Elder Brett: Saison-Brett Golden Ale - Epic Brewing Co.

TheBeerologist

Rhode Island

3.75/5  rDev -6%

04-15-2012 20:10:16 | More by TheBeerologist

JRod1969

New York

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

06-12-2013 02:14:02 | More by JRod1969

g_jenkins

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

06-08-2013 07:41:22 | More by g_jenkins

rcjennings

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

06-08-2013 03:04:08 | More by rcjennings

merc7186

New York

3.85/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to Sandman3479 for sharing this bottle.

A: Hazy Golden Straw Hue, Passes Some Light, White Head Ring, Mild Lacing

S: Brett, Hay, Mild Apricots

T: Brett, Hay, Mild Apricots

M: Average Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Sour, Mildly Funky

Overall, a pretty nice balanced brett beers with a mild sour finish.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2013 02:53:58 | More by merc7186

Pencible

Virginia

4.05/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: This poured a clear light gold with moderate white head.
S: It smelled like tart white grapes and funky oak, with some crisp citrus zest and tannic and earthy character.
T: It tasted like crisp apricot and citrus zest, with some tart and tannic grasps and funky oak and waxy hops. It had a clean sweet and sour aftertaste.
M: It was watery with a little fine carbonation. Nice light body.
D: This was a great Brett saison, with bold and complex scent and taste. The body was good, and the finish was surprisingly mellow. And it had well hidden alcohol, so it was easy to drink. I really enjoyed this beer, especially on a warm evening.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2013 15:06:14 | More by Pencible

beernads

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -18.5%

05-31-2013 07:03:10 | More by beernads

notchucknorris

California

4.3/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Release #2

A: Pours a hazed pale gold color with a one finger cream colored head. Leaves some fine strings of lace down the glass. Lots of tiny bubbles visible rising in the glass.

S: Oh man. This smells awesome. The wine is definitely there and the Chardonnay smell is present, but not overpowering. Lots of stonefruit here. White peach, white nectarine, tons of juicy pear. Just a hint of booze along with a good dose of brett. Really nice.

T: There's an initial hit of chardonnay alongside white peach juice, underripe white grape, Some faint belgian yeast sweetness, brett, some white pepper and some peach pit. Finishes with a bit of wine-like sourness. No trace of the alcohol at all. Definitely reminds me of a funked up golden ale. Almost like Duvel gone wild.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 03:06:27 | More by notchucknorris

GRG1313

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

05-15-2013 04:01:25 | More by GRG1313

lsummers

California

3.75/5  rDev -6%

05-10-2013 01:57:54 | More by lsummers

vissai

California

3.75/5  rDev -6%

05-06-2013 17:17:15 | More by vissai

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to Francois for sharing at his bottle share.

Nice fizzy head, hazy golden peach colored.

Nose nice fruit funk, light tangerine guava like fruit, some Brett funk, light sweet blond malts,

Taste nice Brett barnyard funk to start, grassy hay, grainy, then guava fruit and some stone fruit skin must, little juicy citrus fruit as well and touch of lemon zest, sweet blond malts. Pretty tasty, but not much for saison flavors, more of a blond ale with Brett.

Mouth is med to lighter bodied, nice effervescent carb.

Overall not bad, some nice barnyard funk but a bit too light, I do like the idea of blond ale instead of real saison characters, but I love my saisons more so I would have preferred that, and nice fruit flavors, but a bit too malty sweet.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 14:07:58 | More by jlindros

Archemedies

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +0.3%

05-05-2013 13:14:54 | More by Archemedies

bsuedekum

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev -6%

05-03-2013 23:21:55 | More by bsuedekum

Lynn

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

05-02-2013 21:57:25 | More by Lynn

Halcyondays

California

4.01/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

22 oz. bomber, Release #2, listed at 9.5%

A: Pours a lightly hazy dark goldenrod with a creamy large white head, good sticky lace.

S: Notes of white wine, oak, pear and golden apple. Musty leather as well.

T: Bretty, but not over the top. A nice balance to everything. Dominated by white pepper spice, pears and apples. The barrel character just adds more of that on to everything. Light notes of funk, but in the end, a fairly straightforward beer.

M: Medium-bodied with a very soft ethereal carbonation. Light crisp acidity brings everything up a notch.

O: A very good effort. Do I like the price - no. Do I like the beer - yes, quite a bit. Certainly a must try once for the adventurous beer geek.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 21:10:37 | More by Halcyondays

dfillius

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-27-2013 14:18:23 | More by dfillius

chanokokoro

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into an unbranded tulip glass

Pours a very slightly hazy deep gold capped by a one and half finger bright white head that dissipates fairly quickly stil leaving behind a bit of wispy lacing. White grapes, accents of chardonnay, hints of oak, grass, and light earthy notes on the nose. Light citrus, fresh grass, yeast, pear and hints of fresh apricot initially. Earthy, hints of funk, and yeasty notes midpalate; finishes with fresh cut oak, chardonnay, and white wine vinegar. Lighter side of medium-bodied, silky smooth. Collaborations can always be a bit of a crapshoot, but this one is a huge success. An excellent, complex brew I cracked with absolutely no preconceptions. Consider me impressed.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 02:37:09 | More by chanokokoro

Supergenious

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-27-2013 01:45:33 | More by Supergenious

drgonzo2k2

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-20-2013 15:02:43 | More by drgonzo2k2

Rjhami

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

04-17-2013 05:27:44 | More by Rjhami

whatshopning

District of Columbia

3.5/5  rDev -12.3%

04-13-2013 16:03:05 | More by whatshopning

Auraan

Arizona

4.96/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Poured a hazy yellowish orange with a thin white head that dissipated quickly leaving no lacing. Scents of apricot, barnyard like funk, and sour notes. Flavor is pronounced sour notes, some fruity (green grape) notes, a hit of lemon, light hints of pale malt and a dry, white wine-like finish. Mouthfeel is light and crisp with a medium carbonation level. An excellent brett beer, with deep sour notes and a good degree of complexity on the taste and a bit less complex, but still excellent, scent. A very good beer that I'd try again.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 04:51:52 | More by Auraan

kojevergas

California

2.63/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with branded silver pressure cap and simple lime green/beige label served into a Uinta pilsner glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are high; I loved Big Bad Baptist and I love a good saison, but I'm not big on Crooked Stave. Release #2. 9.5% ABV according to my bottle.

Served straight from the fridge and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a two finger white colour head of fair cream, nice thickness, and pretty decent (~4 minute) retention for the high ABV. Body colour is a clear translucent pale yellow. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Not a great appearance for a saison, but it's not unappealing.

Sm: Pear, white wine, white grapeskin, lightly tart brettanomyces - nowhere near as funky as I expected, pale malts, crystal malts, light lemon citrus esters, cidery character, buried delicate wood barrel, and light pale grains. A subtly executed aroma of mild to moderate strength. No alcohol is detectable. It's not quite what I expected, but it's good. More a golden ale than a saison based on the aromatics. Any hopping is light and floral in character. Intriguing.

T: Hm. There's good and bad here. White grapeskin is the first thing I get. It has an overly sweet pale malt body. Hopping is floral and generic. The white wine aging takes a turn for the worse around the climax, where it quickly devolves into a crappy white wine mixed with cheap pear cidre. Ugh. Overdone crystal malt is prominent. Where's the subtlety of the aroma? I'm not liking this one at all; I didn't expect it to be this bad. Terribly balanced. Poorly built for a saison. I don't get hardly any brettanomyces; no funkiness and only a bit of tartness. What went wrong here? Is Batch #2 considerably different than Batch #1?

Mf: A bit acidic. Coarse and wet. Unrefreshing. Overly thick. Overcarbonated. Poor presence on the palate. Horribly executed for a saison. Doesn't suit the flavour profile or the style hardly at all.

Dr: I used to think Epic was crappy based on the Brainless beers I tried. Then I had Big Bad Baptist and wanted to try more Epic. Now, I'm moving back towards leaving their beers on the shelf. Is this brewery really this hit and miss? Or can I pin this one on Crooked Stave? Terribly done for a saison, lacking any degree of subtlety, balance, or sophistication. Really disappointing. I'll have trouble killing this bottle due to the low quality. Not at all recommended. Unexpectedly bad.

C-

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 04:36:30 | More by kojevergas

blindpiggie

Colorado

4/5  rDev +0.3%

03-29-2013 00:20:01 | More by blindpiggie