Tag Archives: saison

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales x Triple Rock Brewery, USA

Sante Adairius x Triple Rock Cellarman Barrel-Aged Saison

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Brewery: Sante Adairius Rustic Ales x Triple Rock Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Barrel-Aged Saison, SF Beer Week

Brewer Description: (from bottle) When an institution like Triple Rock Brewery in Berkeley asks you to collaborate, you don’t say no. We first brewed Cellarman at Triple Rock for San Francisco Beer Week 2013 with the understanding that we’d make it again at SARA and age it in wine barrels. What you hold is this second version. Cellarman pays homage to those often-overlooked supporting brewers without whom, nothing would get done. Bright, citrusy, and tart with a dry finish, this saison celebrates cooperation, friendship, and hard work. Sante!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with no bottled on or best before date (although I’m pretty sure it’s either B1 or B2). Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Funky, barnyard, minerals, light tartness, tropical stone fruit, apricot, unripe berries, green apple, citrus, grapefruit, lemon peel, oak, a touch of grains, with slight pepper notes.
Taste: Tart, tropical and citrus fruity, grapefruit, apricot, green apple, light funk, oak, vinous, with a lightly spicy finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to try it fresh, but this bottle having aged 6 / 7 years, has aged gracefully with wonderful complex yet balanced aroma and flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Burning Sky Brewery, England, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit

Burning Sky Saison de Pêche

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Brewery: Burning Sky Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 6.3%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A special release of our Saison Provision, this beer was aged on a mix of whole yellow and white peaches for three months. Delicious redolent fruit flavours married with our classic house acidity gives us a beer to truly savour.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled on 19th April 2021, with a best before date of 19th April 2031. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very slightly hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: A bit muted, but it’s lightly tart, lightly funky, with notes of peach and lime zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, peach, apricot, minerals, with a light funky background.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I really enjoyed Saison Provision, and I also like peaches, so perhaps my hopes were too high. It just didn’t quite come together as good as I hoped it would, as both the aroma and flavours were kind of muted.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Burning Sky Brewery, England, Farmhouse Saison

Burning Sky Saison Anniversaire 2020

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Brewery: Burning Sky Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Adjunct – Pink peppercorn, grains of paradise and caraway seeds

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brewed just once a year, Anniversaire is a celebration of everything we at Burning Sky love about saisons. Lightly spiced in the boil, this special edition beer was fermented and aged entirely in French Chardonnay barriques using our house saison and a blend of wild yeast strains.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.1
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 21st September 2020, and with a best before date of 21st September 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice slightly hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention while leaving lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, vinous, grape, white wine, lemon zest, straw, with light floral notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, floral, lemon zest, white wine vinous, woody, lightly floral, and a slightly spicy peppery finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good balance of sour, funk and citrus fruit. The Chardonnay barrel was a little light overall, and I think if it was stronger, it would have been very interesting. Still a very easy drinking beer, that was especially good on a hot summer, but rainy day.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit, Trillium Brewing Company, USA

Trillium Double Apricot Stonington

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Brewery: Trillium Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: New England Wild Saison with apricot aged in oak barrels. Hops – US Goldings. Malts – Valley Pilsner, Valley Danko Rye and Valley Wheat. Adjuncts – Apricots

Brewer Description: (from website) The base beer for Double Apricot Stonington was brewed with 100% Valley Malt and fermented by our native New England mixed culture which was collected from grape skins at Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, CT where JC & Esther Tetreault were married. This New England Saison is aged in French oak Chardonnay casks for sixteen months to layer in a bright vinous character before being blended back into stainless to carry out a secondary fermentation on 4.5 pounds of apricots per gallon for three months.

Out of the bottle, Double Apricot Stonington pours a hazy orange color, immediately announcing itself by swirling a bevy of stone fruit aromatics with undertones of bright white wine, lightly toasted oak and a mild funk. The amplified quantity of fruit used intensifies flavors of apricot nectar, yellow peach, overripe pineapple and tart, freshly squeezed orange that meld together and crash over the palate in bold waves. Balanced by a light biscuity malt backbone, Double Apricot Stonington is splendidly sour with a crisp, semisweet finish accentuated by an elegant floral note and bellini-like effervescence.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 1st November 2018. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange juice orange colour, with a very thin off white head that disappeared almost immediately, and left no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, intense apricot, with notes of peach and oak.
Taste: Sharp, intense sour, tart, apricot, with a hint of oak and white wine.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: While the flavour wasn’t bad, it could not hide the balance which was off, as the sourness was just too sharp and intense that it distracts from, and hides the other flavours. It also felt rather uncomfortable at times, and just wasn’t easy to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit, Trillium Brewing Company, USA

Trillium Lineage Wheat – Double Raspberry

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Brewery: Trillium Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: American Wild Saison with raspberry aged in oak barrels. Lineage series. Hops – US Goldings. Malts – Pilsner, Valley Wheat and Flaked Wheat. Adjunct – Raspberries

Brewer Description: (from website) The latest edition of our New England Wild Saison series features a double dose of raspberry and a generous amount of local wheat from Valley Malt in Hadley, Massachusetts. The beautiful red hue gives way to aromas of fresh raspberries, dark cherries, and a touch of funk from our Native New England mixed culture. The amplified quantity of fruit we used in the process intensifies the notes of raspberry jam and tart cranberry that highlight the single raspberry version of this beer. Slight floral character and a light, drinkable body give Double Raspberry Lineage Wheat added nuance and approachability.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 5th July 2018. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy maroon red colour with a two finger slightly pinkish head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, jammy, raspberry, with slight cherry notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, probably overly so. Raspberry, jammy, cranberry, red currant, acidic, with a touch of citrusy lemon on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Acidic, sharp, intense, medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Loved the jammy aroma, and although the taste had notes of this jammy flavours coming through, it was overwhelmed by sharp and intense, sour and tartness, that made it uncomfortable on the palate. I preferred the regular Lineage Wheat – Raspberry, which had the same jammy notes, but was much more balanced than this Double Raspberry.