May Brew Review Thread - Saison

[samale]

My last Saison, also from @Broken Toe.
Great clarity and perfectly carbonated. The aroma is of peppery phenols. Flavour wise, it’s yeast forward with the balance towards pepper over stone fruit esters. A light grainy malt and noble hop character adds to the overall balance of the beer. Its well attenuated with a long dry finish, I ripped through it no time.
I don’t think I’ll be brewing the GH saison again. I liked all of the guest brews, and all had very different personalities. This style is going to be a summer staple going foward.
View attachment 69608

That's a fine looking beer

 

[Alastair70]

That's a fine looking beer

@Broken Toe and @FirebladeAdam produced very similar beers as did @Donegal john and @Hazelwood Brewery, and there were very obvious differences between both pairs. I'm not sure what direction I'll go with the next Saison brew, but that'll be a problem for the autumn, my to-brew-queue is quite long.
Next up is my house Munich Helles, sans melanoidin with a single decoction instead.

 

[samale]

@Broken Toe and @FirebladeAdam produced very similar beers as did @Donegal john and @Hazelwood Brewery, and there were very obvious differences between both pairs. I'm not sure what direction I'll go with the next Saison brew, but that'll be a problem for the autumn, my to-brew-queue is quite long.
Next up is my house Munich Helles, sans melanoidin with a single decoction instead.

I will have a saison for you, maybe two if I get to bottle my latest version tomorrow night. My Saison is pilsner, wheat and Vienna. I dropped the bittering hop addition after feedback from the lab competition. I normally use hallertau blanc but my latest has Nelson sauvin. I like the white grape flavour in a saison. I think it pairs well with the yeast

 

[Donegal john]

I really enjoyed trying the different takes on this beer. It’s not a beer I have had much experience of but I will brew a version of it again. A good user uper beer that is very refreshing and tasty.
Good shout @Alastair70

 

[jceg316]

Unfortunately we can't all be the queen and this long weekend I didn't have holiday and was working long hours in a kitchen, but today I'm off brewing an IPA, listening to Testament and trying @Oneflewover's beer.

The appearance is a bit hazy, golden in colour with a thin dissipating head. The aroma is strong nutmeg and spice, with a subtle layer of sweet malts.

Flavour is complex: nutmeg, spice, some tartness and a hint of grapefruit with a finish of subtle sweet malts and bitterness.

The mouthfeel is highly carbonated which is true to style.

Overall this is a pleasant beer to be drinking on my day off. Thanks for sending it!

I forgot to take a picture so just imagine a nice looking saison.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Time for another saison, this one from @Alastair70 and is over 7%.

The beer is fairly dark in colour, on the cusp between a pale saison and a dark saison. Carbonation is fairly soft and the head dissipated quickly to a ring of small bubbles clinging to the edge of the glass. A swirl of the glass though quickly restored a thin head comprising small bubbles over the surface. The beer is a bit hazy but that’s fine for the style and the haze made the beer glow a little - pretty.

The aroma is initially sweet, fruity, toffee. As the beer warms a little spice comes through along with a soft warming alcohol aroma.

The flavour is an interesting blend of light saison flavours and comforting maltiness (for me the latter is more dominant), and the beer feels full bodied but also dry - some kind of chimera and I quite like it. The bitterness is fairly assertive and is smooth. There are no off flavours.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I tried to say that I enjoyed this beer very much but this new interface is a complete fail on my iPhone and I’m struggling to write a comprehensible post!

 

[Alastair70]

Thanks H! I’m definitely a bit undercarbed for style and I’m pretty much on the same page flavour wise. I’ll be brewing something a bit lighter next time out. Glad you enjoyed it

 

[Mash Monster]

I tried to say that I enjoyed this beer very much but this new interface is a complete fail on my iPhone and I’m struggling to write a comprehensible post!

I’m struggling with the new look too
My iPhone hates it

 

[jceg316]

Sadly my last saison. From @pilgrimhudd this is a stronger version of the style at 7.3%

It has an attractive haze to it with a lively effervescence. Pale straw in colour with a persistent white head.

The aroma is sweet malt with a bit of nutmeg and spice, and a subtle earthiness.

The flavour is malty with Belgian-esque phenolics, bitterness for some balance and a sweet finish. It's quite complex with bready flavours coming out as I drink more.

The mouthfeel slightly on the heavier side for a saison, but TBF I'm comparing it to the lighter counterparts. It's highly drinkable still and that extra texture is quite welcomed considering the ABV.

Overall I'm really enjoying this beer, it's well brewed with no off flavours and very pleasant. I have to remind myself of the ABV so I slow down a bit. I just ate some spicy chutney and this beer goes really well with it!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

After another brewday it’s time for a beer and I’m starting with a saison from @Agentgonzo

My first observation was that there is quite a bit of sediment in the bottle suggesting this beer was bottle conditioned so a careful pour was needed to get all the beer out, get a good head, and not pour out the sediment. Here we go…

The appearance of this saison is classic - pale golden yellow colour, well formed fluffy white head, plenty of carbonation, beautifully clear. The head did collapse to a raft over the beer after a while but it never went away.

Aroma - ah! Clean citrus, black and white pepper spice, doughy malt, something slightly floral maybe in the background.

The flavour is also like the aroma with some zesty citrus, the black and white pepper (maybe the black pepper is where the low-level floral notes come from?). I think I can detect a slightly sulphate mineral note so maybe this beer has quite a high gypsum addition? The bitterness is assertive but not strong and suits the style well. The beer is well attenuated, giving the beer a fairly light body (not thin) and it finishes clean and dry. There’s no hint of alcohol on the nose or in the flavour but I sense this isn’t at the lower end of the scale (warm cheeks! ).

Overall I’d say this is a lovely well made beer that I certainly enjoyed and could happily enjoy again. I’m not sure if the saison style is well known to you but for me you nailed it.

Thank you!

 

[Agentgonzo]

After another brewday it’s time for a beer and I’m starting with a saison from @Agentgonzo

My first observation was that there is quite a bit of sediment in the bottle suggesting this beer was bottle conditioned so a careful pour was needed to get all the beer out, get a good head, and not pour out the sediment. Here we go…

View attachment 69704
The appearance of this saison is classic - pale golden yellow colour, well formed fluffy white head, plenty of carbonation, beautifully clear. The head did collapse to a raft over the beer after a while but it never went away.

Aroma - ah! Clean citrus, black and white pepper spice, doughy malt, something slightly floral maybe in the background.

The flavour is also like the aroma with some zesty citrus, the black and white pepper (maybe the black pepper is where the low-level floral notes come from?). I think I can detect a slightly sulphate mineral note so maybe this beer has quite a high gypsum addition? The bitterness is assertive but not strong and suits the style well. The beer is well attenuated, giving the beer a fairly light body (not thin) and it finishes clean and dry. There’s no hint of alcohol on the nose or in the flavour but I sense this isn’t at the lower end of the scale (warm cheeks! ).

Overall I’d say this is a lovely well made beer that I certainly enjoyed and could happily enjoy again. I’m not sure if the saison style is well known to you but for me you nailed it.

Thank you!

Thank you Hazelwood for those kind words. All my beers are bottle conditioned as I don't have a keg setup .
This one came out at 6%, slightly higher than I had intended, and at the upper limit for what I want from a beer like this. I can't remember specifically whether I added any gypsum or not (it was brewed back in January) - my session notes don't have anything in it, but have occasionally just chucked some minerals in on brewday without recording it. I would say it probably doesn't have any gypsum in it, but if it did, it would be a max of a heaped teaspoon in the 5gallon batch.

I've had a few saisons before, but this was the first one that I've brewed. I'll expect we'll have another thread after all the beers have been drunk to post the recipes, so I'll post it there.
I'm glad you enjoyed it (my wife certainly did!)

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Sadly my last saison. From @pilgrimhudd this is a stronger version of the style at 7.3%

It has an attractive haze to it with a lively effervescence. Pale straw in colour with a persistent white head.

The aroma is sweet malt with a bit of nutmeg and spice, and a subtle earthiness.

The flavour is malty with Belgian-esque phenolics, bitterness for some balance and a sweet finish. It's quite complex with bready flavours coming out as I drink more.

The mouthfeel slightly on the heavier side for a saison, but TBF I'm comparing it to the lighter counterparts. It's highly drinkable still and that extra texture is quite welcomed considering the ABV.

Overall I'm really enjoying this beer, it's well brewed with no off flavours and very pleasant. I have to remind myself of the ABV so I slow down a bit. I just ate some spicy chutney and this beer goes really well with it!

View attachment 69687

Glad you enjoyed it, know what you mean about the heavy mouthfeel, it is definitely fuller tasting that others I've tried. What I like about it is that it's 7.3% and doesn't really taste of alcohol. Dangerous!

 

[Agentgonzo]

Glad you enjoyed it, know what you mean about the heavy mouthfeel, it is definitely fuller tasting that others I've tried. What I like about it is that it's 7.3% and doesn't really taste of alcohol. Dangerous!

This has been a common thread with all saisons I've had. They are really quaffable and can hide their alcohol.

Mind you... Having experienced vodka spiked pints at uni, I'm doing think it is easy to detect alcohol levels by taste. I think we tend taste the body a lot more than the alcohol

 

[Agentgonzo]

After another brewday it’s time for a beer and I’m starting with a saison from @Agentgonzo

My first observation was that there is quite a bit of sediment in the bottle suggesting this beer was bottle conditioned so a careful pour was needed to get all the beer out, get a good head, and not pour out the sediment. Here we go…

View attachment 69704

Any flavour taints/carryover from the reused coke bottle (my son comes home from college with these in droves, so I clean them and put them to a much greater purpose)?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Any flavour taints/carryover from the reused coke bottle (my son comes home from college with these in droves, so I clean them and put them to a much greater purpose)?

No, the bottle was fine.

 

[Alastair70]

I'll expect we'll have another thread after all the beers have been drunk to post the recipes, so I'll post it there.

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.

 

[AJA]

@Donegal john
Excellently carbonated, poured with a thick white head, with the bubbles constantly replenishing this as the beer was drunk.
Excellent clarity. Pale orange in colour.
Aroma was reasonably subdued for a saison, I pick up citrus and pepper.
Medium bodied, after tasting the saisons it appears as though body scales proportionally with ABV.
Refreshing to drink, picking up spice and a subtle fruitiness. Not a blow your taste buds off kind of saison but thoroughly enjoyable.
I don't pick up any tartness, phenols or off flavours.
Very nice indeed

 

[AJA]

@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.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

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 will be judging English ales at the end of August so this gives people an opportunity to practice!