Saison De Pipaix - Brasserie à Vapeur

Skidz

Wisconsin

4.65/5  rDev +27.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Brewed 014/1995, bottled 09/1995. Old typed label glued around the neck. Corked and capped, with the cap showing signs of old age as it displays some rust.

Pours out bright gold with a bit of an orange tint and sits a foggy orange-amber in the glass with a good sized creamy white head, fading to the surface, keeping a constant dusting of head at any given point, lacings struggle to cling to the sides, but offer a good show and does leave some nice marks around the glass.

Smells rich and fruity with bundles of apples pouring out into the nose. Pears, peaches, tart cherries and green grapes take their place as well. Old, musty leather and sandy, windblown driftwood give a little bit of charm to the nose. Bits of oranges and lemon permeate through the musty tones and revive the truly fruity base on which this beer rests. Tangy and sweet nosed, highly attractive.

Tastes initially soured and tart, from the very moment it pierces the lips and continues throught the entire journey. Late harvest grapes with hints of their vines billow from the inside, but it is just latent sweetness. Apple skins and stems flow throughout the juicy, fleshy flavors that are quite abundant. Apples, pears, nectarines, under-ripened plum skins, and oranges put out every available flavor they can offer. Wet leather slides on the sides of the mouth. Seafood and saline juices squirt out from inbetween. Faint notes of pepper are offered upon exhaling after swallowing. Finish shows little to no signs of bitterness, only a light sense of dryness. Tartness fades and reveals a new world of dry and dusty barnyard flavors than can be tasted long after the last drops pass through your mouth.

Absolutely delicate, soft and smooth in the mouth. Carbonation is impeccably fine and lifting. Medium-light in overall body, hightly refreshing overall, yet it's delicacies are near sleep-inducing.

As a saison, this is completely on it's own level. Sharing qualities of an finely crafted lambic, soured ale and probably just about everything the farmhouse has to offer. It's eclectic in the best of words. Easily enjoyed, but very difficult to open and empty a beer of such fine qualities. Definately cellar worthy, just don't forget to enjoy it. Easily worth the $7.49 pricetag.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2005 02:45:02 | More by Skidz

baybassboy

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

05-14-2013 04:38:05 | More by baybassboy

Danny1217

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

05-12-2013 08:25:32 | More by Danny1217

nasastrums

New York

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

04-24-2013 14:51:20 | More by nasastrums

nzerbe

New York

2.25/5  rDev -38.4%

04-21-2013 14:12:32 | More by nzerbe

popery

California

4.33/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

The beer is a warm, amber-hued shade of brown. It's completely opaque. There's a good amount of sediment on the bottom of the bottle, and I wouldn't be surprised to find some floaties. The head is ecru in color and somewhat fizzy. It's not an altogether effervescent head that fades away immediately, but the mound of bubbles isn't long for this world.

The aroma is lovely. There's a subtle combination of spices. I'm getting ginger, fennel, licorice, orange and maybe lime. There's a peppery note that could be hops or just other spice. Nothing really stands out above the rest of the mix or drowns out the other flavors in the beer. The malt is lightly toasty and is accented by wood and earth. There's peaches, apricots, pears and grapes rattling around. It seems to have a mild lactic note, just an undertone of yogurt, and some nice mineral character.

The beer's taste is quite similar. It starts with some sweet stone fruit and earth. Then, the spices kick in. Again, it's hard to pick out any one dominating flavor, but ginger and orange start things off with anise and pepper stronger in the finish. Moderately lactic tart. Moderate toasty malt sweetness. There's some funk, but it probably needs more time to develop fully. This bottle just came into a local store, so I assume it's relatively fresh for this beer. At any rate, besides the aforementioned spice, the finish also has more of that mineral character and a woody note that dries things out. A touch of bitterness at the end.

Mouthfeel starts out a bit effervescent but the carbonation drops pretty quickly, and the beer ends up pretty creamy. Full compared to some saisons. The finish is fairly dry, though. That said, this is a beer that I could enjoy flat.

This is a fantastic beer. It has some of the best spicing that I've come across in beer. It's very much on the Fantome side of the saison world, and I can't imagine finding another beer that tastes terribly similar. I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 05:52:54 | More by popery

coryking

Missouri

4/5  rDev +9.6%

03-16-2013 04:55:34 | More by coryking

Seaba

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

02-28-2013 14:19:56 | More by Seaba

rheimbro

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

02-12-2013 15:06:06 | More by rheimbro

elchingen

Georgia

4/5  rDev +9.6%

02-08-2013 01:37:14 | More by elchingen

Russbier

4.55/5  rDev +24.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Easy drinking but still complex and interesting; dry & clean. The spices are suble, unlike many Belgians, and they are balanced well with the beer style. Now drinking a "Brewed in 2003" and would like to try one cellared for a few years longer. It's an exceptional beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 01:35:52 | More by Russbier

pathman

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +23.3%

01-26-2013 02:10:14 | More by pathman

SeriousALEment

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

01-22-2013 22:33:53 | More by SeriousALEment

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On Tap at Memphis Taproom. Served in a tulip glass.

Saison De Pipaix came to me with dark amber color looking darker than your average saison. A beautiful tan colored inch of healthy foam up top sticks around and leaves some notches on the way down. An odd saison, farmhouse scents with some hay, berry and a slightly acidic nature. I get grapes. Some floral appeal, with pepper and orange coming out with warming. This is a delicate beer, it goes over well, slightly tangy, easy to drink. Taste is floral fruity and earthy. Slight tang with orange, pepper and some berry. The body on this is a step below medium with a spritzy carb going for it. I could of easily drank another glass of it.

Serving type: on-tap

12-11-2012 03:00:24 | More by onix1agr

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a very cloudy, dark golden orange color with a two finger, frothy white head that slowly settles into a thick, lasting ring. Streaks of soapy lacing left behind.

Musty farmhouse aroma with some earthy funk, grassy hops, pale malt and light fruit. Strong Saison yeast presence along with piney hops, grass and straw followed by caramel malt, toffee, biscuit and fruit juice.

On the light end of medium bodied with soft carbonation and a prominent funky farmhouse yeast flavor that lingers over earthy hops, light fruit and malt backbone into a slightly sweet finish. Very earthy and funky with dry brett, Saison yeast and grassy hop notes followed by hints of toffee, bread and biscuit. Light fruit sweetness in the finish with some grape, apple and pear. Well balanced and easy to drink but nothing out of the ordinary.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2012 05:39:14 | More by corby112

sneaks2210

New York

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

11-14-2012 21:52:41 | More by sneaks2210

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

enjoyed last night at the kitchen upstairs in boulder. think i paid something like 22 bucks for a bomber of this, cap and cork rig. the pour is golden orange color, sunny, with some haze, and a big bubble white head rising high in the snifter. the flavor is quite delicate, spices from the yeast capture my attention first, some fruity notes trickle in one by one, apple, dried apricot, white grape. its not a fruity beer but these little teases are quite fun. the malt profile is coppery, crackery light, with just a touch of sweetness. peppery finish, with more hops than most belgian saisons. i was really impressed with this, as it went excellently with our raw oysters and mussels and crab legs and clams. perfect compliment. feel was massively carbonated, with a ligher body, clean finish, and modest alcohol. overall an excellent saison, and one i will look forward to drinking again.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 16:51:55 | More by StonedTrippin

duceswild

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

10-31-2012 05:17:07 | More by duceswild

Durge

Connecticut

3.63/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed this one at redlight Redlight in Orlando. It's a classic cloudy golden amber color with a solid white fuzz on top and plentiful lacing. The aroma is similarly classic sour apple cinnamon clove and cereal grain. Nice. The flavor is a bit disappointing in that there is very little sweetness, the sour lemon is not super tart but it grows on you with subtle apple yeast. Rice and wheat and a touch of clove and roast beef au jus. Oh yeah. A fairly light body and foamy feel. Not highly memorable, but fine aroma and solid flavor. Worth a try.

Serving type: on-tap

10-23-2012 04:59:20 | More by Durge

brez8791

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -17.8%

10-20-2012 16:24:56 | More by brez8791

rgirl

New Jersey

1.25/5  rDev -65.8%

10-20-2012 01:58:58 | More by rgirl

tln13

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +23.3%

10-18-2012 01:43:13 | More by tln13

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

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

On-tap 9/2/2012 at Julian’s in Providence, RI, served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a thin off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains spices, fruit, caramelized malts and some Belgian yeast.

T: The taste starts out sweet with a strong spice flavor. Then some flavors of fruit and caramel come in. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy and the hops presence is mild but complementary creating a decent balance. The after-taste is slightly bready.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is dry but slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, decent kick, decent representation of style, it’s a solid Saison but there are other in the style that I would choose first.

Serving type: on-tap

09-26-2012 02:47:38 | More by TheManiacalOne

UCLABrewN84

California

3.6/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Lucky Baldwins Trappiste in Pasadena, CA.

Pours a hazy dark orange with a foamy off-white head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is slightly sour and tart and is of malt, citrus, and herbal aromas. Taste is much the same with a mild citrus zest and herbal bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with some interesting aromas and flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

09-22-2012 04:21:59 | More by UCLABrewN84

Halcyondays

California

4.2/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Beachwood I,

A: Pours a burnt orange with a medium white head, some solid lace and head retention.

S: Mint, fungus, truffle, with some medicinal character. A unique smell even in saisons.

T: Mint and fungus with a lot of citrus. Some mango as well. Very rustic, full-flavoured, a great food pairing beer.

M: Moderate tartness and acid, crisp, medium-bodied, nice carbonation.

O: One of my old favourites, so it's nice to revisit it. A striking different beer for the adventurous beer drinker.

Serving type: on-tap

09-22-2012 00:57:57 | More by Halcyondays