Saison Rue - The Bruery

Maxwell

Massachusetts

4.04/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

The beer pours with a very aggressive head made of creamy white bubbles, and it sits well above a two fingers’ width. The beer is a beautiful rustic golden color with an uncontrollable torrent of bubbles racing up to refill the head. The body is cloudy, but relatively clear (I was gentle with the bottle, in order to not stir up the yeast on the bottom of the glass…). The beer’s lacing is thick, leaving a patchwork of webbing across the glass. On the nose, this beer is properly rustic with beautiful saison bread and citrus orange that almost touches upon orange peel and also hints at lemon. The esters are richly complex in the nose, giving off hints of apricot and pineapple, especially as the beer warms up. The brett funk is definitely there as well, but not overpowering in the nose, instead acting more as an underlying emanation beneath all the other smells. In character, the funk tends more towards a salty funk with touches of barnyard. The beer’s smell also features a nice presence of grassy hops in the back of the malts. On the tongue, the beer tastes quite sweet with a rounding acidity and a nice bitter finish. The beer begins with light citrus that opens into bruising bitters that are grassy and zested with lemon bread and a big dose of pineapple. Beneath all of this runs the salty funk that mingles into barnyard territory, but does not get out of hand (which makes me think I should have aged this beer a little longer for my personal tastes). The finish is bitter hops and sticky sweet funked malts that briefly touch upon a cloying note before mellowing into hay and light lingering funk. The booze in the beer (8.5%!) also touches slightly in the back of the throat. On the tongue, the beer is creamy and the head is pure fluff. Carbonation kisses the tongue with a little bit of pressure, but just enough to prep the palate for taste while not abusing it. The mouth is left slightly dry but sticky. Overall, this is a solid saison with a fair amount of grassy bitters and yeasty esters. I sort of wish I aged it a little longer, but only because I personally love the dry and funky saisons. Un-aged, this thing is sweet and complex with some really great flavors. It is a little heavy on the stomach, which makes it more of an imperial saison in my book, but it certainly is tasty and worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 23:57:22 | More by Maxwell

CanisMajor

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-21-2013 23:16:42 | More by CanisMajor

LI_PO12

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

05-21-2013 18:41:12 | More by LI_PO12

ElSid

California

3.94/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

The Beers of California

#87

Bottled Date: None

A: Liquid sunshine with amber hues in poor light. Sticky and fluffy white foam made up of variable sized bubbles. Lacey cling on the glass.

S: Solid grain with highlights of rounded spice, honey, banana, and bright fruit. Some faint alcohol vapors appear as the beer warms.

T: Banana, apricot, and crisp apple open and quickly transitions to a grainy malt foundation. The funky middle gives way to a spicy bitterness and hints of phenol. The bitterness builds to the finish and is joined by alcohol warmth.

M: On the light side with good syrupy linger and carbonation.

O: A bit more daring with more pronounced flavors when compared to Dupont. A respectable American take on the Saison sporting more hop bitterness and a higher ABV, but in the end I'll be reaching for the Belgian touchstone.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 03:49:38 | More by ElSid

ADTaber

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

05-21-2013 00:04:49 | More by ADTaber

johntfox

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-20-2013 22:08:41 | More by johntfox

Kmat10

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-20-2013 04:17:26 | More by Kmat10

NJB145

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

05-20-2013 00:31:57 | More by NJB145

jtladner

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

05-19-2013 17:46:08 | More by jtladner

Chugger

New York

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-19-2013 15:05:14 | More by Chugger

Ish1

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

05-18-2013 18:05:24 | More by Ish1

twenty5

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -3.6%

05-17-2013 15:30:32 | More by twenty5

stephenjmoore

Maryland

4.3/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- Cloudy pale orange body with a huge frothy cream colored head. Some light shines through the body, but the cloudiness prevents visibility.

S- Spicy Belgian yeast, pears, peach, citrus, a stale earthy aroma. Not as much funk as I would have expected, but very pleasant.

T- Lots of fruity flavors up front with pear and peach leading the way, along with some of the peppery Belgian yeast. The middle has more of the juicy fruit flavors coming through all the way to the finish, but the finish is also where the Brett kicks in. The finish has a very funky taste with some earthy flavors. The aftertaste is fruit and basement. Really different than most saisons I have tried.

M- The feel is great. Perfect amount of carbonation, very juicy and drinkable, finish has just a hint of alcohol.

O-Very impressive beer. I tend to prefer saisons with slightly less abv, but this one is put together very nicely. Really unique way that the flavors work together.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 23:58:25 | More by stephenjmoore

Rainier

California

2.25/5  rDev -45.8%

05-16-2013 06:51:54 | More by Rainier

leftoverburrito

Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -21.7%

05-15-2013 23:43:15 | More by leftoverburrito

avschmitt

Michigan

4/5  rDev -3.6%

05-15-2013 12:57:43 | More by avschmitt

moonknight31

California

4/5  rDev -3.6%

05-14-2013 22:19:44 | More by moonknight31

mmilyko

Nevada

4/5  rDev -3.6%

05-13-2013 23:21:32 | More by mmilyko

kscaldef

Oregon

4/5  rDev -3.6%

05-13-2013 19:15:35 | More by kscaldef

vrbulldog22

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-13-2013 18:03:51 | More by vrbulldog22

Bonko_the_sane

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-12-2013 18:22:45 | More by Bonko_the_sane

TysonA

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

05-12-2013 15:31:20 | More by TysonA

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.36/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This poured out as a nice golden color with some reddish hues. Great looking white head, great retention and some light lacing. The smell is spicy and slightly sweet citrus. The taste has a rye spiciness along with malt sweetness and a subtle sourness. The mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, very drinkable brew. Overall this is a very good beer and I shouldn't have waited so long to try it.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 01:04:39 | More by Knapp85

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml Bottle received in trade with iguenard - thanks!

Appearance - Hazy amber colour with a large size fizzy/frothy white coloured head. It's hard to make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for around 5 minutes.

Smell - Breads/grains, clove/yeast, apples, candied sugar

Taste & Mouth - There is a high amount of carbonation and I can taste breads/grains mixed with some ginger and some apples. There is also a bit of a dark fruit flavour and some candied sugar and a bit of an all spice flavour. It ends with a fruity sweet aftertaste.

Overall - My bottle is probably 2+ years old, so it has lost it hops and taken on a more rustic flavour, as described by the bottle label. I'd like to try this fresh, but it's still a great beer that when aged seems more fitting for a fall/winter day. This brewer rarely disappoints..

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 00:10:38 | More by spinrsx

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

3.98/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle into a Duvel tulip. This one fuckin' gushed on me; so to stave off any potential losses, I had to pour some into a pint glass, as well.

A: Pours a hazy golden color with plenty of sediment floating about. The head is very frothy, and due to me having little choice regarding an aggressive pour, ends up towering at four fingers high, with a corresponding offwhite shade. The head seemingly retains forever, leaving behind an incredible amount of lacing in my tulip. Frustrations of being unable to drink this immediately aside, this one is extremely beautiful.

S: And the aroma is quite intriguing, also. It starts off with a grassy note, before transitioning to crisp apple/pear/grape esters. I also notice touches of rye malt, helping to accentuate the spice qualities more strongly. I don't notice a massive amount of brett funk, but it's there. Horse blanket, bro.

T: What I notice most strongly on the opening is a combination of spicing and rye malt. The two combine to offer notes of cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, peppermint, and black pepper - dare I compare the flavor profile to a saison crossbred with a winter warmer? The finish is where the brett funk starts to come into play. Initially only offering a bland grassy tone, it grows and accumulates on the palate, developing strong rustic qualities. General fruity esters lurk around the body nondescriptly; I wish they were more vivid here in lieu of all the funkiness. This is my biggest problem - the funk comes off too strongly at times, creating a slight imbalance. I enjoy the complexity, though.

M: This one is a bit heavy. It doesn't necessarily make the beer hard work, just not quite as quaffable as it could have been. I'd call it quaffable, though, because it's pleasantly dry without any annoying booziness. I can't really judge carbonation too much - when you have to wait 10 minutes to take a damn sip, I doubt there would be much of it left.

O: I know I had a lot to nitpick here, but this is a genuinely well crafted saison that's quite unique. It just doesn't really hit all my preferences in a saison (I prefer a simpler, hoppier interpretation like Tank 7). But if you like funk, this is a must-try.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 03:43:14 | More by ThisWangsChung