (at their grand opening), the wife and I both thought it was flat at that time. Hadnt bought a bottle yet and not sure if im going to now.....

 

Hmm, have only had it on tap (2-3 times) and thought it was great each time, haven't tried a bottle. Saison is good too, maybe try it on draught and compare?

 

It wasn't just your bottle - that's how I remember the half pint I had at Red's Porch. Expensive too. It's the only one of their beers I've had so far so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Anyone tried the Saison D'Austin? Is it even out yet?

 

it's a bummer, I was hoping for this place to do well. I know a lot of people who have invested in this place. (literally) I cant bring myself to support it since there are some other issues which I will not discuss on a public forum.

 

I too passed on buying a bottle this weekend ($13 at Central Market). A Belgian pale/golden ale that is more expensive than Duvel and from a brand new brewery? I'll let the reviews come in first.

 

Man I am bummed about what you guys are saying. Like I said I haven't tried it from the bottle but on tap I found both of the beers to be pretty great.

 

I have not tried the bottle, but have had both on tap several times and it was excellent.

 

I opened a bottle this weekend, and was disappointed to have the same experience. It was thick and syrupy, and left an awful aftertaste in my mouth. 3 of us shared the bottle, and we all disliked it, and ended up pouring the last 1/4 of the bottle down the drain. Sad, and doesnt make me happy that I paid $12.99 for the bottle. Won't make that mistake again.

 

Had a bottle of the Saison this weekend at a crawfish boil. Underwhelmed in general. I didn't think the beer was attenuated enough for the style and was overly sweet. It's strange because it's bottle conditioned, so I thought the yeast would have chomped right through the residual sugars. Maybe it's a malty sweetness I'm getting.

Anywho, $12.99 is a bit too pricey for me. I understand the cost must be higher due to using belgian beer bottles, corks, and cages but the product inside is not super amazing.

 

Had it on draught at the Alamo on Slaughter and the saison tasted like bananas in a bad way. So no amount of bottle conditioning could help that problem. Maybe these guys will put out good beer, but they are not there yet.

 

I feel like the #1 problem with this beer is it's price. High price = high expectations. They are on the shelves next to Jester King which is a lot more visually stimulating and are charging 2-3 dollars more. I will say that I do enjoy their Saison quite a bit and no one here has mentioned both of their beers are 7/8 %... I find most high ABV Belgian style beers to boil in the back of my throat all night, not this one! Also, these beers might be bottle conditioned but I doubt the yeasts have had much time to do their thing with it being a new brewery and all. When they figure it all out and pay their investors and chill on the prices a bit I'd love to see what happens to their saison after a bit of aging.

 

I really dont want to talk bad of this brewery, as I loved the corked-belgian beer route they are going but, after going to their grand opening party, I thought they were "OK." Their belgian golden was flat and tasted more like a heavy lager and their saison was average to me.

So anywho, I brought a bottle of each back to Houston with me and while the BG was again 'meh', the saison was absolutely undrinkable. I have never drain poured a beer in my life (not even the 1997 sam adams triple bock i opened a while ago), but I almost poured this one out. Garbage. Amazingly sweet, like creamed corn, and no body at all. For the price ($15.99 at Whip In), its absolute trash. I really hope these guys can get their act together.

 

the SAB Saison seems more of a tripel to me, no way its a saison...

 

Well A was in Austin without me and picked up both the saison and golden because we hadn't had them before... Should be interesting. Have to agree with spentplanet re high prices and expectations. But I'm not sure how much time they have to 'figure it all out'. I suspect less than they think they do.

 

Wish I had something nice to say about these guys, because I get no pleasure from trashing a new local brewery. Nothing about their draught beers makes me want to buy a bottle, especially when I can get Chimay or Duvel or Delirium at the same price.

 

Just checked their reviews. 4.04/3.75 for the golden and 4.19/3 for the saison. Is this a serious case of homerism or is there that much difference between the bottle and draught versions (5/6 reviews are on tap)?

 

Had the saison on draught and it was probably the worst saison I have ever had. Reviews are either homerism or from people that invested in the brewery.