Saison VOS - Sly Fox Brewing Company

Boto

Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draught @ Sly Fox: This one was a cloudy, lighter golden color. There wasn’t much head evident. The aroma contains many scents. It was somewhat spicy (mainly corriander). with some fruitiness coming through also(mainly citric and banana). Maybe musty also. A very well balanced taste. Yeasty, bready, spicy, all just in great proportions. A very nice beer.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2004 20:59:41 | More by Boto

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a corked and caged 750ml bottle into my Duvel tulip glass. Appears a dark golden yellow with a huge three fingers of dense and fluffy foam. Smells of peppery spices, and citrus. Tastes fruity, bitter from hops, sweet from the malt and spicy from the yeast. Stays very dry through the finish. Very crisp and clean tasting with moderate carbonation. This is one of my favorite Saisons. It paired nicely with some Asiago, Fontina and crackers.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2007 03:08:40 | More by ClockworkOrange

TastyTaste

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to BeerBeing for the 750 from BIF 25**

Appearance: Pours with a mountainous head of white foam, large bubbles fade slowly, leaving a rocky landscape. Body is light gold, hazy, with streams of carbonation.

Smell: Pepper and Belgian style yeast. Banana and some citrus. Alcohol adds to the overall sharpness of the beer.

Taste: Sharp and spicy. Initially citrus and pepper, slightly metallic. The citrus ends this with some nice hops, but overall a very strong and assertive flavor.

Mouthfeel: The good carbonation adds to the sharpness of the beer.

Drinkability: A good, enjoyable saison, could stand a little more complexity and depth, but still a well above average beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2006 00:59:42 | More by TastyTaste

Arbitrator

California

3.58/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Chilled bottle into a glass. A generous extra from youbrewidrink, I believe. Thanks!

A: Pours a slightly hazy, golden body with a substantial, fluffy, and long-retaining off-white head. It clings to the sides of the glass as it falls, and it remains a decent cap on the beer for the entire time that I'm drinking it. Outstanding.

S: Yeast, orange peel, lemon grass, coriander. I'd love to have less yeast in the nose, as I gravitate toward saisons that have fruit aromas as the centerpiece.

T: Yeast and orange peel are prominent in the flavor, with light elements of white pepper and coriander. There's a lemon grass note that carries well into the finish. Again, a touch too yeast-forward for me, but hardly bad.

M: A little overcarbonated for my tastes, but that was easy enough to swirl out.

O: A fairly good American interpretation of a saison. I've had some better ones, but they were brett'ed, so maybe that's not a fair yardstick.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2011 21:58:55 | More by Arbitrator

armock

New York

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured a golden color with a white head that leaves lacing behind

S - Is of yeast spice and lemon

T - Starts off with banana then the yeast and spice come out with a touch of lemon lots of stuff happening in the taste

M - This beer has a medium body with high carbonation to it

D - One of the best Saisons that I've had very enjoyable definitely a beer to get others into Saisons or craft beer in general great taste that very easy to drink glad I picked this bottle out worth trying

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2009 16:19:23 | More by armock

blitheringidiot

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Undone gold caged & corked bottle released into a Duvel tulip with a fantastic hazy straw light golden pour loaded with frisky bubbles topped by a huge ivory headcap that just won't quit. Amazing lacing and retention. Truly deserves this 5/5.

Scents are lightly peppery and doughy with a welcome airy note that opens up to a dry signature Belgian doughy aroma.

First swigs: Mirroring the nose, a light dough and pepper with an airy Earthiness. Some mineral notes and a touch of flour dough and a touch of lemony zest. Dry lingering aftertaste. This saison is like all other Sly Fox beers in that it is spot on. Just a fine interpretation of dry peppery dough and airy.

Feel is a medium bodied and super clean with a slight dry aftertaste. Quite frothy in the kisser and a frothy shush in each sip.

Last swigs: Was looking for a bit more horseblanket to please my personal palate, but still quite flavorful. Paid $12 for a 22 oz bottle at my local Union Jacks. A little step but I don't mind supporting Sly Fox, especially at a good local beer bar. This is also a great bottle to trade with fellow BA saison appreciators. Not Saison Dupont, but dry like it and a touch less funk.

Beer is good. Happy saison local beering.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2006 01:38:13 | More by blitheringidiot

merc7186

New York

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had this beer poured on tap in a pint glass.

The beer has a nice clear golden color to it with a well carbonated one head and minimal lacing. The smell of the beer has a mellow yeast scent, a small amount of spice and lemon zest that follows. The taste is very earthy with a nice spicey, lemon flavor to it. It also has some minor malty flavor that kind of lingers around tool. The mouthfeel is decent with a clean, crisp, mildly bitter finish that hangs around. Overall, a decent saison but nothing flashy or out of the ordinary.

Serving type: on-tap

08-05-2011 00:37:41 | More by merc7186

DIM

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

a: This was a bright, clear, pale yellow. It poured with a large, sticky, incredibly long lasting bone white head.

s: Sweet banana esters, candied sugar, and some prickly yeastiness. There was a little warmth coming off of this one.

t: This was one of the sweeter saisons I've tried. The banana esters tasted a bit like banana flavored candy. There are some subtle flowery berry flavors as well before a semi-dry yeasty finish.

m: Mouth filling creamy carbonation and a semi-syrupy body.

d: I prefer Sly Fox's Saison Brune, which isn't as sweet. Still, this was pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2009 11:41:50 | More by DIM

Ryan011235

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a snifter on 5/15/10

Appears to be dated 11/18/11

Thanks to wedge341

Pours a light, golden amber in color. Bright yellow highlights. Faint cloudiness. A few stray chunks of yeast have settles on the bottom of the glass. Two fingers of billowy foam dies down quickly. Swirling revives an impressive layer. Retention is thin but decent. Marginal lacing at best.

The aroma is enticing enough. Lots of bright spicy tones; clove & citrusy lemon peel. Grassiness abounds, smelling fresh & clean. Mild hops & toasted grain overtones. There's an appreciable mustiness well-suited to the style.

The taste is pretty good; it mimics the nose for the most part. The grassiness is most apparent & actually seems to relegate everything else to a supportive role. Mustiness is prevalent, too. Thankfully the mustiness gives way to clove & lemon zest. Possibly some pear & apple to be had buried way down in it. A bit of toastiness as well.

Medium-light in body with ample carbonation. It's quite vigorous & pointed; definitely a higher-carbonated beer (maybe too much, actually). The finish is sharp with spices & grassiness lingering on the finish.

Drinkability is alright for the most part. I like the taste, but the carbonation just seems to overwhelm it at times. Other than that, it's a reasonably solid beer. While I likely won't go to geat lengths to try it again, it's worth a shot if you happen across it.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2010 00:05:44 | More by Ryan011235

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap in a 12 oz chalice

Appearance – A medium golden body with a slight off-white head. The head is filled with large carbonation bubbles and upon fading leaves a bit of lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell – The smell is largely fruity up front, with nice citrus and some more tropical aromas. There is a biscuit-malty aroma toward the middle which is mixed in with an ever so slight astringent “funky” aroma.

Taste – A little on the sour side initially with some lemon and citrus. The more subdued sourness gives way to some hoppy and sweeter flavors toward the middle - sweeter citrus fruits with some more tropical’s; orange, mango, sweet lemon (lemonade) and even a little sweet apple. These sweet flavors are mixed with some yeasty flavors and a more sour green apple-lemon flavor, which come into play and rounds out the flavor profile.

Mouthfeel – A lighter bodied beer with a moderate to fairly high level of carbonation. The carbonation suits the beer quite nicely with the lighter body making it quite drinkable, although its thickness is lacking a little bit and it could use a bit more.

Overall – A nice “wild” brew. A little thin in the body which when mixed with the sourness makes it taste a little like an ale with a bit of lemon squeezed in (but just a bit; overall it is vastly better than this). It is well worth a try.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2012 15:19:06 | More by Darkmagus82

AltBock

Ohio

3.43/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

I was able to try this Sly Fox beer on tap during High Street Grill's Sly Fox promo on 4/22/2008. They served it to me in a Sly Fox standard pint glass.

This Sly Fox poured a lightly hazy golden sunshine yellow with a decent 1/2 inch fluffy head of white foam. I thought it had good retention that left behind a small white film and single solitary blot of white lace. The aroma was lightly citrusy with hints of lemon, bubblegum, yeast, and pine needles. While the aroma was lighly citrusy, the taste couldn't get enough of the citrus flavors. Beyond the citrus flavor front was pine needles, grapefruit, lightly toasted wheat, yeast, and ended with a mild hop punch of dried citrus hops. The mouthfeel was light like it should have been, but it had a funky aftertaste that mixed together dried citrus hops, malted wheat, and something that tasted like it was antiseptic. It's hard to explain, but it sure was funky. In the end, I think Sly fox did a great job on their Saison. It's just too bad the aftertaste had to be funky.

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2008 16:47:40 | More by AltBock

TexIndy

Texas

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Got in a trade with BeerBeing - thanks! No best by or bottled on info on label but it did have a copyright of 2005 so gonna assume '05 vintage unless using older labels. Poured from a corked and caged 750ml bottle in a tulip glass. Was a hazy golden color with tons of yeast floating around. The aroma was typical saison with tad more dryness that average. Good fruit and spicyness. The taste followed the smell and was really good. I'd loved to try a fresh sample of it to see how the flavors are at the start but if '05 this one held up well. Good mouthfeel with good carb. Overall, I like this one but since older is a little muted but will seek out a new one. (3.5, RB, T, Y)

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2007 02:01:26 | More by TexIndy

goodbyeohio

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml corked and caged bottle from the royersford location.. sweet label!

a bright golden brew in my chimay chalice. very intricate weblike lacing and belgian in its mild haziness, foamy head with small bubble stream. orangey, yeasty aroma is inviting and more belgian pale than saisony. flavor dips into the pilsner realm, fresh and fruity with ripe summer citrus. very comfortable brew to sip, very safe. spice is there but very mild, and presented in a way that introduces less peppery notes and more christmas, sweet spice. this would be a good place for a yuengling drinker to cut his teeth on spiced/saison ale.. i found this to be an excellent beer, just mislabeled. do not go for this if you're looking for something to hit the high funk notes of a fantome or the hoppy green notes of theriez or la chouffe.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2005 23:15:14 | More by goodbyeohio

vfgccp

New York

3.3/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Bottle conditioning manifests itself as a frothy fist-full of head. Nice wide range of foam density that leaves creamy peaks. Great lacing with chunks of froth clinging to the sides of the glass. Orange-amber-golden-wheat in color.

S - Soft, fairly straight forward. Pepper notes, sweet booze, sunny-delight citrus.

T - Opens with boozy melon and pink peppercorn that rolls into a surprising amount of roast (burnt toast, smoke). Back end of the profile hangs onto some of the smoke and introduces a dimension of piney/herbal hop bitterness.

M - Great smoothness but surprisingly flat. The frothy fireworks in the pour really raised my expectations, but even putting that aside the carbonation is below par. Booze is warming but not overpowering. Nice pepper finish.

D - The negatives and positives balance out to about average drinkability. I had no problem finishing a 750ml, but won't be looking for a second any time soon.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2011 01:35:29 | More by vfgccp

Foxman

New Jersey

4.43/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

It pours a hazy bubbly lemony yellow. Two fingers of tight white head settle to a satiny froth sheet. Arches of lacing bridge along the inside of the glass.

The aroma twirls the sweet berry fruit of light malt, along with green apple, lemon, pepper, and clove. An earthy yeast tang rounds things out.

Upon tasting, light biscuit malt sweetness flows in, bringing along clove spice, more apple and pepper, and a flash of lemon citrus. The middle shows a push of alcohol, which is soon subverted by a yeasty dough note. Toward the close a tart character arrests any residual malt presence and segues to a finish of dry bitterness and cassis, lingering mildly. Simply, it's a straightforward, well-managed and blended flavor.

Medium bodied, the carbonation and spiced malt combine to deliver a fine beer blanket on the palate.

From first glance to the last vestige of finish, this is one very pleasurable beer. It delivers what you'd expect, but then it goes a bit further by filling out each piece of the profile in a memorable fashion. It's lively and very smooth, and wonderfully drinkable in spite of any ABV concerns. Saison's one of my favorites, and this is now one of my favorite saisons.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2006 21:27:36 | More by Foxman

craytonic

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle: nice golden pour, bigg off-white mother of pearl head that stick around.

Aroma: Bit of earth, oranges, lemons, wheat, spice and peppers.

Taste: Spices (coriander), honey, lemon grass and light malt

Mouthfeel: Light body, well carbonated, very smooth

Drinkability: It isn't Fantome, but a good american take on the style.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2010 03:42:36 | More by craytonic

meathookjones

Virginia

4.13/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Growler from the Phoenixville location. Golden orange with a good sized white head that laced up the glass fairly well. A good amount of funky things are going on in the aroma along with some fruity sweetness. A bit spicy as well. Flavor starts of a bit sweet with noticeable fruit notes coming through. Nice musty earthiness to it with some spice backing it up. Good mouthfeel for the style and it is quite refreshing. Pretty drinkable stuff as I had no problem finishing the growler.

Serving type: growler

10-20-2005 20:39:27 | More by meathookjones

Stimack

New York

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had this one on tap when visiting the Royersford brewpub. Came in a 10-ounce glass, has a quite clear golden color with a slight haze to it. Also has a fair sized white head that has good retention leaving lacing along the sides of the glass. The aroma is very nice, malt is noticeable but it is the spices that clearly come out, mostly a peppery scent. The flavors that seems to come across the most clearly is a peppery spiciness but is not the only thing as I pick up a clear malt flavor that seems to give a bready taste with highlights of light fruit flavors and it ends with a nice spicy hop. I definitely did not do this beer justice in the review but needless to say it is well balanced, easy drinking and overall a very good brew. Clearly worth trying.

Serving type: on-tap

10-09-2007 02:03:21 | More by Stimack

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Clear dark gold body, wearing a medium sized white head. Soapy hop/yeast carbonation appears both woody and herbal in the nose, but further studies reveal appealing candyish honey malts and underlying spices that, in mouth, take the shape of mustard seeds, coriander and sage. Developping a soft grassy bitterness, but despite full carbonation, it can’t hide its insufficient attenuation and therefore wins most of its saison character from the spices. Medium bodied, foamy texture. Too bad they didn’t have any of those famed bottles yet.

Serving type: on-tap

11-08-2005 01:24:33 | More by Rastacouere

jtierney89

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottles 5 days out of code but let's see how it tastes anyway.

Very pale semi hazy yellow color with tons of visible effervescence. Bright white crystal like head. Funky barnyard smells, a touch of skunk. Medicinal phenols become present as the beer airs out.

Extremely vinous in its qualities. Bright and brisk carbonation is still there. Sour white grapes slide across the tongue, subtle tart citric explosion at mid palate. Coarse grain balance the fruitiness. Nutty like flavors compliment the other flavors in the beer. Full mouth feel.

Very in your face for an aged saison, makes me wonder what its like fresh. If it isn't good lay it down and forget about, makes for a pretty interesting drink. I wouldn't go about doing it myself though, just found it in the store that way.

Again, I wouldnt go out of my way to age this thing past the best by date, but it was still decent even past it. I'm clueless to how it tastes fresh however.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 01:02:27 | More by jtierney89

yelterdow

New Jersey

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in a Duvel tulip at just over fridge temperature. Cellared for one year.

Appearance- Phenomenal!! Hazy, light pale gold with a ridiculous four-finger monster of a head. Gargantuan patches of spiderweb lacing all down the glass. A small mountain of foam surrounded by a resilient head remains throughout.

Smell- Sweet and perfumy, with the most subtle pepper notes. *Very* floral. Excellent.

Taste- Spicy and peppery, and at the same time mellow and exquisitely balanced. Take the nose and translate it into flavor and there you have it.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Smooth with just the right amount of carbonation... prickly to the point of being exactly as it should be. A fantastic example of this style... the most pleasant surprise yet this spring.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2007 14:52:32 | More by yelterdow

Patrick999

Florida

3.48/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Always good to see an American brewer taking a crack at saison. And bottle-conditioned, yeah, I'll definitely give this a go.

The cork took some coaxing, but it eventually blasted out. Big alabaster foam, sunny gold body. Looks great in a tulip.

Slightly sweet aroma, pears and a little pungent yeast. Smells more like a tripel to me.

Hmmm. This might be one of the best domestic Belgian Strong Pale Ales I've had in quite some time. Underlying sweetness, sweet pears and apples, little pepper, minor bitterness. Bit of a sweaty sourdough. Not really pulling too many saison characteristics here other than peppery. I think it falls short of the mark for a saison, but succeeds wildly as a Belgian pale.

As such, it has a very good, nah, damn near outstanding mouthfeel. The bottle-conditioning has really done well for this beer, it's soft, bubbly and full all at once. If I didn't know better I'd think this is Belgian.

As a saison, not my favorite, but that doesn't stop it from being a tasty, drinkable beer. Would be versatile with food, and I can also see a lot of people liking this. Saison or no, I can't deny the visuals, feel and overall drinkability. My low-ish score for taste only reflects that I think it doesn't meet the criteria for a saison.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2010 19:49:41 | More by Patrick999

mltobin

Connecticut

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I picked up a bottle of this at Whole Foods , Bowery, NYC.

Appearance is a light golden color with a small head that does not sit for very long. Its smell has sugar, light clove, banana. Saison VOS has a taste of orange, yeast, coriander, an earthy quality, with a faint bitter finish. Mouthfeel has more of the aforementioned earthy quality with proper carbonation for the saison style. Drinkability is solid for this very nice beer from Sly Fox. I am glad that I finally got around to trying this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2010 23:22:03 | More by mltobin

drtth

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a 10 oz goblet. Glass of cold water on the side to sip from periodically.

Appearance: As served the beer is a bright clear golden yellow color with a 1/8" white head that quickly recedes to a small ring around the glass. The ring persists for a while leaving small speckles of lacing when sipping. Not much clings to the sides of the glass.

Smell: The aroma has some light malt character that mingles with and supports the spicy yeast. No alcohol is detectable.

Taste: The flavor is much as expected from the nose with some nice light sweetness from the malts that mingles well with the spicy, white pepper flavors created by the yeast.

Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium to light bodied with light carbonation that persists to the end but isn't very noticeable. The finish is medium length and is where the dry bitterness of the hops show as the sweetness fades first, leaving them behind.

Drinkability: This was an easy drinker which I enjoyed and could easily have another. That said it seemed to me to be a touch lacking in complexity so I'll not be going out of my way to stock it and there are a few others I'll buy in preference.

Serving type: on-tap

11-21-2010 22:39:00 | More by drtth

SheepNutz

Kentucky

4.8/5  rDev +22.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

750mL bottle poured into a snifter. It pours a slightly hazy orange-yellow color with three heaping fingers of egg-white foam. There is lots and lots of sticky lacing. The smell is spicy and fruity. There's black pepper, apple, white grape, and maybe a hint of ginger. A wonderful bouquet. The taste is tart and peppery up front. It's got a real zing to it, just bouncing all over the tongue. Toward the finish, there's lots of granny smith apple and white grape. The balance of flavors is brilliant. The mouthfeel is decently thick for a saison. The drinkability is through the roof, just incredible. A big thanks to Kev for sharing this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2006 00:02:23 | More by SheepNutz