The 750 Saison

I've had a few Lindemans beers but not the Framboise. I wouldn't count on them being too similar though. Lindemans is 2.5% and Lolita is 9%. Lolita is sour and dry... I bet the Lindemans is much sweeter.

 

Smuttynose Biere de 'Shire

It's a 650ml bottle - please forgive me. Smuttynose labels can be all over the place. This beer label is another terrible one - a real rush job. This might be a beer that started at Smuttlabs, and migrated over to regular ol' Smuttynose.

I know little about brett, but I am getting the impression that it can result in many different outcomes depending on the strain. In this case, I am guessing that it's responsible for turning this saison into a tropical fruit punch showcase. It has a strong leaning towards pineapple, peach, mango, and grape. It feels like this is the beer's sole reason for existence. I've been getting so many hot beers lately and this is no exception. Smuttynose has the unusual practice of printing ABVs with ink on the bottle alongside the dating. As a result of this, the ABV listing on my bottle has been smeared off. The Smuttlabs version was 9.1%. This version tastes too hot.

 

The support and warm vibes in this thread are amazing. Much appreciated.

Thanks for posting as well. Glad you see it as a road map, that's flattering (and great), but put more weight on the beers I'm choosing rather than my opinions of the beers... it's better to approach the beers from your own perspective.

Just wait 'til I get to the song and dance number!

 

If something isn't listed as a category here, it doesn't mean that it isn't a thing. If BeerAdvocate was limited to just French beers, I bet Biere de Noel would be a "style." In other words, it's a tick if you want it to be.

 

I've always wanted to try that one. I saw it for sale once... and between the price and the dusty appearance of the bottle I decided to pass... but I was still tempted. How is it?

 

Jester King Mad Meg

Jester King distribution is ghostly by me. Seekabrew doesn't even show NY as within their distribution. A few odd bottles show up once in a blue moon and then disappear. I usually pass on them, but when I saw this one I decided to grab it. This bottle was new to the store when I bought it this year, but the date sticker on the bottle says 2013!

Mad Meg is another name for Dulle Griet, a woman in (Northern Belgium) Flemish folklore who raids Hell. I adore the work of Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Here's the inspiration for the Jester King label, his painting of "Mad Meg"



Pieter Bruegel's work in relation to beer doesn't come close to stopping there. Here's a beer with his name on it:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48/1645/

When I traveled to Brussels, I drank lots and lots of beer, and was thrilled to see some Bruegel paintings.

Here's his painting of harvesters:



Is this what it looked like when workers drank saison?

On to the beer. The beer is made with French pilsner malt, wheat, caramunich, and Saaz hops. The beer has an incredible meringue head. It starts off with a sour edge, but as the drinker gets used to it, it turns into a smooth and hoppy beer. At 8.9% it is shockingly drinkable. I am getting no sense of the age of this beer... impressive. It's seriously dry. It's very tasty but somehow not entirely compelling. Nonetheless, it is by far the best beer I've ever had with a blood splattered woman on the label.

 

Great photo - thanks for posting!
I was fortunate to have Thiriez's La Petite Princesse while in Belgium and I thought it was killer.

 

Logsdon Seizoen Bretta

I believe "seizon" is Dutch rather than French for "season," but I don't entirely remember.

David Logsdon. In the 1980s he opened Wyeast Laboratories and co-founded Full Sail. Many years later he started Logsdon Farmhouse Ales. Last year, that company was sold and David went into semi-retirement. Head brewer Chuck Porter left when the sale happened. Judith Barnes, David's wife, was also part of the team. Judith is a Flanders native and she met David in Belgium. Here's the Oregon farmhouse:



I feel like this is the brett beer I was waiting for after the previous ones. Once I got past the bee's wax seal, the beer gushed a little bit upon opening. The beer is hazy. The brett is unmistakable. It's a little funky, dry, earthy... and very fruity. There's a sour note that reminds me of white wine. There's a pineapple and citrus quality. The beer has a light body.

In a fascinating way, it reminded me a little of the fashionable New England IPAs. Hazy appearance, light malt, strong fruit notes. I can jokingly call it a NE Belgian IPA, but the beer has absolutely no resemblance to a "Belgian IPA." Do NE IPAs have any resemblance to English IPAs?

A very nice beer.

 

Anchorage Love Buzz

According to the bottle, this beer is "triple fermented." It has been in oak foudres with saison yeast, pinot noir barrels with brett, and then bottled with wine yeast. (There's a theory that Dupont's yeast evolved from red wine yeast.) The beer was dry-hopped with Citra. It is also a spiced saison - with rose hips, peppercorns, and orange peel.

The first time I had this beer, I liked it, but I wasn't really happy with it. I wasn't initially going to include this beer in the thread. Since this beer is so loved by others, I decided that now was the perfect time to give it a second chance.

Carbonation is on the low side. The brett is evident. It's fruity with some earth and a little touch of sourness (tanginess is a good word for it). There's a nuanced bitterness and a sweet edge as well. The spice additions are measured - there's just enough to give the beer a weird edge, but not too much of one thing that you'd pick anything out. It's oddly malty and even a touch hot. There's some red wine but I suspect that this might be the power of suggestion influencing me.

For me this is a case of a brewer trying too hard and it shows. I can understand if others get a sense of the complexity and appreciate the approach. Even though the beer still manages to possess a nice drinkable quality despite all odds, I find this to be a beer with too much personality for its own good... but it's still a good beer.

This beer puts me in the mood for some Shocking Blue.