Thursday, May 13, 2010

317. The Bruery Saison de Lente

Seasonals and saisons are a winning combination, at least in our (or my) book. This is our fifth (I’ll refrain from the usual Dave Chapelle joke here, although I do have a secret document that you need to see) beer from the Bruery; we’ve taken on Rugbrød, Hottenroth, Orchard White and Saison Rue. We fought the beer and we won.

Saison de Lente pours a hazy gold with an abundant white pillow-y head that slowly works its way down, turning into silky crystalline foam along the sides of the glass; the nose is earthy, loamy (although I think Jeff Fortney has trademarked that term), and there’s also some barnyard and hop spiciness along the way. Starting soft and moderately sweet with a mix of dry malt and Belgian candy, Saison de Lente moves into spicy bitterness and funky brettanomyces flavors in the middle—the dry malt front is further dried out by the hops and barnyard flavors—before finishing dry, tart, and with a good dose of lingering bitterness. Light bodied and highly attenuated, Saison de Lente has a fair amount of puckering bitterness and bright and crisp carbonation—the combination of the two makes the beer clean and refreshing, and leaves you wanting more. An excellent spring time beer—Elli was pleasantly surprised by this beer, and the overall structure and balance was exquisite. We’re already looking forward to more of this beer—but until then, we’re making it a Top 10 Best Contender. We’re also taking the unprecedented step of making this a Top 10 Best Label Contender as well—a potential dual award winner in just one beer! After all, who doesn’t like swirling green bunnies? I’ll tell you who—Nazis, that’s who.

From the bottle: “Our Spring Saison will evolve over time; clean and hoppy when fresh, and drier with earthy, wild notes when aged up to two years. ”

From the Bruery website: “Our Spring Saison is light blonde in color with a fresh hoppiness and a wild and rustic Brettanomyces character. Lighter in color and alcohol than our Saison Rue, yet equally complex in its own way. Perfect for warmer weather and Spring celebrations.”

ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 35

(5/13/2010)

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