Unchained Series: 07 Honeymoon Saison

Thanks to Caley Cheney for giving me this beer. I reviewed this in the tasting room after a 10 hour day at the brewery and a 7.5 mile run to complete 17.5 miles for the day!

Appearance: Glowing gold with a sudsy white head that pillows the surface of the beer. Lacing is textured and dry. Very still looking with no action occurring inside. Clarity would amount to an 8/10.
Aroma: Definitely a yeasty farmhouse smell about it. Peppercorn is a noticeable overtone. Notes of lemon as well as coriander permeate the nostrils. Surely a spicy ale with perhaps a bit of Brett at the front.
Taste: A beer that easily defines a fully attenuated ale. The dryness is impecable, but further enhances the peppery spicing and lemon zest dryness. Basically, there is little to no malt backbone, and all the flavor revolves around what the Yeast produced and the spicy adjuncts that may have been added. Interestingly I get very little honey in this beer, which may have been completely fermented out, only leaving the clovish byproduct in its wake. As it warms, even more of the peppercorn flavors emerge. The finish is excruciatingly dry and phenolic with a high tannic aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with a huge foamy texture that erupts in the mouth, expanding in a bubbly fluff. Not very much of a bite, just soft. Dry finish.
Overall Impression: I can definitely say it is equivalent to a normal Saison, with the dryness, limited malt and accentuated peppery spicing. However I was a little disappointed to find little to no honey apparent in either the the taste or smell. Big time bitter and dryness.


75/100