V Cense - Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille

rdickey

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark amber into a Chimay goblet. A fine off-white head dissipates fairly quickly, leaving uniform lacing.

Smell: Green apples, together with a mix of citrus and some hops that I can’t identify. There’s a very slight hint of funk, but it’s not at all dominant – just lurking in the shadows.

Taste: This beer is not what I usually expect for a saison. Hops are in front, balanced with toasted malts and a little dark fruit and spice. There’s not a lot of the funk that I usually associate with a saison. Finishes dry.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body. Perhaps a little too much carbonation; it almost keeps the beer from sitting down in your mouth.

Drinkability: Pretty damn drinkable. It’s not the most complex saison you’ll ever drink, but it might be one of the more quaffable; sort of a lawnmower saison.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2011 00:38:05 | More by rdickey

DeutschesBier

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-19-2013 18:06:56 | More by DeutschesBier

MaineBrewing

Maine

4/5  rDev +7%

05-17-2013 22:35:21 | More by MaineBrewing

Jspriest

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

04-13-2013 01:59:20 | More by Jspriest

mmsimmons

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

03-21-2013 23:35:55 | More by mmsimmons

Em30

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

03-21-2013 23:35:28 | More by Em30

oline73

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

03-20-2013 01:24:15 | More by oline73

duceswild

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

03-17-2013 18:12:22 | More by duceswild

marlinsfan4

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +20.3%

03-15-2013 03:56:37 | More by marlinsfan4

KingSlayer

Mexico

4/5  rDev +7%

03-14-2013 03:46:58 | More by KingSlayer

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

03-04-2013 14:34:28 | More by RedneckBeerz

westcoastbeerlvr

California

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

01-08-2013 23:54:19 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

StJamesGate

New York

4.03/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cherry amber with craggy pitted sandy head that refreshes from a stream of bubbles in the middle.
Apple spice, waxy yeast, brown bread and some orangey US hops on the nose.
Stewed apple, red pear, autumn leaves, raisin bread and dried cranberries with an ester hit, a hint of cocoa, slight yeasty white pepper there tangerine and tea leaf hops.
Citrus finish and spicy linger.
Medium, round, some chew, no burn.

There are lots of other reviews here talking about honey and lemon like this is a saison, but that's not what going on.
This is an amber farmhouse ale ,like Jenlain, dry-hopped with Amarillo (which everyone also seems to miss.)
There's also a mystery spice in there, which shows up big, making this pretty wintery.
Some fruity notes recall a dubbel but the spice and hops hide that along with any distinctive yeast character.

Unique and interesting but not quite extraordinary - falls short of JJ's other numbered beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 02:35:31 | More by StJamesGate

FLima

Brazil

3.9/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beautiful amber and ruby color. Though, last drops were a murky brown. It poured a thick and persistent off-white head.
Piney and earthy hops and fruity aroma, notes of figs, medicine, condiments, licorice and mandarin.
Very complex beer with mutating flavors, licorice, prunes, pine, citrus, mostly grapefruit and mandarin. Also present, toasted notes, spices and condiments. Dry and condimented aftertaste.
The 7%ABV is very well hidden. Still it has a light body with a light carbonation with small bubbles.
Very refreshing beer but also complex and tasteful. With Saisons you have to drink it without any expectations, past experiences comparisons or fixed standards, as long you follow that rule you will encounter good surprises. Not following this rule results in mix discounters of opinions in the evaluations.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 20:14:17 | More by FLima

djrn2

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

11-22-2012 19:52:55 | More by djrn2

GreenMountainBoy

Vermont

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

10-14-2012 21:34:17 | More by GreenMountainBoy

bsuedekum

Missouri

2.75/5  rDev -26.5%

09-26-2012 01:07:42 | More by bsuedekum

busternuggz

Arizona

3.15/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 750 into a red wine glass.

Slightly muddy orange-amber color with a big ass off white head after the pour that recedes to a thin film with some spotty lacing.

Big fruity & malty nose with mandarin orange, apricots, dates, and a sweet syrupy smell. A little boozy, some Belgian-y esters. Complex and interesting but it's kind of off-putting how sweet it smells...is this a quad?

The taste is surprisingly light given the scent. Still fruity, with dried apricot, orange, and lemon notes, a little hay and earthiness. A bit of funk, and some prune notes. Whole wheat bread notes come out as it warms, and the malt gets a little sweeter, bordering on cloying. Fairly balanced overall though.

Great carbonation, helps balance the malt and lighten the texture.

Hard to know what to make of this one. It's not a traditional saison, if it really is one at all (the label just says "Belgian Farmhouse Ale", and the website is no help). A malty saison? A quad or dubbel made with saison yeast? Whatever it is, it's interesting but I'm not in a hurry to buy it again. I might enjoy it more in the Fall. I liked the IV Saison better.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 04:23:42 | More by busternuggz

gussde

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +33.7%

08-17-2012 04:50:40 | More by gussde

jrfehon33

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

08-12-2012 03:43:24 | More by jrfehon33

ElGallo

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

06-09-2012 02:00:31 | More by ElGallo

kinopio

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

05-24-2012 12:53:50 | More by kinopio

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Draft at Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia.

Pours a dark ruby red color with mahogany edges and two finger off white head.  Good retention slowly fading into a lasting ring.  Streaks of lacing left behind.

Slightly earthy aroma with some funky yeast, zesty spice and vinous dark fruit.  Slightly medicinal with zesty pepper, grape and other dark berries.

Medium bodied but fuller than expected with a blast of peppery spice that lingers over the funky yeast and dark fruit notes into a sweet yet dry finish.  Slightly syrupy/medicinal with a strong spice presence followed by subtle funk and sweet fruit.  Abv well masked but the heavy spice hurts drinkability a bit.

Serving type: on-tap

05-21-2012 00:36:26 | More by corby112

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.55/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The excitement grows when introduced to authentic Belgian saisons, for these are the driest, spiciest, and fully characterful beers of the Belgian family of ales.

V Cense pours with a creamy and darker appearance than is usual. Russet bronze hued beer releases its creamy carbonated head to cap the beer with a blanket of off white foam. Approaching nearly dunkel-like aesthetics, only the abundance of carbonation and delicate creme tells me otherwise-that this beer is indeed Belgian.

Spicy aromas of mild toast char and black peppercorn tingle the nose with confidence and sharpness. Backup notes of caramel, red apples, and figs are unusual in the aromatic profile for saisons, but traditional versions have been known to exert a lot of lead way in demonstrated flavors. Yet, the highly phenolic notes of medicine (maybe band aid and light smoke) seems to dominate the balance, taking away from the dry-estery mix.

Stronger flavors of caramel and red apples are boastful, even more so than the light apple, lemon, and herbal notes of contemporary saisons, yet this more robust example balances with spicy peppercorn, dry toast, and overall mediciney taste. It's that medicinal note that strikes me as a bit misplaced and begins to dominate the balance in somewhat distracting manner.

Medium bodied, the richer taste translates to slightly elevated weight to the palate. Moderate alcohols could be higher, yielding a drier and more airy impression to lift the beer from the mouth and adding the elements of refreshment and drinkability to a better degree. Finishing lightly powdery and minty, the warmth helps to dry the beer and create a short lived finish.

I'm all for a revisit to old world recipes of saison and their inherent experimentation as long as the dry fruit balance to spicy pepper remains intact. Here, the spice overtakes the beer and disappoints the palate, if ever so slightly.

Serving type: on-tap

05-06-2012 18:22:25 | More by BEERchitect

barczar

Kentucky

3.68/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear garnet color with a quarter inch ivory head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma is imitation cherry, sweet, becoming sherry-like with a vinous, almost vinegary character. There's a bit of underlying horse blanket funk.

Flavor is fairly medicinal. It's much drier than anticipated from the aroma. Stale malt overcomes the initially winey profile, leading to a peppery, bitter finish. Hints of fruit tease me into thinking there will be more flavor. As it warms, the flavor more closely aligns with the aroma. Still somewhat disappointing.

Body is moderate, with fairly high carbonation. There's a substantial alcohol warmth.

Overall, the aroma promised a lot more than the flavor delivered. I was hoping for much more sourness, given the aroma.

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2012 03:51:59 | More by barczar