Sunday, November 10, 2013

tasting the Saison

This beer was originally intended to be my first shot at a Saison, but I ended up picking a different yeast than the one I'd intended (I grabbed WLP545--Belgian Strong--when I'd meant to grab WLP565--Belgian Saison I). As far as I can tell, it still fits the profile of a Saison, but it might be a bit drier, and the yeast phenolics are probably less pronounced than they would normally be.



Aroma: Banana and clove phenolics. (Belgian styles aren't typically my go to beers, so the banana-clove aroma isn't something I'm used to. Consequently it dominates my perception of the aroma. Somebody with more familiarity to Belgian yeast strains might be able to pick up on things that I'm not sensitive enough to notice.)

Appearance: Lovely "straw" color. Slightly cloudy/opaque. Had a nice bright-white head, but it didn't last (maybe because I forgot to rinse the glass first--dishwasher soap residue might have knocked the head down).

Flavor: Pronounced banana-clove, but not as cloyingly pronounced as a Hefeweizen. The only notable hop-presence is a mild bitterness that lingers in the aftertaste. A very slight hint of light malt from start to midway through, but you've got to be paying attention.

Mouthfeel: Very light, very crisp. I've been trying to adjust my brewing techniques in order to produce beers better suited to the warm climate in Hawaii, and this beer in particular is a very successful example of me meeting that goal. That said, the way the Belgian flavors come through sort of counters, in my banana-clove hypersensitive mind--some of the lightness of the body.

Overall Impression: I'm still getting used to Belgian style beers, but I'm actually quite pleased with how this beer turned out. My goal was to produce a light, refreshing "session-able" version of a Belgian beer, and this beer successfully meets all of those requirements. I don't know if it'll inspire me to write poetry or to ponder the deeper mysteries of life, or anything like that, but it serves very well as a crisp thirst-quencher. I'm giving it a thumbs up.

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