750 mL corked bottle
Sampled: Jan. 2, 2009
While I jumped at this in the store – a new saison, brewed by one of
I’ve made my feelings well known about Belgians copping out by tossing copious amounts of hops into their blonde ales – see Houblon Chouffe - in hopes of gaining a foothold among American palettes.
But I plunged in anyway. At first glance, it is definitely more hoppy than most saisons. That works fine because St. Feuillen does not turn it into a saison IPA. Hopheads might consider this a disappointment; I merely sighed in relief. At 6.5 percent, it’s a session affair.
The head is heavily creamy,the hop complement beyond any Belgian blonde, but in the comfort zone for a saison/farmhouse style. It delivers on the citrus tones but let them mix with a range of malts – authentic saison would use whatever ingredients were available in the region, so the mysterious malt is welcomed. The spice does have some of the advertised tang, but it doesn’t take off in the manner of Hennepin.
Whatever the result, it’s nice to see a big name take on a new challenge. My only complaint comes from St. Feuillen not pushing boundaries enough. This is a workhorse, middle-of-the-road saison; far from offensive, but not in any way a game-changer. Rating: 6/10
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