Saison Mistral - Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.01/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 12oz glass at the DDC tap takeover at the Underground. Apparently brewed with rosemary - a nice echo of last night's Irish stew (and copious leftovers).

This beer apppears a very cloudy dark peachy amber hue, with two fingers of tightly foamy, spongy off-white head, which leaves a decent spotted array of painted lace around the glass as it evenly slips away.

It smells of lemon/orange Pine-Sol, sweet grainy wheat and pale malt, softened rosemary, and a further herbal grassiness. The taste is rather sweet, somewhat sugary malt, pleasantly muddled, juicy citrus, white pepper, watery, but still edgy pine tips, earthy rosemary, and a mildly flinty hard water minerality. Very little general warming.

The bubbles are fairly frothy, but not in any major way, the body medium-light in weight, a tad airy, but mostly smooth. It finishes off-dry, the sweetness facing deeper cuts via the pine, citrus rind, and herbal blend notes.

Wow - I wouldn't have really considered rosemary as an agreeable adjunct for a saison, but it works - the herbal, foodie character works nicely with the other inherently earthy aspects of the style, when done well, which it is most certainly is here. Or maybe it's just memories of heaping bowls of lamb stew from last night informing my judgement. Whatever - that would happen even if I tried this in the middle of summer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-17-2013 23:05:39 | More by biboergosum

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.28/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On Tap at the Montreal Brew Pub

Appearance – Slightly hazy gold colour with an average size frothy white coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation and there is some decent lacing. The head lasted for around 3-4 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Grains/wheat, citrus, rosemary, pine

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an average amount of carbonation. I can taste grains/bread mixed with lots of rosemary and pine. There is also a bit of a menthol flavour that hangs around during the aftertaste.

Overall – Kind of a like a cough drop flavoured beer.. It will definitely clear you out if you have a cold and are stuffed up. I'm not a huge rosemary fan and this one is way over the top in that department. An interesting beer to say the least... the people I was with really enjoyed it.

Serving type: on-tap

10-22-2012 16:15:36 | More by spinrsx