Tag Archives: saison

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, De Kromme Haring, Farmhouse Saison, Netherlands

De Kromme Haring Manneken Vis

Leave a comment

Brewery: De Kromme Haring
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 6.9%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 2020 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We made this beer for BXL fest 2020, unfortunately cancelled due to a certain pandemic. We are still proud to release this beer as part of their exclusive beer package and hope to see you all in 2021 in Brussels. Manneken Vis is a farmhouse ale with a mix of our house saison blend and the mudking yeast/bacteria culture. We added fresh elderflowers, which our entire team picked in and around Utrecht. The result is refreshing, slightly sour and funky beer with summery aromas of the flowers and character of the yeast.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle from the 2020 BXL beer pack, with a best before date of end of August 2025. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour, with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour, lemon zest, peach, floral, elderflower, lightly funky, with peppery spice notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, citrusy, lemon, lemon zest, light funk, elderflower, and light pepper spice.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Sour notes dominate, with a good balance of lemon and elderflower flavours. Very enjoyable and refreshing.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie de Blaugies, Farmhouse Saison

Blaugies Cerises

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie de Blaugies
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 2020 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from BXLBeerFest FB page) Saison with sweet cherry juice added.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle from the 2020 BXL beer pack, with a best before date of end of 2024. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange amber colour with a big three finger off white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Floral, cherry blossom, saison yeasty, pepper spice, citrusy, orange peel, with light cherry notes.
Taste: Cherry candy, cough medicine, lightly tart, yeasty, bready, wheat, saison like, peppery spice, citrus zest, bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The cherry appears at the very beginning as candy like cough medicine, which I am actually fine with, but it disappears almost immediately to a yeasty, bready, saison with peppery spice, before finishing with a lasting bitterness. It was this middle and end flavour profile that was too yeasty, bitter, and a little weird. And sadly, the cherry just didn’t last very long.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Holy Mountain Brewing Company, USA

Holy Mountain Choir of the Sun

Leave a comment

Brewery: Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.2%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Ale aged in oak barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Saison fermented and aged in oak puncheons for 5 months. Choir of the Sun was hopped with Styrian Goldings, fermented with a blend of Saison strains, and aged with brettanomyces. Refermented in the bottle with brettanomyces.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date, but I think this has been cellared from the summer of 2017. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: It was a slightly hazy orange golden colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Funky, musty, brett, strong barrel, oak, lemon, citrusy, and cream soda.
Taste: Light sour, tart, oak, funky, musty, brett, with fruity apricot and citrus flavours.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Cellared for longer than intended, but still very enjoyable. Good mix of funk, brett, barrel and fruit, plus the lightness, just makes it very easy to drink.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Fantôme, Farmhouse Saison

Fantôme Dark Forest Ghost

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie Fantôme
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Saison

Brewer Description: Not much information I could find, but I guess it’s the dark Saison version of Forest Ghost.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.76
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy amber copper colour with a two finger beige head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Fruity berries, a strong herbal kick, apple, damp wood, and black pepper.
Taste: Apple peel, herbal bitterness, straw, hay, earthy, orange pith, black pepper.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: In one word, ‘strange’. Aroma was strange but it definitely grew on me. Taste was weird, but while it improved slightly with more sips, it didn’t improve enough for me to enjoy.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Fantôme, Farmhouse Saison

Fantôme de Tous les D’iâpes

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie Fantôme
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Saison

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Tous avec les diables!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.93
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle with a best before end 2020 date. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A very lightly hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that gradually dissipated to a thick ring around the glass and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy orange, orange candy, carrot cake, herbal tea, gingerbread, and spices.
Taste: Sweet, orange zest, marmalade, tangy, biscuit malt, gingerbread, herbal tea, and spice.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Interesting aroma and flavours. Maybe sweeter than I prefer, but still drinkable.