Elysian Saison Elysee

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 8

22oz bottle, purchased at the brewery April 2007; Sampled July 2007
What an incredibly intriguing pour; this beer is the most viscous beer I have ever seen. It is well carbonated, yet the bubbles actually have to struggle to get out of the beer. The beer is a brilliantly clear, reddish-tinged, copper color and it is topped by an initially three finger thick, light tan colored head. The aroma has a lightly sweet, fruity note to it that is reminiscent of plums, apples & most notably pears. Sweet malt aromatics accentuate the fruit notes as well as producing notes of caramelized malt and brown sugar. The finish has a nice malt character to it; sort of mix of biscuit-type malts and toasty grain aromas. Underneath the above, more noticeable notes are some lightly herbal notes, which are joined by some spice aromatics of cloves, ginger, and a light grassiness.

Now for the first sip; for a beer that appears so viscous it is amazingly light; that is not to say that this beer does not have a huge body for what should be a dry, light beer style. The sweetness, while apparent, is not nearly as pronounced as the body might suggest. Actually you can sense the viscous character that is so apparent visually; it almost has a lightly congealed texture to (something like soupy Jell-O perhaps); this character is fairly subtle though. I almost wonder if this beer has picked up some ropiness, though it is surprisingly clean tasting if such a phenomenon is present here. The flavor is fairly spicy, with notes of ginger, clove, lemon zest up front and orange zest more towards the finish. A grassy herbal character sort of competes with the malt sweetness & body of this brew, but still is definitely a presence.

This beer is quite interesting, it of course should be much drier, but I am really surprised how viscous this beer looks & even feels at times, yet it still remains fairly light. The last bottle I had of this had clearly gotten funky with perhaps some light Brett notes & it was much drier & quite over carbonated compared to this bottle. This bottle here seems to be a straight forward, albeit funky, Saison yeast strain except for that strange, almost ropy texture. As a traditional Saison, this beer clearly misses the mark as it is not nearly dry enough, but somehow I can't quite help find this beer quite interesting and even flavorful enough to be quite enjoyable; plus given the two, quite different bottles I have had of this, the brewer (intentionally or not) has certainly captured the variability of a farmhouse brewed beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

This might just be the absolute worst smelling and tasting beer I've ever had the displeasure of consuming. This was just rank in every aspect, save the appearance with did look somewhat interesting. An aroma of body odor, more body odor and just stinky, foul sweat. It really was nearly gag inducing. I was basically hesitant to taste it, but I did and guess what? It too tasted like shit. I rarely bomb a beer but one taster mentioned that this smelled and tasted like "a hippie in a bottle". This was just not right, like some cruel joke you want to play on someone. "Here, try this beer. It tastes like the absolute worst body odor you can think of!" It's so friggin bad it's funny.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

22oz bottle. Orange gold color. Medium sized white foamy head with good lacing. Aroma is fruity, spicy, citrusy with a hint of must and leather. A medium bodied saison. Malts are fruity and citrusy. A little tart, a little funky, spicy and a touch earthy. Lively carbonation. Lots of orange flavors as well. Nice beer. Light and refreshing and just tart enough to balance the fruit and spices. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Poured a lightly hazy, orange color with a thin, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of citrus orange fruits, spicy coriander, yeast. Taste of light piney hops, tart citrus, white grapes, more yeast, and a slight alcohol finish. Carbonation is a bit more than I would have liked.