750 ml, corked and caged, usual St. Somewhere presentation.
Pretty interesting beer to say the least that pushes the boundaries of what I’m comfortable with.
Pour is an usually dark color for a Saison and takes on an orangy, peach hue with significant cloudiness. Looks like sweet tea. Head is good initially but becomes spotty quite quickly and lacks much retention or lace.
The nose is aggressively floral and estery with massive pear, peach and pineapple notes thrusting through the nasal passages. This is NOT subtle and really gets a little too much for me quite quickly – and this is coming from someone that tends to like this kind of big fruity aroma as well.
Tastes follow the nose with a non-too subtle arrangement of the aromas coming together with a slightly medicinal edge as well. A definite sweet and sour effect takes over and the beer is a touch syrupy as well. Slightly building alcohol too.
This is NOT a clean, bright, fresh, vibrant Saison to me, rather it is a heavy going floral package that is better in smaller doses. Do not expect a simple beer either, there are some complex bubble-gum notes and heavy sugars that remind me of a Doppelbock or large Weizen (oddly). Starts to round out with some more alcohol and further peach and flowery characteristics.
Odd beer, and one which I’m going to have to re-visit before I actually understand.