Love Buzz Saison - Anchorage Brewing Company

laituegonflable

Australia

5/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours a bright orange colour, hint of amber, lots of cloud. Head is jaundiced beige, nice and effervescent but pleasant uneven sinkage. Lace left is pretty damn fine. Looks... well, Gilbert? What do you think? Does it look perfect? No? Are you kidding me? Well, screw you Gilbert, you don't exist. I say it looks perfect.

Smell is funky and wonderful. So much lively, lovely funk smell that just speaks volumes of story to me. Notes of barnyard with lemon pith, livestock and fresh-cut grass, but an acidic note with citrus that cuts through, followed by a sweet-spicy note of cinnamon, vanilla, orange peel, and some cake batter malt. What do you think, Gilbert? What? You think it's a 3, tops? Well, you're wrong again. Not only are you wrong, but you don't exist and you slept with my wife, you prick.

Taste starts very sweet. Maybe a bit too sweet? Lots of malt to that with plenty of caramel and a big hit of vanilla. The wild yeast creeps up though, cleansing it, with some mild hints of lemon, passionfruit and guava, all with a nice vinegary edge that remains drinkable. Slightly savoury at the back, maybe biscuity? It's clean at the back, which is great, although the fruit notes are more subdued here. Still, crisp but with all the lovely flavours I want in a beer. Sweet, touch of tartness late-mid, then clean but plenty of flavour left over. Gilbert? Is this the best beer I've ever drunk? No, you're wrong. The clean finish is something I didn't expect, and it becomes that 'je ne sais quoi' that raises this delicious beer yet another level. It's just immaculate.

It's sharp on the front but then somehow levels out to a smooth texture. It has the effect of nudging you so you know you're drinking something with a power that's out of this world, but it doesn't overwhelm your mortal palate. Ideal.

This beer almost made me cry, it was that good. After 1200+ reviews this has become the beer I want to settle down with in the country and somehow engineer a mutant beer-human hybrid family with. Despite Gilbert yapping away in my ear about gastronomic subjugation or some shit, I can't give it anything besides a perfect score.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 03:31:35 | More by laituegonflable

BarryMFBurton

Indiana

4.93/5  rDev +16%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Anchorage Brewing is the king of expensive, extravagant American beers; everything I’ve had from them has been superb and, most importantly, worth the cost. Here’s hoping their saison is in the same vein.

Batch #2, brewed in August 2012 (five months before the date of this tasting).

A: Pours foamy and thick, with a hazy, tawny gold body and a foamy off-white head. What’s left of the head after a few minutes appears soft and weightless, as if it could be easily blown away like soap foam. Abundant lacing.

S: Exceptionally fruity, this nose is absolutely bursting with the juicy aromas of fresh passion fruit and peach, with a supporting cast of grape, mango, and kiwi. Extraordinary. Underneath, the twang of yeasty funk is fully apparent, as well as a green, grassy scent and notes of wet cedar. Slight hop and spice tones show an herbal citrus – lemon mixed with sage, black pepper, and coriander – confirming that this is indeed one of the most complex and intriguing noses I’ve ever experienced on a beer. Bravo.

T: Opens with a rush of sour flavor, immediately bringing to mind lactic acid and lemon juice. A fruity sweetness rolls along with it, fulfilling the mango, passion fruit, and kiwi of the nose in a more subtle form; here, it has the more distinguished character of a semi-sweet Riesling. The natural, funky tastes of lime rind, rose water, barnyard brett, and fresh-cut grass swell toward the middle of the palate; a prickly hop bite of tangerine and green apple isn’t far behind. In all, a perfectly balanced sweet and sour palate that is an absolute pleasure to drink. Finishes with a wine barrel taste: light oak and sweet white grape.

M: There’s not a heavy texture in this beer at all; it’s as light and refreshing as a beer can be, with just the right amount of fizzy carbonation to keep it from being too weighty. Remarkably crisp: a little colder than cellar temperature is just right.

O: What can I say other than what I’ve already said: “incredible?” This is one of those beers you try once and think about for years afterward. It’s fresh fruit in the nose and sweet/sour heaven in the palate, a combination that I’ve never experienced before and I doubt I will ever find again. Truly one of the best beers I’ve ever had.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 02:07:59 | More by BarryMFBurton

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

4.85/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured into a tulip.

A: Pours a cloudy golden orange with 3 fingers of creamy head that dissipates slowly. Thick clouds of lacing line the glass. Moderate carbonation.

N: Lemony citrus, barnyard, toasted grains and subtle Pinot Noir characteristics with a splash of lactic acid. Boasts a beautiful bouquet of ginger, pepper, coriander, cinnamon and rose petal.

T: Lemon juice, lightly toasted grains, rose petal and subtle Pinot Noir characteristics upfront. This is followed by barnyard funk, coriander, light notes of doughy bread and some grassy Noble hops along with a subtle Brett sourness. Finishes with a punch of naked oak and Pinot Noir with a bouquet of peppercorn, hibiscus, earth, hay, ginger and cinnamon.

M: Light-medium bodied, smooth, bitter, crisp, clean and extremely dry.

O: Exceptional! Very refreshing and very dry. Healthy doses of crisp lemony citrus, barnyard and hay. The wine and oak only adds to its complexity. Not as sour as I was hoping which was probably for the best. Phenomenal all around. I will be picking up more for sure.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2012 16:53:21 | More by justintcoons

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

4.85/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured from a corked and caged bottle into a Duvel tulip. Batch two.

A- pours a cloudy shade of orange with a two finger white head that quickly fades, leaving some pure white froth. A little cloudy from the bottle ferm, but still looks really nice

S- the smell is incredible and nuanced, with the rose hips and orange peel blending together perfectly to create a sweet, yet flowery, aroma that is balanced perfectly

T- it starts off a little sweet from the orange, then you get a nice smack of the rose before the finish, which gives off a slight vinous character along with the beautiful flavors from the rose and orange. It's not sour, and it's not overly tart, but everything meshes together so perfectly

M- medium bodied, on the thicker side. I'd prefer it to be a bit thinner, personally

O- out of the three Anchorage beers I've had, this is my favorite. The beer is more subtle than most barrel-aged beers, and isn't overly funky, and it's very approachable

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 23:31:12 | More by bigfnjoe

sjccmd

Minnesota

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a slightly hazy orange. Almost pumpkin color. Fluffy white head that recedes slowly leaving a sticky lacing. Bubbles rush from the bottom of the glass.

The smell is quite wonderful. Super citrusy hop aromas, pretty intense for a saison. There is a solid earthy bretty backbone though. A good amount of funk that balances and compliments the hop aroma. This beer has the spirit of homebrew, I can tell already.

Wow, this is one of the most unique beers I've had in a while. Nice funk and a touch of sourness complimented with piney citrus hops. Lots of hop flavor, but quite smooth bitterness. Ridiculously refreshing. Herbal floral and spicy notes, everything Belgian complimented with American hops. Bready malt backbone that adds a touch of sweetness. Though this is beer is practically as dry as it gets.

Velvety body with a nice burst of carbonation. Finishes super dry and some lingering funk and hops.

I am curious about how it might age. I'd like more funk, but the hop presence is perfect.

This beer is amazingly drinkable. I can't stop taking sips. The funk is quite present but not overwhelming. The hop presence is huge but not overly bitter.

My first beer from this brewery and I'm looking forward to many more.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2011 23:16:20 | More by sjccmd

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.75/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

The last of Anchorage's readily available brews for me to sample. I love their others to bits, and I have monumentally high expectations for this one.

Uncorks pleasantly, with a bright "thok" but without the resultant gush. Pours a bright orange hazed colour, witb a full and fine head of off-white, that eventually succumbs to froth and its own effervescent, and collapses, leaving a smudge of thick, chunky lace on the side of the glass. Looks really great.

Nose is just... oh, it's phenomenal. Here, the brett has free reign to take over and stamp itself over everything. It leaves funky acidity like appleskin, fragrant floral characters and a musty, but leavened and sophisticated character like an aged wine barrel. There's even the faint hint of that Cantillon-like plastic gueuze funk. It's an amazing nose, all the more for how restrained and integrated it is. Lovely stuff.

Taste is perfectly light and fragrant, while remaining amazingly clear and refreshing, and true to the roots of the style. Some mild peppery characters on the front get quickly whisked away, leaving a refreshing clarity for the middle. A really pleasant floral fragrance picks up towards the back, and manages to mask some of the phenolic harshness associated with the style—in fact, it feels like this never really comes through—there's only a peal of metal resonating on the finish.

Feel is lovely—I mean, just perfect for the style—smooth, liquid, with a perfect weight for the characters it presents. It's just gorgeous.

What a phenomenally good beer. Genuinely one of the best saisons I've ever had. It's as though it *gets* the style to which it owes its genesis just perfectly, but layers complexity and depth and excitment on that its original wouldn't have thought of.

Despite this, it stays true to its roots—it provides perhaps the new wave in saison awesomeness; the next generation of a phenomenal style.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2012 07:33:48 | More by lacqueredmouse

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.75/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a cloudy golden orange with a 2 finger white head that fades slowly leaving a moderate amount of lacing

S: Immedite Brett here. A good dose of baby diaper coupled with smoe barf and branyard. The rose pedals, citrus fruit basket is very prominent

T: Where to start? Delicous. Immediate lemons and coriander, rose petal and subtle Brett notes start to appear upfront and early. This is followed by barnyard funk, more coriander, a little spice, light booze sting , wood, Earth and a dry grassy finish

M: Light-medium bodied, smooth, bitter, crisp, clean and extremely dry.

O: This beer was all over the place. The only think I missed was the Pinot. Maybe my palate was off today but I will re-visit and look for more Pinot. Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 13:58:32 | More by barleywinefiend

smakawhat

Maryland

4.72/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass. Batch #1 August 2011.

A little gushed from the pour, but otherwise real uniform head spreading bread and rose floral scent everywhere. Light orange amber body with some twenty four carat hues, rising carbonation although hard to see through slightly cloudy body. Looks just great.

Nose is just a flat out wonder of floral potpuri, but more so a distinct mix of hot brett and orange juice citrus. Bretty sour orange sense with minor funkiness. It smells flat out wonderful. Oranges dominate after some time.

Taste is magic. What is so surprising is the malt taste and texture that exists among all these great saison qualities. Hot brett but not overpowering, complements a juicy orange texture, prickly with pepper in the finish. Dried flowers and heat. Just unfrikking real. More orange and slight sweet malts come out with further sips downplaying the Bretty character. Texture is borderline creamy with a slight but not total teeth coating vinous feeling.

Overall this is just flat out fantastic. A home run. I can't say anymore the bottle was gone in less than ten minutes.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2011 23:24:42 | More by smakawhat

BierStein711

Illinois

4.68/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pint and a half bottle poured into snifter.

No freshness date

S: hops, brett, roses, wine, and malt

T: Herbal! Pinot Noir really came thrrough!! The piney notes from the hops really shone as well. The rose hips were at the finish just like the bottle suggested.

M: Okay, not the best not the worst.

Try this beer!! Buy it. Then buy more. This is my first saison, and I am going to have more.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2012 21:31:47 | More by BierStein711

Rogorama

Indiana

4.66/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Love Buzz is hands down the best saison this guy's ever had. (not a big saison fan). Opened a bomber at a tasting (thanks jacoby). pours murky yellow with a little white head. The pinot noir is balanced perfectly with the rest of the flavors. Kudos to anchorage brewing for a great beer!

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 20:06:53 | More by Rogorama

joeseppy

Illinois

4.66/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

I believe this is the appropriate brew for my wife and I this Valentines Day. Serving in champagne glasses.

Pours a hazy golden amber with a delicate thin white crown atop in delicate fashion. Carbonation high.

Picking up on white grapefruit sour then onto a pink grapefruit sweet, hmmm, different. Also the brett barnyard funk is there and spice. Very pleasing overall.

Rush of sour on the tongue falling to a sweetness on the sides, then going to the back with bitter citrus and peppercorn. Amazing, just like it smells. The bitter and the brett really compliment each other. An astringent pungency of grape skin wine quality lingers at the end.

Dry, crisp and refreshing. Effervescence naturally scrubs the tongue clean.

I'm very impressed with this. Appears to me more of a sour than saison. I haven't had anything like this. My wife loved it also. At $15 it's more of a celebratory beer vs an occasional libation. Job well done--Fantastic beer! Thanks for something different.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 00:55:53 | More by joeseppy

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.64/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Appearance. Pours a hazy, deep honey-gold with 1.5 fingers of thick white head.

Smell. Sweet and floral with fresh tangy oranges and tropical fruits along with some nice saison yeast. Smells absolutely amazing!!!!

Taste. Spicy saison yeast and fresh tangy oranges with a sweet floral quality (not sweet tasting overall, just sweet blossoms), and a little bitterness in the dry finish.

Mouthfeel. Medium body with lively medium+ carbonation.

Overall. Wow!! This one caught me by surprise. Very delicious and a smell that just blew me away. Highly recomended!!!

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2013 02:42:57 | More by Rutager

BMan1113VR

California

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Bottle (Batch #1, August 2011). Basic review: Pours with a hazy, deepish gold body with a large and lasting, fluffy off-white head. Great lace. Aromas amazingly good! Right off the bat: fresh tangerine/grapefruit juice. Good acidity, a little funk, red wine, tropical fruit hop notes, CITRA! Smells a little bit like Le Terroir with the hop and funk note. Sweet, perfume, floral, estery. Light bready malt. Very fragrant, pineapple. Amazing! Flavors are funky as well, juicy, oak, barrel, red wine, fruit, a bit grassy. A touch grainy, bready and straw like. Surprisingly bitter (both hop and tannin). Nice tropical fruit, grassy hop notes, rich, delicate, lots of nice tropical brett C esters. Lingering, slightly acidic stonefruit. Blown away, this is OUTSTANDING! Lively, playful carbonation, lingering funk, nice tannin, lightly warming, creamy bubbles. Balanced and complex. This might be one of my new favorite breweries, and one of the top 5 beers I've had so far this year.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2011 23:31:54 | More by BMan1113VR

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured into a tulip glass from a 750ml bottle.

A - Pours a beautiful hazy orange color with some nice depth to it. Almost a burnt orange. There is a nice half inch head with medium sized bubbles and some smaller dense bubbles. It recedes slowly down to a mat.

S - Aroma is delicious. Flowery and earthy. Slight grain notes are present but more of nice fresh grassy hop nose is prevalent. There is some nice fruity aromas in there as well as some slight corn husk and some nice brett character.

T & M - Starts off with some nice grain bready notes followed by some nice flowery notes. Wow. This is very delicious. There is some nice apple notes as well as some slight vinous notes. A bit of woody aftertaste lingers after a sip. This brew is delicious. There is some nice funkiness to it and has a very dry and refreshing feeling. There is some nice hop bitterness throughout the middle and back end of the beer that gives it great balance. Some peppery spice notes are also present. This was very close to a 5 for me on taste.

O - This beer is great. I've been impressed with the 2 brews I've had from Anchorage so far. Very good body and nice individual flavors that work well together.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2011 21:14:18 | More by JoEBoBpr

cfrances33

Illinois

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle served in a teku glass.

Pour: Completely hazy deep orange with two fingers of very, very sticky off white head. Head sticks around for a long time, and leaves incredible lacing, This is what I want a saison to look like.

Smell: The nose bursts of grapefruit, pears, and a nice grape musk. Brett says hello with a clean funk. This beer smells incredible. I can't tell if it's a sour or a Brett forward saison.

Taste: Amazing juicy oranges right off the bat. Wow. Chardonnay barrels come through with a red grape muskiness and a nice oak. Barnyard funk comes along and mingles with the rest of the flavors.

Mouthfeel: A combination of juicy and dry. The beer toys with my desire to sip it and to drink it more quickly to compensate for its dryness.

Overall: This beer was incredibly unique in the pairing of sour and saison attributes. I would get this all the time if it was a little cheaper, and available. Awesome.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 22:23:18 | More by cfrances33

scottfrie

California

4.6/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle into Portsmouth snifter. Batch 1.

A: Pours a murky pumpkin color with a couple fingers of dense light tan head that took forever to fade into a lasting film that left complex streaks of lace down the glass.
S: Oh my God. Words cannot describe the bouquet of flavors that I’m smelling right now! The citra hops, orange peel, rose hips, brett, and chardonnay oak barrel have somehow come together to create quite possibly the greatest thing I’ve ever smelled. The nose is sweet, floral, and citrusy is a very unique way. I get strong notes of flowers, grapefruit and tangerines followed by characteristic scents of earthy brett. I’ve used these adjectives and nouns on many other beers, yet I’ve never smelled one quite like this.
T: The flavor follows the nose, and while very good it’s definitely not as mind blowing. The flavors are sharp and dry and definitely not as flowery or sweet as the nose. Dry oak, earth, and brett pretty much dominate, but the finish has lightly bitter notes of citrus rind. The aftertaste is again, citrusy, and vinous with white wine.
M: Ample bubbly carbonation with a very smooth yet desert dry mouthfeel over a medium body. Very refreshing.
O: First I had Bitter Monk and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Then I had Whiteout Wit and I thought it was one of the best witbiers I’ve ever had. Going into this beer I thought there is no way that a brewery could go three for three. I’d like to say that I was surprised but deep down I had a feeling this beer would also be amazing. Buy stock in this brewery, it’s my new favorite.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2011 01:31:26 | More by scottfrie

pwoods

Ohio

4.6/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to DividedAvery for the great bottle.

750ml corked and caged brown bottle poured into a tulip.

A: Pours a golden pale orange with some yeasty hazy. Nice head on the pour with pretty good retention, especially for something barrel aged. Nice. Lacing.

S: Light floral and spicy nose from the rose hips and peppercorns. The citra is light and purfumy with a bit of the citrus pineapple aroma. Great yeasty easters and phenols. Everything is nicely in balance and I really like how the peppercorns and citra hops play off each other. Some brett like under tones... maybe from the barrels?

T/M: Great flavors going on. Nice saison yeastery esters and phenols with the citrus hop flavors and spices from the rose hips and peppercorns. Light grains and brett like characters. I'm guessing the brett like character is from the wine barrels, but that seems to be all that I'm getting from them. Body is medium or so with some light creaminess and great carbonation.

D: One of the best new beers I've had in a long time. Really diggin' this.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 05:25:58 | More by pwoods

mudbug

Oregon

4.6/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Second batch
From the chilled bomber into the Sam Adams pint glass results in a slightly hazy orange body topped with a half inch tight fluffy head, some lacing is present, but just barely.
Aroma is pungent and decisive, grapefruit, lemons and floral notes upfront with a hint of wet hay and earth, the floral notes are rose, the brewer hit this one out of the park.
Taste is very sour at first then an astringent quality creeps in like sour grass or grapefruit rind, drying and puckering in a good way. The second sense is sweetness, light and balancing but that is fleeting. Under it all is an earthy wet hay decaying grass base that is fulfilling and satisfying. This is one complex and well made beer, as it warms it is like a chameleon changing notes and surprising the tongue.
Juicy and thirst quenching it is easy to throw down large gulps and the glass is empty before you know it.
Going back for more of this for sure. Bravo!

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 07:44:18 | More by mudbug

jsanford

Georgia

4.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle poured into a Stemmed Glass. Batch #1. August 2011

A - Pours a cloudy orange with a big creamy white head that settles to a dense cap and leaves lots of sticky, intricate lacing.
S - Big, tart and funky nose dominates by earthy Brettanomyces, rose water, tropical and citrusy hops, pepper, and red wine. Phenomenal.
T - Definitely in-line with the nose, peppery Saison base is enhanced nicely by more floral rose, citrus hops, oak, and red wine. Not as tart as I was perhaps expecting, but pleasantly earthy and bitter, with a long-lasting dry finish.
M - Crisp and dry, with a medium body and sharp, spritzy carbonation.
O - Another phenomenal Anchorage beer, I want everything from them!

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2012 23:24:48 | More by jsanford

augustgarage

California

4.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a dusty 750mL caged-and-corked bottle into my Troubadour tulip.

Glorious, stately, glowing Princeton orange liquid with a fat fist of papaya whip crenellations upstairs. Perpetual retention - ridiculously thick lacing.

Peppercorn and orange peels come through very strong in the nose melding perfectly with the CITRA hops. Floral hoppy notes emerge as well, though Vitamin C seems more pronounced than rose hips.

Rosewater, orange peels, tropical fruit, pink perppercorn, herbaceous/floral hops, and potent yeast notes lead the palate. The Brett. emerges more in the finish, contributing a lasting earthiness more than funk. A touch of aspirin in the aftertaste, though overall I wouldn't say it was medicinal.

Rich, full bodied, creamy, effervescent mouthfeel.

Really delicious and unique ale, one of the most creative domestic examples of the style, up there with Jolly Pumpkin's Baudelaire iO...wow.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2012 06:33:26 | More by augustgarage

Reaper16

Alabama

4.55/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750mL bottle -- dated August 2011 -- served into a tulip glass

Pours a honeyed orange color; cloudy but not completely opaque. 1-1.25 fingers of white head...kinda' textbook, but not exciting. Lovely lacing. It's a solid looking beer.

Love Buzz has one of the best aromas I've ever encountered on a Saison. It's incredibly complex. The first thing I pick up on are the standard saison notes: band-aid, light malt, grassy hops. The hops have a tinge of citrus to them (I know that this beer is dry-hopped with Citra; if I drank this fresh then the hop presence might have more than a tinge). There's a lovely floral complexity here: the beer is brewed with rose hips, but the yeast strain throws off floral notes too. Love Buzz smells like multiple varieties of flower all at once. Add on top of that the Brett aromas: a smear of dirty, funky, lovely stuff. It's enthralling.

The beer tastes nearly as amazing as it smells. It's very light and subtle compared to the nose. Not that the nose is very assertive, but its complexity is evident. The taste is all about delivering those flavors that the aroma gestures towards in a refined, smooth way. It's quite balanced between the phenolic notes and the funky notes; between the deep floral character and the vegetal, green hops; between the clean malts and the oak from the pinot noir barrel that the beer was aged in.

The mouthfeel is superb for a Saison: dry, light, astringent. Overall, this is a great beer. A great saison. Everything about this beer (apart from the standard appearance) is fantastic. It's a real brewing achievement, and one of the finest beers I've tasted this year.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2012 03:27:46 | More by Reaper16

thepeter

United Kingdom (England)

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Orange rust color with a decent head that lasted the hole way and left lovely lacing all the way down the glass.
S - BRETT!!! but not all brett, lots of sour funk reminiscent of a light gueuze, Floural hints all over the place and orange oil. It is fantastic
T - More brett than anything else but not to say there is not a small floural hint with orange zest and funk in the backround. A decent ammount of Earth in the back-end lending it to classic Saison flavors. NOT as wonderful as the aroma but that just means great as opposed to AMAZING!
M - light bodied with soft but effervescent carbonation. A bit harsh to begin with but mellows quickly.
O - A wonderful beer that I wish I could have way more often. I will get this any time I can (which is rarely).

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 17:54:44 | More by thepeter

zeledonia

Minnesota

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Batch 1, bottled August 2011. Big thanks to match1112 for the bottle. I regret passing this up when it was on shelves here, and I was thrilled to get a bottle in a BIF. Tasted 12 April 2013.

Pours a cloudy medium orange. Huge billowing fluffy dense white head, that slowly relaxes, leaving gobs of foam and lacing all over the glass, and ends as a thick cap. Wow.

Smell is fantastic. Funky, with a delicate grape aroma, and floral notes spread throughout. This right here is why I love brett-fermented saisons. The gentle funk plays perfectly on the structure of the rest of the beer. I keep going back for more, and I just want to drink it in.

Taste is probably the low point. It's actually pretty good, but it's the sidekick to the amazing smell. Moderately funky, fruity, slightly sweet before turning tart. An amalgam of flavors, all quite nice. Relaxes into a soft bitterness before fading out.

Feel is stellar. Medium-bodied, but with loads of small-bubble fluffy carbonation, mouth-filling and vibrant, spreading the flavors around and making them dance.

This is up there with Boulevard's Saison Brett among my top saisons ever. I'm blown away, and I really hope they make this again. If only the taste had a little more to it...

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 06:42:25 | More by zeledonia

Immortale25

Florida

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a Due South Brewing Co. snifter. Batch No. 2 August/2012

A- Pours a medium amber color with a 1/2 inch off-white head that retains a bit before reducing to a thick ring around the edge of the glass and a sheer sheet of surface foam. Light semi-resilient lacing.

S- Very fruity with notes of tangerine, mango and papaya. You can also really smell the Brett but it's a clean aroma and note as sharp as other Brett-infused beers I've had.

T- Very complex barrage of fruity sweetness, Brett funk and a bit of barrel presence. Still very clean and tame all things considered. Has a decent amount of tartness to offset the sweetness. Alcohol is very well-masked and is only really sensed among the wine-like characteristics of the beer no doubt due to the barrel-aging. The bitterness of the hops comes through more as the beer warms.

M- Slick and moist with medium carbonation and a lightish body.

O- Unlike anything I've ever had before. They somehow created the perfect balance of Brett, hops, fruit and wine barrel. I never got any peppercorn out of it but I'm sure it contributed in some way I just didn't detect. A stellar saison that I will jump at the chance to purchase again.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 03:00:01 | More by Immortale25

Pinknuggets

Vermont

4.51/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle to Ommegang Oversized Wine glass

A: Orangey Yellow honey colored with a heavy white to tan head that is as fluffy as you can get. It is somewhat translucent without much cloudiness and looks really clean.

S: You definitely smell the barnyard saison smell but it is subtile not super powerful there is some hop smell but not much. You can smell a little bit of citrus too but there isn't a whole lot here but better then average for sure

T: It is not quite what I was expecting its got that farmhouse taste that is very well complemented by the brett funk that is there to taste but not overpowering (this would be a great intro to brett as it is well done but not overwhelming to the inexperienced palate). It has some citrus orange like flavors in there too that add to the flavor. Lastly, the french pino barrels even everything out and adds that white wine champagne notes throughout. This is a really well crafted taste

M: Smooth, thin, and really oily that slides down the throat super easily it is almost juicy. The brett and the pino barrels add a crispiness to the feel which is made even better by the carbonation that is nice and bubbly. Finally there is a peppery taste/feel in the finish that really makes the crispness last

O: I was really impressed by this beer, I had heard good things but wow this is really up there with the best I've ever had. The flavor is traditional saison with lots of depth and added flavors and feel that all complement each other well. I really can't say enough about how well crafted this is buy it if you see it worth every drop Anchorage is really moving up the charts with each beer i try in my book .

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2013 23:11:37 | More by Pinknuggets