Green Flash Saison Diego - Green Flash Brewing Co.

falloutsnow

Illinois

2.95/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

From: Beertopia in Omaha, NE
Date: No obvious date, but "15/22/299/11/1816/8" stamped on bottom
Glass: Tulip

Saison Diego has a fairly singleminded approach to the style with yeast, malt, and some grains of paradise being the most obvious flavors and scents. In general, the recipe was fairly one-dimensional and for the price, many other saisons of more complexity are available. I enjoy many of Green Flash's beers, but this was just not as spectacular a saison as I was expecting from the brewery. Relative to something from Fantome, Ommegang, or Dupont, this is rather lacking.

Pours a voluminous white head of very dense bubbles, with retention well above average. Foam eventually settles to a thick ring around the glass with a thinner film atop the rest of the body. Lacing is fairly minimal along the sides of the glass. Body is an opaque, hazy golden yellow color, with some carbonation visible along the sides of the glass and primarily streaming from the center.

Aroma is very mild, picking up subtle maltiness and saison yeast, with little else. For a bottle that mentions orange peel, ginger, and grains of paradise, there's surprisingly little going on here.

Opening flavor is somewhat tomato-like, which fades into a fairly generic saison yeast flavor, along with its secondary byproducts and a bit of the peppery grains of paradise. Mid-palate picks up some light malt sweetness with continued grains of paradise and saison yeast. Closes out with a pleasant grainy and biscuit-like malt influence. Not really picking up anything distinctly orange peel or ginger-like in the beer, though the label states that such ingredients were used. In general, this tastes like a fairly generic saison.

Beer is medium to medium-light in body with strongly effervescent carbonation that manages not to produce sharp prickles upon the tongue, but instead foams up with large bubbles and creates a pillowy, soft effect. Closes dryly, as expected.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 03:19:00 | More by falloutsnow

oldp0rt

Quebec (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -11%

05-23-2013 00:17:06 | More by oldp0rt

Weas

Arkansas

4/5  rDev +9.6%

05-22-2013 23:34:01 | More by Weas

VirginiaJeff1

Virginia

2.75/5  rDev -24.7%

05-22-2013 00:19:10 | More by VirginiaJeff1

MacStinson

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

05-21-2013 21:52:25 | More by MacStinson

johntfox

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

05-20-2013 22:13:59 | More by johntfox

zeff80

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +16.4%

05-20-2013 01:40:06 | More by zeff80

tviz33

New York

4/5  rDev +9.6%

05-19-2013 04:46:00 | More by tviz33

xacidx

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

05-19-2013 03:15:14 | More by xacidx

prototypic

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Saison Diego pours a very light straw color. It’s nice and clear. Unusual for the style. Backlighting brightens it a little and gives it a little more of a gold look. It’s topped with a modest head. It’s white and stands about a finger in height. The bubbles are quite active though, and it holds firm there for quite a while. Lacing was rather thick and sticky. Looks good.

The nose is okay. It’s a little weak in the aromatics department. It does have a prominent earthy, grainy scent that resonates throughout. There are some light fruity notes. Smells like lemon and perhaps a little orange. It is a tad spicy smelling. Belgian yeast might be the contributor. Light clove and pepper are noted. I was expecting some hops, but I’m not getting much. Maybe some grassy variety. Alcohol is very light. Not getting much at all there. Smells alright.

The flavor is about on par with the nose. It’s very earthy and grainy initially and throughout. Belgian yeast does add a spicy note or two. Pepper and light clove mostly. It is a little fruity with a twist from grassy hops. Lemon and light orange fruit flavors are noted. Grassy hops are a nice addition. They’re light, but add a bit of a bitter bite. I honestly expected more in the hops department, but what’s here isn’t bad. Alcohol is buried. Finishes grainy, a little spicy, and grainy.

The body is definitely light. It’s not bad, but feels a bit too thin. Carbonation is active. It’s crisp and refreshing. Certainly easy drinking.

Saison Diego a little surprising. I expected a hopped-up Saison. It’s not that at all. It’s a light, mild mannered Saison that’s not bad. It’s nowhere near competing with the world’s best Saisons, but if you’re looking for a sessionable, pretty tasty Saison – this is a good option.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 02:49:51 | More by prototypic

briandaube

Delaware

4/5  rDev +9.6%

05-19-2013 01:22:39 | More by briandaube

RaulMondesi

California

3.06/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

While chilling out over a vegan dog, Rauldky decided that a saison was in order to wash down his cruelty-free protein.

Now, it's not as if Raul had much of an expectation, but Raul has drank gutter water that had more flavor and mouthfeel than this Fresno rain water. Thin, flavorless and more boring than a Ann Hathaway nudie scene. Next!

Serving type: on-tap

05-18-2013 02:04:49 | More by RaulMondesi

-ronin-

Florida

4/5  rDev +9.6%

05-17-2013 02:03:44 | More by -ronin-

GinDC

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +23.3%

05-14-2013 23:21:33 | More by GinDC

KevinGordon

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +16.4%

05-14-2013 15:51:14 | More by KevinGordon

StaveHooks

Oklahoma

3.4/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

12oz bottle served in a Tripel Karmeliet
Bottles: 3/04/13

A - Pours a hazy yellow with a fluffy white head.

S - Earthy wet hay, lemons, white pepper, wheat, coriander, clove

T - Follows the nose with dense and creamy wheat malts, white peppercorns, coriander, clove, hints of lemon, earthy hay, grassy hops, tart pear fruit, finishes semi-dry with coriander and clove on the aftertaste.

M - Moderate foamy carbonation but has a soft texture to it.

Kinda of a catch all style-wise. The malt is dense but the carbonation helps lighten it up. Peppery phenols and light hints of fruit. I would drink this again but wouldn't seek it out.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 01:01:54 | More by StaveHooks

GrindFatherBob

New York

4/5  rDev +9.6%

05-12-2013 18:37:12 | More by GrindFatherBob

JamesStreet

Louisiana

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

05-12-2013 16:38:39 | More by JamesStreet

ridgeline23

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +9.6%

05-12-2013 03:44:55 | More by ridgeline23

bump8628

Oklahoma

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

05-11-2013 22:49:56 | More by bump8628

avalon07

South Carolina

3.79/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a pale yellow color and a cloudy texture. There was an inch of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. Pretty good lacing.

S: A decent, if somewhat underplayed, aroma of citrus, spices, and malt.

T: Tasted of citrus (a bit of lemon), malt, some spices (coriander, for one), and a hint of the barnyard funk. Not quite what you would expect from a saison - it seems a little unfocused - but a decent enough flavor.

M: A well-carbonated beer with a prickly, smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This is one of those beers that's slightly unwieldy. Not bad, certainly not undrinkable, but not quite as good as other saisons.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 20:44:09 | More by avalon07

kangarooAdam59

Connecticut

4.24/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thanx Aaron.

In a chalice and a pint glass:

A: hazy golden yellow colored body, lacing slides in the chalice but clings in the pint glass

S: orange peel up front combined with coriander, ginger and hops, some lemon comes out more so as it warms

T: mainly citrus, yet spicy and somewhat refreshingly sweet

M: light to medium, sessionable, appropriately carbonated and for my liking

O: starting to really warm up to this style, As this was very well done for the style and for me

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 14:54:07 | More by kangarooAdam59

alienlifeforcecube

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -17.8%

05-10-2013 00:39:48 | More by alienlifeforcecube

fmccormi

New York

3.8/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Straight pour from a 12oz bottle to an oversized wineglass (my nice Tired Hands stem); the bottle has a bottling date of March 4, 2013 printed in yellow ink near the base (“BOTTLED ON: 03/04/13”).

Appearance (3.75): Pours with three fingers of fluffy, cream-colored head that dies down at a relatively slow rate, showing good retention: a centimeter of nice foam still hangs around after a couple of minutes. But, not a lot of lacing—at first, anyway. The body is a hazy, perfectly cloudy (almost totally opaque), pale yellow-gold. As the beer recedes it leaves a few spots of suds here and there, no real lacing, per se, but some spotting.

Smell (3.75): Lots of classic saison notes here: dry straw, some toasty biscuit and pale grains, slightly floral, just a hint of pepper and clove . . . almost nothing particularly phenolic, just a very crisp, clean, classic saison with light esters.

Taste (3.75): The palate follows the nose in that it embodies a classic, clean, dry, pale saison: moderate, white-pepper spice, really crisp, lightly toasted biscuit character in the malt body, and finally a very crisp, floral crack of hop flavor with a moderate, slightly lemony bitterness. It finishes dry and crisp with a slightly peppery spice and a grassy finish, not quite bitter but just grassy. Good, just kind of straight-down-the-middle and classic. Not getting the kind of spicing I was expecting, but good nonetheless.

Mouthfeel (4.25): The mouthfeel is quite good: a solid tingle that expands easily before going down. The body is still relatively light though, going down easily and finishing with a dryness that matches the grassy, floral character on the palate.

Overall (3.75): Overall, this saison is above average, given its generally solid character that follows the style nicely but doesn’t deviate in any regard (not in my mind, anyway), not positively or negatively. It’s just straight-forward and solid, without any particularly standout moments. Nothing very estery, phenolic, spicy, fruity, or anything else. But, it’s still pretty good—just exceeding expectations in any way, and maybe it’s just me but I’m not getting any of the flavor or spicing predicted by the beer’s description.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 18:48:39 | More by fmccormi

Eriktheipaman

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

05-08-2013 00:34:24 | More by Eriktheipaman