Saint Saltan - Magic Hat Brewing Company

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.51/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is salty, some grains. Taste is also salty up front, some malts and grains, easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a different and pretty good beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 17:21:35 | More by tone77

tfsimpkins

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +18.7%

05-17-2013 14:53:22 | More by tfsimpkins

GilGarp

Colorado

3.43/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

12 oz bottle served cold into a pint glass.

Saint Saltan is a very pale golden yellow color with a slight haze. The head is fizzy and short lived with no lacing left behind.

Aroma is mild and sweet with a bit of a yellow corn element.

Flavor is also fairly mild with lemon, coriander, and slightly spicy European hops. The salt is there but it's not a distraction.

Mouthfeel is light in body and appropriately carbonated.

Overall not a bad beer but also not one I would get again.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 23:28:26 | More by GilGarp

pcsnyder

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +18.7%

05-15-2013 13:07:01 | More by pcsnyder

Utica_Brew_Review

New York

3.49/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 1.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very pale yellow color with light carbonation and mild head. Unique salty aroma. Salty flavor with a creamy, savory element and herbal, citrus and coriander notes. Maintains its head throughout the beer. Surprisingly good. Good taste, complexity and body. Could use less carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 06:58:16 | More by Utica_Brew_Review

cbcrunch

Wyoming

3/5  rDev -5.1%

05-09-2013 19:18:06 | More by cbcrunch

Metalaero

New York

3.25/5  rDev +2.8%

05-08-2013 20:33:08 | More by Metalaero

Chucker17

South Dakota

3.25/5  rDev +2.8%

05-07-2013 20:53:47 | More by Chucker17

Jadjunk

Georgia

3.29/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

"3/4 pint of beer brewed with coriander and sea salt. Do good, drink well, be saintly." Brewed in the style of a Gose beer, my first representative of the style. It's good to see more mainstream American-brewed versions of rare German styles popping up. No bottle date- package was dated to January 6 2013- standard 120 day freshness policy makes this best by early May.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a Magic Hat pint glass. Served north of 55º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a crispy sudsy head of a near white consistency. Retention is below average. Body color is a pale gold amber with plentiful carbonation and pulpy sediment in tow. Appearance is decent- it's quite short on head quality, which is surprising for a wheat-based beer. 2.5

(Smell) Aroma is light with a mild wheat malt presence and a touch of light cracker pale malts, perhaps some pilsner. Grassy hops and a touch of floral hop aroma build the subtle hop profile, and are joined by a subtle tart lemony acidity. It's difficult to discern salt in the aroma, but it's certainly probable within the lightness of this beer. For Gose first timers, this isn't far from a pale lemon-wheat beer. Potency is mild+. 3.5

(Taste) Moderate fluffy wheat malt base, follows through with a lemony cracker malt sweetness and a grassy hop essence. Coriander is hardly evident in the flavor. Finish is tolerably arid with a mild saltiness to it, lightening up the pale malts to a dry, fairly low sweetness biscuity character and leaving the slightest iodized salt aftertaste. nothing sharp but certainly noticeable to trained tastebuds. I don't have a lot of personal experience with this beer but do find it one worth seeking out more. It's incredibly light and the salt does play a fair role, especially in the finish. Not very tart, not sour in the least- there much that differentiates this from a German Pale Wheat ale. 3.25

(Mouthfeel) Mild carbonation fuzziness with a gentle sweetness. Mild dry finish, common for the style but lacking tart or sour qualities that are expected. Body is light/medium for the style and light overall. Alcohol presence is very low. The carbonation is fine for this beer, but could sprite up a bit. The mild salt finish would pair a bit better with some lemony zest or tartness, but it's very mild overall in this beer. 3.5

(Overall) This is probably not the best representative of a Gose beer to introduce myself to, but it's easily the most accessible to the casual craft beer drinker in my area. Expect a beer that drinks similarly to a Pale Wheat Ale, albeit intentionally lighter with some unusual caveats. The salt impacts a very slight change to the flavor, although it's perceivable exclusively in the finish and just a bit in the mouthfeel. It's probably better to check out other examples to better explore the potential of the style, but this shouldn't be a terrible drink overall for those who take it at face value. 3.25

Magic Hat Brewing Company's
Saint Saltan Gose
3.29/5.00

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 00:16:23 | More by Jadjunk

TheBigBoy

Pennsylvania

2.25/5  rDev -28.8%

05-04-2013 10:56:03 | More by TheBigBoy

Beer4Mike

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +26.6%

04-30-2013 22:19:25 | More by Beer4Mike

TTripp725

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +10.8%

04-28-2013 05:02:25 | More by TTripp725

TEAMHOLT

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +10.8%

04-26-2013 16:41:41 | More by TEAMHOLT

Hopswagger

Oklahoma

3.03/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

P: Minimal white head that fades fast and holds close to the edge leaving a well of crystal clear golden brew.

S: Fresh grains, subtle citrus, salt, maybe honey mustard, pilsner malt and coriander. Aroma is simple but clean.

T/M: I'm not tasting the Gose in this at all. It lacks tartness and is really much more of a pilsner than a Gose. The taste follows the nose with crisp grains and honeyed citrus with the addition of a white grape wine like profile. After taste is like lemon camomile tea and leaves the palate wet. Carbonation is spicy and nice on the medium body that finishes grainy. Second beer brings more acidity and a similarity to sparkling water like lemon San Pellegrino. I think I may have missed out on the yeast at the bottom the frat time. Much better the second go round.

O: I was really excited to grab this Gose. I love the style but this was not a success. Overall the beer was easy drinking and tastes great. My withdraw us the style choosing for this beer. Didn't really hit the mark stylistically but I would drink this regularly.

Rating was based on style.
Taste rating is a 3.75

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 22:50:32 | More by Hopswagger

XenonX

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +10.8%

04-20-2013 23:53:49 | More by XenonX

buckyp

South Carolina

2.5/5  rDev -20.9%

04-18-2013 23:50:27 | More by buckyp

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.26/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

This beer was shared by StonedTrippin, so a big thanks to him!! We poured a brew of solid yellow coloring. It held a one finger head of foamy white bubbles, showing quick retention. Minimal spots of lacing were left clinging to the glass. There was a mild chill haze, but otherwise no real obstruction to the clarity of sediment. Carbonation appeared active. The aromatics were kept very simple, with bright coriander spice, mild clovey phenols, raw wheat, corn, dirty scrap metal, and big adjuncty dryness. With warmth came light orangey zest freshness on the back. Our first impression was that the flavoring was wrought with adjuncts, taking away from the raw wheatiness and ground saltiness we were hoping for. The sip opened with white flour, pale grain, barley, tinny metals, faint earthiness, and light grassiness. The peak came with buttered Wonder bread, light lemony bite, powdered stone, and light muskiness. The spice finally came in with the finishing wash, which showed a lightening of the malts to a watery nothingness, leaving room for that coriander, clove, and faint boozy bite to finish the palate off. The aftertaste breathed of wet wheatiness, dirty dishwater, coriander, dried cilantro, light saltiness, and mineral water. The body was lighter, and the carbonation was medium to full. Each sip gave light froth, cream, or slurp, with only decent smack and finishing pop. The mouth was briefly coated and wet, with light chalked dryness to the tongue. The abv was fine, and the beer drank okay.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was its lightness, and decent spiciness on the back. With this amalgamation of raw and unfiltered ingredients we were worried about getting a big muddled ball of contrasting elements. We were pleasantly surprised to find the opposite, as the finish, while watered, was clean and relatively spicy. This beer was actually much more reminiscent of a lighter, more watery Wit than your traditional Gose. The spice was there through clove and coriander, but any salty wheatiness fell to the wayside with more pale, overly adjuncty malts as a whole. The yeast was also a bit too overrepresented, giving palpable muck to the feel and powder dryness. While we commend Magic Hat for attempting the style, we are left wanting a bit more substance and a lot more flavor.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 20:42:43 | More by TheBrewo

EatonHops

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -5.1%

04-15-2013 14:51:04 | More by EatonHops

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.53/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

I give magic hat a lot of credit for always being bold and trying new things, ambitious styles, and just overall far out stuff, but I criticize them for doing all of them within the safe realm, not quite authentic, and sort of leaning towards mass appeal. usually it works just fine for me, but you cant half ass a gose. a salted wheat beer recipe resurrected from yesteryear cannot be played safe, im sorry. pours clean and mostly clear duller golden with a finger or so of off white suds, fine lace left behind. the nose is straight coriander, fresh green leaves, not seeds or extract, very vegetative, and it detracts from the minerally salt and bready wheat malt I want to be paying attention too. the taste is equally over-herbed, with the salt only coming in the finish. its not dry, not refreshing, sort of like a pretzel... its a great snack, gets the job done, takes the edge off the hunger, but doesn't fill you up or leave you completely satisfied, like a precursor for something that never comes. that's this beer through and through, much left to be desired. I want a salty stop in the feel, and I want an effervescent carbonation that keeps it moving, and both are absent, but I cant be too hard on this. nobody makes a gose, and I love the effort to reintroduce the style to America. I also love its drinkability. maybe I wouldn't call this genre defining, but it is playing a useful role in this summers beer spectrum.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 03:12:08 | More by StonedTrippin

notjaredlouche

New Jersey

2.75/5  rDev -13%

04-13-2013 09:53:53 | More by notjaredlouche

Brenden

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev +18%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

The head, just the slightest shade away from white, rests at one finger or so, fluffy and fairly thick, on a cloudy golden brew. Activity continues steadily as it sits, and the head never diminishes beyond a pretty thick foam that leaves patches, though the body doesn't provide as much stick to the lacing as it should.
The yeast is heavy in this one with lots of earthiness, nuttiness and something green and raw along with dry, bready notes from malt and some kitchen spices. Interesting and not off-putting, though a sort of earthy/sulfuric/seaweed-like element, not to mention something skin to mustard (curious, but fairly subtle) could throw one off.
The taste isn't nearly as salty as I'd expect, though it's there. It doesn't overwhelm. I'd even expect a briny sort of finish, but I've had some DIPAs and stouts lately that gave much more of that brine than this beer. It tastes (and feels) like the malt base is wheat. There are also, however, more crusty/biscuity malts notes as well. There's a fruitiness underneath and a bit of sulfur as might be found in a pils or a Helles. Otherwise it's very earthy and there's something raw and grassy underlying the base.
At first, this beer is absolutely creamy and fluffy, with a nice body. That tapers off, and the crispness is left to carry it through, which it does.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 18:35:44 | More by Brenden

HollyHops

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev +2.8%

04-10-2013 02:24:01 | More by HollyHops

BrianCuoz

New York

3/5  rDev -5.1%

04-10-2013 00:50:50 | More by BrianCuoz

ILiveOffHops

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev +10.8%

04-07-2013 01:18:52 | More by ILiveOffHops

dmawer

New York

3.5/5  rDev +10.8%

04-06-2013 21:49:19 | More by dmawer