Brooklyn, 1/2 Ale

Bought this form M&S of all places. Citrus/lemon nose. High carb, foamy. Very watery taste, some lemon squash. Minerally. Some very slight saison character in the mid-palate, but only on about 1 sip in 5. Dry finish. £1.90 isn't bad, but I'd rather pay £1.99 for a Table Beer from Greensmiths for my sub £2 sessioning needs (or indeed the Fourpure session, also available at M&S these days for a totally reasonable £1.90).

Funnily enough, I synchronicitously stumbled across this post by Adrian Tierney-Jones where he quotes Garrett Oliver, re: saisons, thus - ‘In my mind, there are really only a few things truly required of a saison. It must be dry – residual sugar would have a considerable effect on the beer’s ability to keep through the summer. They should also be fairly hoppy. Moderate alcohol, 5- 7%, would make them strong enough to last for a while, but not so strong that they’d stun the farm workers who drank it. So perhaps it is not a style that lends itself to orthodoxy, but rather one that originally existed to answer a question – “what can I brew that’s nutritious, refreshing, tasty, and will last for at least a year in the cellar?”’

Elusive, Lord Nelson

Brewed in collab with Weird Beard by Andy Parker who's just 'gone pro' in the brewing biz. I think it made an appearance as a Weird Beard brew prior to this release? The nose off this was absolutely knock out, it filled the room after taking the cap off. I don't have my notes for this but the memory of the aroma is unforgettable - big tropical aromas rather than grape/wineous. Taste followed irrc. One of the best UK saisons in recent memory. I bought 2 of these in the end from Mr Lawrence. I sincerely hope we see this beer again. Good luck with Elusive Andy!

Burning Sky, Saison à la Provision

I've had most of the season-named saisons from Burning Sky as well as their pales and IPAs. Whilst awaiting their Cuvée (Saison à la Provision blended with imported Girardin lambic I believe?), this, their 'standard' (un-seasonal) saison is the only beer I've had from them that ostensibly encapsulates the blurb on their website about ageing, foudres and blending on their site. I missed the Flanders Red (not my style tbh) and unfortunately there were some carbonation issues with the vatted porter. I'm kind of anticiapting (and I'd really be excited about) a UK lambic or g(u)euze from them. I hope it's due soon....?

This saison is certainly great although I drank my second one with a bit of a cold. Some hop and sweat (feet) on the nose. Sweet to taste, yeasty. Possibly some mild brett. Sourness not in evidence (I drank this after a gueuze). Bitter finish with slight alcohol. I will go back to this beer, but it is expensive. 750ml would be nice. (I missed the Anniversaire edition of this. Bah.) I have a soft spot for this brewery, even if, on balance, their output hasn't been as consistent as some others. The wallonian/sennian rhetoric and imagery on the site makes alot of sense when transposed to the South Downs and I'm eagerly awaiting (what I hope will be - I hope I haven't got this wrong!) the first, finished results of their ageing of some locally spontaneously fermented beers.

Kernel, Bière de Saison, Barrel aged and blended with London Sour.

Not sure if Ninkasi is barrel aged or not. If not, then I think this one from the Kernel was my first barrel aged saison. Very nice too, drank just under a year since bottling date. Vinegar nose (the London Sour influence?), saison taste and fizz. Wineous. Super drying on the finish (tannins from the oak barrel or the grapes?). Not had this style before. (Since - I had a similar drink by Anspach and Hobday, a galaxy saison aged in Chardonnay barrels.) An understandably expensive style, but one I will go back to (wallet permitting).

Wild Beer Co, Epic Saison

Not quite so epic, but categorically not rubbish either. Another of these 'modern style' hopped saisons, this time with Sorachi Ace. Sorachi not my fave - I preferred the similarly styled Weird Beard effort. That said, in lieu of a more striking alternative, I will certainly drink this again. As far as Wild Beer saisons go, I might rather have the Ninkasi or perhaps even the Schnoodlepip, but Epic Saison is certainly an above par component of a brewery's core range and well worth £2.30 of anyone's money (price from the website shop).

Anspach and Hobday, IPSaison

Gusher. Orange pour, woody nose. Very high carbonation. Good, thick mouthfeel. Taste went wood, some pepper, citrus, with grapefruit bitterness (lasting well) following. Spicy/sharp yeast linger. A touch of dryness. I generally like this mix of styles (saison + modern hopping techniques) and this one is the balls out version thereof: it's a winner for me. Bought from Oddbins in Balham.

Brew By Numbers, 01/13

Noteless for this. Picked up in August, from We Brought Beer. Mosaic didn't pop as much as I expected iirc. Nice that there's a London brewery doing a strong line of saisons and I do love the 750ml bottles.

Brew By Numbers, 01/08

Quality yeasty aroma. Lemon taste. Medium bitterness but complimentary not jarring. Not a million miles from Dupont actually. Purchased from Bob Wines.

Brew By Numbers, 01/02

Good saison nose - pepper, yeast, some sweat. Taste: coriander? Orange/straw/farmyard. Foamy carb held all the way down. Low bitter finish. Good saison, quality product.

Beavertown, Dark Saison

My biggest gusher ever. Never seen the beer leap so high! Bottled 18.2.13, drank May 2015. Quite sweet nose, some minor bubblegum. My first thought was Quelle Saison but black (minus any tropical hop flavours). Rain water and a bit schwarzbier. Medium to low sweet saison character. Very high carbonation. Minor burnt bitterness in the finish. A little dry. Glad I got this, think it may well have been the last one that Mr Lawrence had.

Arbor, Saison des Fêtes

Another really proficient UK saison. Not too dissimilar to the Weird Beard offering. Aroma and taste: pronounced saison element not subsumed by hopping (in this case, clementines).

Weird Beard, Saison 14

Batch 0162, 6% abv. Good saison character with ripe orange. Very good, very drinkable, nice to have it in a pint glass.