New Holland Golden Cap Saison Ale

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

Comes out of the tap a beautiful, slightly hazy golden - not much head, but that must be an artifact of the pour. Malty aroma has a strong yeasty overtone and a woody hint. Satisfying flavor is yeasty, malty and woody with a hint of - hmmmmmmm, cloves. Could that be a whisper of butterscotch? Anyhoo, a very tasty brew. Good texture has a fair amount of fizz, leaving a tingly, malty, slightly woody finish. This is definitely a sipping beer, for savoring while chilling on the porch - or watching a football game.

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

Sampled from bottle. Thanks, Phishpond! Pours brilliant yellow-gold with a whipped egg-white-like head. Banana and mild herb aroma. Simple malt profile is overwhelmed by the yeast character. Some spicy hops as well. Finishes bitter. Nice to try on this hot Fourth of July.

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

Bottle shared by someone kind at SL. Dunno, but thanks to whomever. The pour was golden to amber in color, straw-hay-like yellowish. The aroma was light piney hops over some faint wheaty and musty notes. The flavor was pine hops with some hop-spicey type notes, wheat in the base, some yeast and citrus too. Overall was light in flavor, balance of malts and hops, mouthfeel was light to moderate for the style. Not bad.

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

Pours out in a shady golden colour with a small white head. Rather fresh aroma of coriander, floral hops grass and orange-peels. Medium-bodied with notes of of yeast, coriander, biscuits, mild herbs, cummin and oranges. Medium-bitter finish of yeast, grass, biscuits, grass and coriander.

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

This appears to not be bottle conditioned at all as there is not sediment noticeable. A stiff pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet Tulip produces a three-finger thick, pale, just barely tanned, off-white colored head. The beer is a light amber, almost honey color that shows a lightly hazed, yellow gold color when held up to the light. The aroma smells of a sweet herbal honey, lemon zest, a sort of musty fermented grain note, a spicy grain note, some definite grassy notes, a touch of crushed pale grain towards the finish and some dry cracker like malt character. This has a nice rustic grain character to it, though I could wish for a bit more yeast character, but it is still quite interesting and I am definitely enjoying the aroma on this beer. The beer is quite dry tasting all around; I am glad the honey note in the nose was purely aromatic. The beer finishes with a touch of astringent, cracker like grain and a softly biting hop bitterness. There is a persistent, medium carbonation that provides some structure and effervescence; even though I think it could use a touch more, it is quite sufficient. Grassy hop and grain notes combine with a light herbal hop character a touch of musty fermentation character and a solid spiciness in the finish. The spicy notes seem to be purely fermentation derived with some biting phenolics that are a bit like clove, but not like one typically finds (more subtle than in some beers I think), there is also a nice peppery spiciness, perhaps a touch of young ginger and even some notes that remind me quite a bit of muted frankincense (I made the mistake of chewing some of this once, but at the softer levels found in this beer it works quite well). After a bit of time some fruitiness is noticed and brought out by a very slight sweetness that seems a touch like an herbal honey; this beer is still pretty dry overall though. This is quite quaffable, while I wouldn’t characterize this as a bone dry example of the style, it is still nice and light and perfect for a hot Summer day. Honestly I wasn’t really expecting much of this beer, luckily it has turned out to be quite enjoyable. I would love to see a bottle conditioned version that was excessively carbonated, but this is a more than serviceable Saison that I would happily consume a couple bottles of.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

I would of recommended a higher flavor rating except im not that familiar with the style, a nicely colored , clean beer with good taste. My first of the saison style, Definitely has some spice like the prior commentor had stated. Good beer , would recommend to try.

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

An exceptional example of the Saison style by an American brewer, really good quality. Delicate aroma that has a peppery/sugary spice quality. Plenty of yeast with fruity apricot and peaches countered by fresh dough. A thin, swirling head sits atop of a cloudy golden-orange body. There are minute traces of lacing on the glass. Medium bodied with a sweet and dry feeling as well as a boozy kick. Dry, doughy malt with gritty grass and crisp wheat. Spicy flavor that also has a fresh hotness. Calm esters and a back drop of citrus and melon. I enjoyed these bottles even more than my score indicates.