North Coast Le Merle

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

(tasting notes: 05/16/09) Draft at the Nort Coast Tap Room. Nice head. Cloudy yellow body. Fresh yeasty aroma. Very nice Belgian flavors. Not overly strong flavors. Refreshing.

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

Rated October 2010. 0.75L bottle pours clear copper with weak off white head. The aroma emits apples, faint soft spicy yeast, a sense of funk and apricot fruitiness. The taste has smooth notes of sweet apple, some apricot and then spicy yeast giving way to soft pillowy yeastiness and honey into the finish.

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

Cloudy orange colored body topped with a fluffy white head leaving nice lace. Aroma is sour and fruity with notes of lemon, green apple and some faint mustiness. Body is brightly carbonated yet fairly smooth. Flavor is again sour fruits with some bready yeast flavors and a faint hoppy finish.

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

Bottle from Downtown Wine & Spirits, Knoxville. Lightly hazed orange-yellow pour, nice bubbly head, decent lacing. Zesty aroma with sweet fruits, light yeasts, slight lemon zest, lemongrass, straw, very slight funk. Flavorful fruitiness, lightly tart then sweet, very slight Belgian yeastiness, slight funk. Merle is a tasty little blackbird bastard.

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

Hazy golden body with some orange hues, frothy head. Aromas of flowers, funk grass, and some fruitiness. Flavor is about the same but with a touch of pepper, and sourness. Overall its a nice beer with some decent complexity, but its a bit pricey.

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

I had this beer with dinner at the Bottega Restaurant in Nappy Valley, California. This beer was very nice except that it tasted more like a Belgian Wit beer than a Saison. I was expecting something more akin to a Hennepin. It was very nice but I'd have to be in the mood to have it again.

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

750 ml corked cottled, as North Coast Le Merle Saison (Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale), courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.9%. Slightly hazy golden colour, huge white head. Sweetish aroma of syrup, farmhouse yeast and rotting fruits / stale berries. High level of carbonation in the mouth. The flavour is better than the aroma, medium sweet and moderately spicy, decent hops in the finish. Quite nice to drink, should also go well with many foods.

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

This beer was not bad, especially because there was no price on it and they charged me only 3 dollars. The aroma was fruity and spicy. It pours golden, white head and good carbonation. The flavor was light for a saison. there was spice and fruit but it was pretty muted. Not bad but not a great beer in this awesome category.

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

A hazy gold pour, with some orange tinges throughout. Head is white, thick, and long lasting. Aroma is yeast and earth. Very spicy. Some light fruits and hops are also present. The taste is slightly sour, and slightly acidic, but still malty.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

A fuzzy orange colored beer. Big, fluffy white head rises above. Not a lotta hang time on this one. The lacing is limited to a thin cap. Yeasty, fruit notes in the nose. A light to medium light bodied beer. For some the carbonation may be a bit too much. That carbonation dances on the tongue. Yeast and fruit as in the nose impact the flavoring. But this is not a European Saison and falls short in an exciting style.