Helltown Spiteful Saison - Helltown Brewing

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Helltown Brewing
Spiteful Saison

LOOK: 25 oz corked bottle, opens with a vigorous pop. Pours a clear gold with a huge pillowy froth. Snap crackle pop sound from the head that lasts several minutes, like the cereal with milk added.

SMELL: Powdery yeast upfront which is very expressive. Champagne like nose with a bit of funk. Touches of apple and pearish fruitiness.

TASTE: Mellow flavors of grass, lemony citrus, soft tartness and earthy bitterness. Light funk and mustiness. Belgian yeast is all over this, and the subtle tart, acidic lemon flavor is what really sets this off. Quite refreshing.

FEEL: Light to medium bodied, well but not over carbonated. Semi-dry finish. Very clean and easy drinking.

OVERALL: Helltown shows some diversity with this enjoyable, simple and well executed offering. The Saison flavors are all pronounced, but in excellent balance. I would recommend this to any fan of Belgian style ales.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 23:20:16 | More by Stinkypuss

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -21.5%

04-05-2013 23:03:42 | More by ejimhof

Em30

Pennsylvania

1/5  rDev -73.8%

03-20-2013 00:15:15 | More by Em30

Cazlo

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +4.7%

03-16-2013 02:55:34 | More by Cazlo

DWolf

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +4.7%

03-16-2013 02:48:57 | More by DWolf

Seaba

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +17.8%

02-26-2013 18:44:32 | More by Seaba

outoffocus

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +17.8%

02-20-2013 01:50:26 | More by outoffocus

MinorThreat

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +11.3%

02-19-2013 01:54:51 | More by MinorThreat

hollywood_15063

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +17.8%

02-15-2013 02:31:32 | More by hollywood_15063

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

750ml bottle from which I poured my half in a Duchesse goblet.

Pours a golden straw color with a very rich and sudsy white head that holds strong for quite the while. Laces well, even. A most excellent look.

Pepper, coriander, lemon, and a bodacious farmhouse yeast; all in effect in the nose. Bready tones diffuse the spice and light citrus. Almost counters as a tripel in the nose, minus the strength and estery qualities. Maybe a hint of vanilla and cherry. Simple, but pleasant.

Spicy from the yeast, sure, but there's a unique cherry vanilla element that appears in the taste; something that I picked up in the nose and thought wouldn't be here in the mouth. Cherry blossoms, for sure. Peppery, too, with hints of lemon peel, clove, and saison nuttiness. Very peppery in the finish, in fact. I can't get over this Whitehouse Cherry ice cream note, like maraschino or a cherry-scented candle. Not that it's waxy. It's a really unique and delicious quality of the beer that is unmatched by any other saison I've ever tried.

Drinks with a light-medium body and big carbonation. The busy bubbles accentuate the spiciness of the brew, as it is. Easy to swig.

Better than I thought it'd be. I just love the unique fruit qualities imparted from the yeast. For serious saison drinkers... and, beware! You might love this beer!

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 03:37:34 | More by thecheapies

lpotter

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%

12-23-2012 00:04:22 | More by lpotter

kwkincer

4/5  rDev +4.7%

12-20-2012 13:21:11 | More by kwkincer

Stigs

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Corked 750ml bottle served in a 12oz chalice.

A - pours with a healthy, fluffy half inch of loose white foam. active carbonation across a pale golden beer.

S - fruity esters, hints of pear and apple, faint orange zest. slightly peppery.

T - begins with some crisp, crackery grains before opening up to yeasty phenols. pear is dominant before passing some banana, with an ever so faint hint of clove. nicely balanced with some hop bitterness though this flavor palate is all about esters. clean, simple, enjoyable.

M - fairly lightly bodied with sharp, biting carbonation, spot on and really livens up the beer.

O - having talked to Shawn (the brewer), he said he was going for a saison along the lines of DuPont (one of my favorite beers). quite the bold attempt, but pulls it off really nicely. so many breweries seem to take a shot at this style and try to do too much, or just cant pull off the simple things properly.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 02:28:21 | More by Stigs

wvsabbath

West Virginia

4.4/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Serving Type - 25.4 oz caged and corked bottle

Appearance - Golden fizzy pineapple juice yellow, light, 1/2 fizzy white head and tons of thick foamy lacing.

Smell - Floral hops, fruits, earthy. Plums, apples, cherries, spices, yeasts, everything a saison smells like.

Taste - Crisp and spicy, plenty of floral fruits, apple and lemon is a main flavor. Lots of yeasts add sweetness. Banana and some Plum and rasin also are present. The tartness is balanced very well with fruits and sugars. Malts add a little caramel toffee flavor. Alcohol is masked well and not present clear to the finish. Peppery, midly sour yet sweet and complex.

Mouthfeel - Tounge gets fruits, yeasts and sugars. Palate gets more fruits and yeasts, and a little malt. Aftertaste is dry, sweet and sour, and sweet.

Overall - Balanced, easy to drink, plenty of flavor and alcohol is masked well. Everything you'd want in a saison. Easy for me to say this a top 10 saison for me. Its not as big and bold as alot but its so balanced and has a nice crisp, clean flavor. I hope that since this is bottle that my fellow helltown drinkers will get there hands on this, and even spread around and trade a few and let the craft community know about this gem of a brewery. Cant wait for there ipa's to get bottled, look out hopheads...

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 00:37:29 | More by wvsabbath

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.8/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a sunny, clear colour, slightly fizzy, with a finger of white head. Aroma is beiscuity, crisp, slight hay, and yeasty esters, slight pale maltiness. Slight sweet touch, a bit of funk, yeasty esters. Crisp, light/medium body, good lightly bubbly feel.

Overall, good, drinkable, nicely enjoyable Saison.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 03:45:06 | More by EgadBananas