330 mL bottle.

Chestnut brown color with lovely, red highlights on the pour. Nose is malty as one might expect from a Brasserie de Silly beer, but not at all consistent with a (contemporary) beer that has “saison” on the label.

Tastes are very malty as one would expect for the brewery, but for a saison? I don’t know what the history of saisons is (at least not in all of its glory), but this beer is clearly not in-line with anything contemporary within the style. Plenty of toffee and caramel, and it really does have a depth of tastes and presence that punches well above its 5%. The sweetness grows over the length of the bottle, and the back-end and finish give even more of the malt-based sugary, caramel notes. Nice.

There is a very small note of fruity, vinous tartness, but if I’m honest that element is incredibly tiny for me. Also some close to imperceptible spice. Having said that, there is a touch of Biere de Garde in the back end too. Such an interesting beer.

Silly blends older and younger beer to make this, and this is clearly ‘one of a kind’ within the style. Unusual, but very, very drinkable. I think if you suspend the belief of the expected saison experience, and simply enjoy the beer for what it is, then you’ll be happy. If you think you’re getting a contemporary saison then you’ll be disappointed. I liked it.