Saison - Saint Feuillien (Belgium) 6.5%

Saison - Saint Feuillien (Belgium) 6.5%

Yeah, so this beer gave forth a eruption of foam that ... it made a mess so be warned. This may be because I bought it and let it sit in my "cellar" for a few weeks but I wouldn't think it'd make too much of a difference in the carbonation. It pours an increasingly cloudy gold (as you get to the sediment on the bottom of the bottle) with a frothy soda-lika head of white foam. A really nice clover, nectar, honey, herbal and apricot aroma; quite sweet.

Sweet flavour and its flavour is on the sweet side but it has a balancing bitterness. Herbal for sure, touches of mint as well as clover, honey and apple blossoms. The yeast is responsible for the most pronounced of these flavours but it is working really nicely with the toasty flavours of malt and the subtly crisp hops finish. This is a very solid Belgian Farmhouse Ale or Saison.

Farmhouse Ale - Bridge Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 7.5%

Farmhouse Ale - Bridge Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 7.5%

This ale pours a cloudy amber colour in a glass with a big frothy head that leaves lovely lacing. The nose is led by Belgian yeast aromas: floral and herbal tones as well as sweetness. Bridge Brewing describes the aroma as candied fruit and I have to say I agree, a little bit of something gingery in there too. There is a lot of stuff going on in the aroma (I expect everybody will get something a little bit different) and it is really quite nice.

The yeast notes continue in the taste, herbal, nectar, maybe a hint of banana and something like not-quite-ripe mango, but rounded out by a sweet and roasty malt body. There is a bit of pine tasting hops, a bitter bite to the finish as well as a tart touch from the mix of yeast flavours. Also, the aftertaste has a bit of a resiny hops taste to it. You can feel the alcohol warming your chest and as a tingling in your mouth but it barely comes through in the flavour except to accentuate the bitterness. As regular readers of the blog can probably guess I like this ale even more as it warms: the roasty flavours come out more and also the tart yeast flavours, the bitterness as well as the alcohol all blend better in my opinion.

For those of you not aware, Bridge Brewing is an interesting new brewery and project based out of Halifax, their website and this copy printed on the back of their reusable 750 ml ceramic bottles tell their story.

Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 6.5%

Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 6.5%

The beer is gold and slightly cloudy in a glass with a light, white frothy head. The aroma is of nectar and spice (and everything nice); as I'd expect from a Belgian White or a Belgian Blonde Ale or really any ale made in North America with "Belgian" in the name. There is also wheat tones and just a a bit of hops to the aroma. It has a sweet taste with nectar, a bit of citrus (orange) and clearly coriander, some pretty substantial spiciness that's almost immediately mellowed by the wheat character, and quite a bitter aftertaste. The hops character is present but mellow, a bit of citrus a bit green, and entirely intermixed with the other lovely flavours.


A glance at the ingredient list confirms the coriander and also the taste of seeds of paradise which is actually forehead-smackingly obvious in hindsight (hindtaste?). I discovered from the ingredients list that the spiciness is due to the use of pepper. The pepper is a nice touch that manages to avoid dominating the flavour even though I can feel the spice is strong enough that it is faintly tickling my insides with heartburn since I'm drinking this on an empty stomach (part of review strategy). Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison could make an interesting or a dangerous pairing with spicy foods, it comes in a big enough bottle that I think I'll try it out at the end of this review. The alcohol isn't very noticeable but there is some chest warming from more than the moderate peppery spice.

Now to the food pairing, I tried it with a bit of salsa and chips and the pepper in the Belgian Saison definitely kicked the spice up a notch. As long as the spicy food you are eating isn't at the high end of your spice tolerance Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison is a tasty and perhaps unexpected pairing option. This Saison would also be a nice pairing with light dishes like a salad or fish (think white wine) but it is also delicious on its own. If you can still find one of these in stores I'd suggest picking it up and giving it a try.