Boulevard Brewing Co. Tropical Tank 7 Island Saison

Posted on by Evan

Tropical Tank 7 is a new beer from Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City, Missouri (www.boulevard.com). This is an 8.5% ABV Island Saison that I purchased from Southern Spirits (www.southernspirits.com). This beer was released in May of this year. This beer pours yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma is sweet, candied tropical fruit and bubble gum. The flavor is sweet, tropical fruit, bubble gum, and light perfume. The scent smells slightly better than it tastes. You get a faint/light juicy fruit finish that fades fast. The aftertaste is tropical fruit bubble gum. It’s not so great. The sweetness is too much, and you don’t get any Belgian yeast esters. I did finish this beer. I mean, this wasn’t disgusting. I give Tropical Tank 7 a low-grade D. I don’t think this is something that you need to rush out and have. Regular Tank 7 is a better choice in this situation. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Cordial Saison Ale

Posted on by Evan

Cordial is a 4.5% Saison Ale from Burial Beer in Asheville, North Carolina. (www.burialbeer.com) This Saison is warm fermented. It uses Riverbend Rye, Golden Wheat, and German Barley. It also uses Saaz, Grunest, and Amarillo hops. I purchased this from Southern Spirits (www.southernspirits.com). This Saison pours a slightly darker yellow with a semi-quick fading two-finger white head. The aroma is light stone fruit, pear, Belgiany, and light pepper. The flavor is Earthy, stone fruit, pear, peppery, and Belgiany. This has a light body as well as mouthfeel. This beer finishes with a slight bitter stone fruit and pear. The aftertaste is slightly fruity and Belgiany, but that lingers briefly. This is good and not heavy on the ABV. I give Cordial an A. So if you see this, then you need to drink this beer. It is a great saison ale that is not overly heavy and has good flavors. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Vista Brewing Zenith

Posted on by Evan

I purchased Zenith an Oak Aged Petit Saison from Vista Brewing in Driftwood, Texas (http://www.vistabrewingtx.com). This beer is 5.3 ABV and is a collaboration with True Anomaly Brewing in Houston, TX (http://www.trueanomalybrewing.com). This beer uses grisette with a touch of flaked oats, aged for six months in French oak barrels until it reaches its peak. The house cultures come from True Anomaly. I bought this beer will tour the brewery not long ago.

Zenith pours gold straw color with a two finger white head. The aroma is light, funky, fruity, and light on sweetness. The flavor is funk, fruity, (mostly green grape and apples). It does have some light semisweet flavor and is a bit dry, without being too dry. This has a light feeling in the mouth. Then it has a soft funk fruit dry finish. The aftertaste is not sweet as the initial taste, but it is light on fruity with some funky apple. This is a good beer. I give this a B. It is lighter than I was expecting and light on ABV. I would recommend it if you are at Vista Brewing. You can find this beer and other Vista beer at Spec’s (https://specsonline.com) or reach out to the Vista Brewery.

Now Vista Brewing itself is mostly outdoor with a huge acreage of land where the food is farm to table, the tap room and brew house are indoors.

The tour I had was with the same crowed, well almost, from my Belgian beer tour. This tour was with the owner Kent Killough. During the tour be had samples of some of the beer that will be hitting the tap room soon. At the end of the tour we had a nice outdoor dinner. Which was delicious.

We did have a flight of three beers during dinner. They were good. Over all the atmosphere at Vista Brewing was great as were the beer and the people. I highly recommend going there if you in Driftwood, Texas. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Yo-Ho Brewing company Boku Beer Kimi Beer Saison

Posted on by Evan

I went into a Japanese convenience store called Lawson in Tokyo to see if they had beer or craft beer. I saw a yellow can with a frog on it. I picked up Yo-Ho Brewing Company Boku Beer Kimi Beer, a saison beer with 4.5% ABV brewed in Saku-shi, Nagano, Japan. This mico brewer has been in business since 1996. This Saison pours gold with a bubbly one-finger white head. The aroma is light funk with some light fruits and some grass. The taste is lightly funky and fruity with a slight dry-hoppy grassy flavor. This has a lighter feel to the mouth. This beer finish is light and slightly fruity. The aftertaste is funky a bit with some lemon and grass. That does not linger long. This is lighter than a normal Saison, that may be because this beer is 4.5% ABV. This beer is a B-. If the ABV was higher, then I grade it higher. If you are even in Japan, I recommend Boku Beer Kimi Beer Saison. It was refreshing and light. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brasserie Dupont Saison Depont

Posted on by Evan

Saison Dupont from Brasserie Dupont in Tourpes, Belgium is a Saison or Farmhouse style Ale/beer. This Saison is 6.5% ABV. This beer is bottle-conditioned, meaning it still has yeast in the bottle allowing it to keep fermenting. This beer pours yellow with a two-finger head that seems to stay forever. The aroma is sweet, dry, and fruity with some banana, and light lemon. The flavor is dry, sweet, tart, lemon, and light banana fruits. This beer is yeasty with a dry, and light body. This Saison has a light mouth feel. This has a sweet/tart fruity, and dry finish. The aftertaste is dry but less dry. It has a nice amount of sweetness. This beer is very refreshing and delicious. I give Saison Dupont an A+. It goes down easy and refreshing. I highly recommend Saison Dupont. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Birdsong Brewing Co. Lemon Glow Saison

Posted on by Evan

I am a big fan of Saison beers. I like Belgian traditional, craft Saison and everything in between. This Saison is Lemon Glow Saison from Birdsong Brewing. This beer is 5.5% ABV and is local, made here in Charlotte, North Carolina. This beer has malts such as Bohemian Pilsner, White Wheat, and Light Munich. This beer uses hops like CTZ, Willamette, and Saaz. There is Lemon zest and lemon grass too. This Saison pours a yellow/gold color with a big fluffy three-finger white head that slowly fades. The aroma is lemony, tart, yeasty, light wheat, and slightly floral. The flavor has lemon, and there is a faint wheat note. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this b\eer finishes with a lemony tart flavor. It has a little yeast to it. Then comes a yeasted lemon aftertaste with hints of floral notes. Adding lemons to a Saison is a great idea, and Birdsong nailed it with Lemon Glow Saison. I’d give this beer a B. The tartness can be a little too tart. But that is the only real complaint toward this good Saison. I would have this again, and so should you. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Cerveja Musa Saison O’Connor

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From Lisbon, Portugal, Saison O’Conner is a Farmhouse Saison-style beer from Cerveja Musa. It weighs in at 5.8% ABV, which is lower than most Saisons. Musa gives their beer puns names like ”Saison O’Conner. I got this beer though a past exchange student who came back to visit over the Thanksgiving holiday. Musa is not imported into the US, as far as I know. I have more from Musa still yet to review. Those will be up soon. This Saison pours an orange color and a finger white fizzy head. The aroma is bitter, dry, and yeasty. The taste has a little orange dry flavor with bitterness and some light spices. The mouthfeel is medium with a little extra carbonation. Then this Saison finishes dry and a little yeasty. Then you get a dry bitter aftertaste that dances on the tongue for just a few seconds before fading away. I have had better Saison, but this is not too bad. Saison O’Conner gets a C. It’s average for a Saison beer. Nothing stands out, and nothing is terrible. I would recommend this. The bitterness is not strong. It is just enough bitterness. I thought that was an interesting flavor for a Saison. This beer is easy to drink for the Saison style. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Amor Artis Brewing Tiger Loves Hibiscus

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I bought Amor Artis Brewing Tiger Loves Hibiscus A Saison Style Ale, 5.0% ABV from Total Wine. This beer is hopped with Noble Saaz and brewed with Hibiscus Flowers, Tamarind, and Sea Salt. It pours a darker cherry red color with a semi-pink one finger head. The aroma is fruity, floral, and sweet. The flavor is tart, fruity, faintly sweet with flowery spice notes. Then comes a tart floral finish and a tart fruity like finish. The mouthfeel is light. Tiger Loves Hibiscus has a faint medicinal quality to it. This beer is not that great, and I give it a C-. It is not terrible, but it not great. After drank this beer, I have realized that maybe I am not into hibiscus flavored beers. I won’t recommend this, and I don’t see myself rushing back to this Saison anytime soon. Please stay safe and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Haw River Farmhouse Ale Cultural Divide Farmstand Pickle Kettled-Sour Saison

Posted on by Evan

A purchase from the Butcher’s Market, Haw River Farmhouse Ales Cultural Divide Farmstand Pickle Kettled-Sour Saison, 6.2% ABV is part of a series of beers called Cultural Divide and is brewed with Carolina Culture yogurt fresh from cow’s milk infused with fresh North Carolina cucumbers, fresh dill & pickling spices. Farmstand Pickle pours a orange-y yellow color with a big three finger quick white head with sour pickle brine/juicy aromas and light cucumber. Taste is much like the name of this beer, tart yet semi sour dill pickle with some pickle juice that mixes with light cucumber with nice amount of effervescent to give Farmstand Pickle a medium mouthfeel with a nice tart and sour pickle finish and a similar aftertaste with little of of saison notes following the pickled flavor that lingers for a bit. Haw River Farmhouse Ales Cultural Divide Farmstand Pickle Kettled-Sour Saison is a beer that slowly grows on you and gets a B-. The Saison base does help with the dill pickle flavors otherwise this beer wouldn’t be very good, I mean most people don’t usually drink straight pickle juice. I would say to try this just as a curiosity, it is an interesting beer that isn’t that bad. Please stay safe and enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Stillwater Artisanal Classique Post Modern Beer

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted on August 2nd, 2015.

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I have received another beer from Brewpublik (www.brewpublik.com). This canned beer comes from Stillwater Artisanal in Stratford Connecticut. This is Classique Post Modern Beer, 4.5% ABV. Classique is a Farmhouse Ale/Saison. Stillwater uses corn and rice in this beer along with pilsner malts, old school American hops and farmhouse ale yeast. I really couldn’t find out what types of American hops were used here. Classique pours a light yellow color that is a bit hazy with a two-finger head that somewhat slow to dissipate and does leave behind some decent lacing. I found little amounts of light coming through the glass around nice carbonation. The aroma is nice with a mild yeast scent with hints of very faint funky lemon. I would say the aroma is not over the top but nice. Now the taste is smooth and funky with a slight faint tartness that comes in upfront and is gone soon as it comes in. There is a bit of a slight yeast flavor in the middle of the mouth and more funkiness on the back. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing with a cleaner/smoother finish that starts and aftertaste of a yeasty and funky lemon flavor that lingers for just a second or two then becomes faintly tart. I found Classique to be refreshing and sessionable. I give this beer an A. It is not overly flavorful but it has just enough flavors to make it enjoyable. Some farmhouse ales have too many funky flavors and tend to overwhelm one’s taste buds. But Classique is just right. I do recommend try Stillwater Artisanal Classique Post Modern Beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!