May Brew Review Thread - Saison

[pilgrimhudd]

Post your recipes here. The next swap post from me will be to announce the summer swap.

On that subject, the style that had been proposed was English Bitter followed by a stout. What’s the collective view?

1. Are you happy to carry on with the collaborative brew idea? If so..
2. How does an end of August bitter brew and end of October swap sound?
3. Any suggestions on how to improve the swap

My views are that is been great fun. I’ve brewed two new styles for the first time and the beers I got back in both swaps both had a significant impact on future recipe planning.
Also, having to brew a beer one weekend that’ll be destined for judging 6-8 weeks later focused the mind and was a great experience to fall back on when I then brewed my first competition entry beers.
One suggestion I have received is to throw in a slow-burner with a much longer gap between brewing and swapping. That would open a lot more interesting styles eg, specialty lagers, Impy Stouts etc.

Please post your recipes and your opinions. Meanwhile, I’ll check out how survey monkey works and we can make a plan for 2023.

I've really enjoyed the swaps and am happy to carry on. It's got me brewing one style i'd have never brewed before and another that i'd meant to brew for ages and not got round to.

A bitter sounds great, i've not brewed one for ages.

I have no suggestions for improvement at the mo but I guess a slow burner does sound like a good idea.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

My penultimate saison, this one from @Donegal john

In appearance this beer is on point for a pale saison being light golden yellow in colour, a nice fluffy white head, and almost clear but with a touch of haze. The fluffy head dropped to a soft foam over the surface that lasted to the bottom of the glass.

The aroma is citrus (maybe a hint of lime in there?), white pepper, and doughy bread.

The flavour is like the aroma and for me lime does feature in the flavour. As the malt flavour starts to show through it’s actually more white bread crust than doughy. Bitterness builds and is quite strong, at first I thought it might just be a little too much but after a few sips I’m liking it. The bitterness persists at the finish where the white pepper also becomes more evident. The beer was clean and dry and there was no alcohol taste - from the warm cheek scale I think I’d be okay with a few of these.

I thought I caught a hint of banana at one point but didn’t get it again so maybe not. In any event this was a lovely well made saison, thank you John!

 

[Donegal john]

@jceg316
Pale in colour.
I get fruity/spicy notes on the nose, with a hint of banana.
Light bodied, dry but not overly so. Low to moderate bitterness, which balances the other flavour notes.
I get pleasant tastes of pepper and an earthiness. Not phenolic. Slightly tart finish on the tongue? No alcohol sensation contribution.
Moderate carbonation.
I could drink lots of these on a summer's day.

Cheers for the review aja. It turned out ok glad you liked it.

 

[Donegal john]

Some light homework
Believe it or not this book was only delivered today
View attachment 69737

Good book that one. Some cracker beers in it.

 

[Donegal john]

My penultimate saison, this one from @Donegal john

View attachment 69755
In appearance this beer is on point for a pale saison being light golden yellow in colour, a nice fluffy white head, and almost clear but with a touch of haze. The fluffy head dropped to a soft foam over the surface that lasted to the bottom of the glass.

The aroma is citrus (maybe a hint of lime in there?), white pepper, and doughy bread.

The flavour is like the aroma and for me lime does feature in the flavour. As the malt flavour starts to show through it’s actually more white bread crust than doughy. Bitterness builds and is quite strong, at first I thought it might just be a little too much but after a few sips I’m liking it. The bitterness persists at the finish where the white pepper also becomes more evident. The beer was clean and dry and there was no alcohol taste - from the warm cheek scale I think I’d be okay with a few of these.

I thought I caught a hint of banana at one point but didn’t get it again so maybe not. In any event this was a lovely well made saison, thank you John!

I possibly over done the hops in this. They were wakatu and your spot on with the lime being the dominant flavour. I thought they would go well in a dry saision but 100g was a bit much and overpowered the yeast I think.
Nice review (as always)
Cheers h.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I possibly over done the hops in this. They were wakatu and your spot on with the lime being the dominant flavour. I thought they would go well in a dry saision but 100g was a bit much and overpowered the yeast I think.
Nice review (as always)
Cheers h.

I quite liked the lime, you could try adding a few grams of coriander at the end of the boil for a bit more citrus/spice complexity.

 

[AJA]

Review 3/3

@SMP Brewery
Darker in colour than the others, perfectly clear, and effervescent.
When I poured I wasn't getting much on the nose, so I let it warm a bit and it certainly came to life. Spicy and herbal, and an earthiness coming from the yeast.
Medium body, dry finish.
In terms of bitterness, it had plenty for a saison, but by no means too much.
Am I allowed to have a favourite? This one really ticked my flavour boxes.

All in all massively impressed with these three brews. Thank you @Alastair70 for organising!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Am I allowed to have a favourite? This one really ticked my flavour boxes.

. Absolutely!

 

[SMP Brewery]

Review 3/3

@SMP Brewery
Darker in colour than the others, perfectly clear, and effervescent.
When I poured I wasn't getting much on the nose, so I let it warm a bit and it certainly came to life. Spicy and herbal, and an earthiness coming from the yeast.
Medium body, dry finish.
In terms of bitterness, it had plenty for a saison, but by no means too much.
Am I allowed to have a favourite? This one really ticked my flavour boxes.

Cheers for that so glad you liked it.
I think I had the fridge a little too cold for the ones I’ve had and had to let them warm up a touch.
Here’s the recipe

 

[Agentgonzo]

I've really enjoyed the swaps and am happy to carry on. It's got me brewing one style i'd have never brewed before and another that i'd meant to brew for ages and not got round to.

A bitter sounds great, i've not brewed one for ages.

I have no suggestions for improvement at the mo but I guess a slow burner does sound like a good idea.

I was going to brew a bitter later this year anyway, so I'd be keen on the swap. I'm less keen on sours, so I probably would skip that particular swap

 

[SMP Brewery]

Good book that one. Some cracker beers in it.

What book is it?

 

[Oneflewover]

I've really enjoyed this swap, huge thanks to @Alastair70 for organising it. Beers have been of a really high quality and for me it worked in terms of what I want to be brewing and drinking this time of year. For that reason I'd probably dip out of the English bitter swap as I've no interest in brewing one in the summer. Autumn / winter stout deffo up for though

 

[Alastair70]

Cheers all. It turns out survey monkey costs money. I was going to use it to gather opinions for future swaps, how frequent and suggested styles. I‘ll roll that into the next swap announcement, so even if you’re planning to take part, check the thread and post your views.

 

[Oneflewover]

Cheers all. It turns out survey monkey costs money. I was going to use it to gather opinions for future swaps, how frequent and suggested styles. I‘ll roll that into the next swap announcement, so even if you’re planning to take part, check the thread and post your views.

Brilliant thanks again for doing this

 

[pilgrimhudd]

My first Saison, can't wait till the weekend so have tucked in.

This one is @Alastair70 Saison, this pours well, nice thick head which does last the whole glass. Darker than some of the others i've seen, hazy, but as others have said clarity is not important here. Aroma, malty, floral, stone fruit maybe? Taste, sweet, malty, light clovey belgian phenols, very nice. Medium bodied i'd say, has a slightly astringent bitterness (i think thats right anyway) which balances out the overall flavour.

My overall impressions are that this is a lovely well made beer no doubt. Unlike mine this one gets better as it warms, also completely hides the 7% alcohol. Thanks for sending this one, i've really enjoyed it.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Cheers all. It turns out survey monkey costs money. I was going to use it to gather opinions for future swaps, how frequent and suggested styles. I‘ll roll that into the next swap announcement, so even if you’re planning to take part, check the thread and post your views.

Google forms are free if you have an account, I find it easier than survey monkey. I use both quite a bit for work.

 

[Alastair70]

Google forms are free if you have an account, I find it easier than survey monkey. I use both quite a bit for work.

Nice, thanks. I'll have look at that instead.

 

[Alastair70]

My first Saison, can't wait till the weekend so have tucked in.

This one is @Alastair70 Saison, this pours well, nice thick head which does last the whole glass. Darker than some of the others i've seen, hazy, but as others have said clarity is not important here. Aroma, malty, floral, stone fruit maybe? Taste, sweet, malty, light clovey belgian phenols, very nice. Medium bodied i'd say, has a slightly astringent bitterness (i think thats right anyway) which balances out the overall flavour.

My overall impressions are that this is a lovely well made beer no doubt. Unlike mine this one gets better as it warms, also completely hides the 7% alcohol. Thanks for sending this one, i've really enjoyed it.

View attachment 69780

Thanks of the kind review. The last couple i drank poured a bit flat, I think some of my PET bottles are a bit dodgy. Nice to see one with a proper head on it again!

 

[Donegal john]

What book is it?

It’s the “bible” greg Hughes. Home brew beer.

 

[SMP Brewery]

It’s the “bible” greg Hughes. Home brew beer.

Ordered