Tasting Notes: Terrapin Maggie's Farmhouse Ale

Brewery: Terrapin Beer Company
From: Athens, GA
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.0%
Date Poured: August 2009

OK, time to clean out the notebook. Tasting notes!

This was a bomber of Maggie's Farmhouse Ale, #7 in the Terrapin Beer Side Project series of one-off beers.

Fills the glass with luminous and lightly hazy golden hue, frothy but fleeting ivory head. Very lemony nose, sweetish with pointed herbal hops.

Distinct juniper berry flavors in the mouth, bitter and crisp. The body is light but fruity like new apples. But the bitter lemon and citrus is always there too. Herbal and tart. Finishes fairly clean with that juniper berry bitterness closing things out.

Nicely balanced and delivers what you need from a saison. It won't beat you over the head but it serves as a nice refreshing summer beer with some complexity on flavor to keep things interesting. Nicely done.


Terrapin Beer Company

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 21: 2006 Avec les Bons Voeux

Brewery: Brasserie Dupont
Style: Saison
ABV: 9.5%
Date Poured: December 2008

Avec les Bons Voeux is no longer a winter seasonal but was for years before Dupont decided to make this "big daddy" of a saison a year-round offering. This one has been in the cellar for two years.

This one pours a hazy bright gold with a fair white head that leaves some modest lacing. Quite lemony in the nose, some sweet spice and maybe a hint of orange zest. Significant herbal hop presence still in this beer. Sweet pale malt up front but dries out quick. A distinct flavor of juniper berries comes through again and again. The mouth is full bodied but dry. Lovely bitterness in the finish.

Over the fresh beer, the big change it goes through over two years is the body has thinned a bit and some caramel and molasses flavors evident in the younger beer have all but disappeared. A much more crisp and dry beer now but it's still pretty amazing stuff. A classic.


Brasserie Dupont

Out of the Cellar: Saison Dupont

Brewer: Brasserie Dupont
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.5%
Date Cellared: July 2004
Date Poured: November 2008

In July 2004, Georgia officially raised the 6% ABV limit on beer to 14% ABV. Soon after, I bought this 750ml bottle of Saison Dupont. Yes, even this beer of modest strength was kept from the shelves under the old Georgia law. I didn't mean to keep it quite this long but I thought it was about time I cracked it open after more than four years in the cellar.

Deep hazy orange with a voluminous snow white head. Big chunky lace on the glass and lots of sediment settles at the bottom of the glass. Lots of citrus in the nose. Lemon and orange rind, some understated coriander.

Body has thinned out a bit. Bitterness present throughout, a sweet spiciness but muted from when fresh. Some lemony and orange rind citrus. Lightly earthy and yeasty. No longer crisp, the body has softened. Sweet spice in the finish.

Overall, this beer held up very well. Did it improve? Not really. Based on this bottle and other experiences, I'd keep this beer up to 18 months but no longer.


Brasserie Dupont

Tasting Notes: Florida Brewery Spotlight - Saint Somewhere Saison Athene

Brewery: Saint Somewhere
Style: Saison
ABV: 7.5%
Date Poured: August 2008

Saint Somewhere is a new brewery located in Tarpon Springs, on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Saint Somewhere has taken the unusual (for Florida) strategy of brewing Belgian-style ales and only distributing them in 750ml bottles.

Pours a bright lightly hazy straw color with a dense snow white head. The head is quite persistent with sheeting lace down the side of the glass. Smells spicy and lightly fruity with just hint of funk.

Sweet spice in the mouth and more hops apparent on the tongue than hinted at in the nose. It has a dry, light citrusy sweetness. Sweet spices shine through as well. Hints of cinnamon and black pepper. Earthy. Smooth mouthfeel but with enough heft for a significant sweet and spicy aftertaste to linger. Tasty. The only criticism would be that the spice is a tad heavy-handed but that's really nitpicking.

It is shocking to me that this beer comes from Florida! Very ambitious and a very good saison. Recommended.

Tasting Notes: Foret

Brewer: Brasserie Dupont
Style: Saison
ABV: 7.5%
Date Poured: June 2008

Foret is an amazing beer. I was at the Brick Store Pub in Decatur, Georgia a couple of years ago and was in the mood to have a Saison Dupont on draft. They were out but they had just tapped some Foret and offered me that instead. I took it. How bad could it be? Turns out it was even better than Saison Dupont! But instead of reminiscing, I'll talk about the bottle of Foret I've got right in front of me.

It pours crystal clear. I mean, the clarity in quite dramatic on this beer. Clear copper with a dense creamy ivory head and sheeting lace on the sides of the glass.

Smells of lemon, sweet spice and banana of all things. Light peppery spice also fills the nose.

In the mouth, a strident noble hop character takes over, something I did not detect in the nose. Peppery flavors and yeastiness underneath. A driness in the finish, some bright citrusy fruitiness from the malt. It's lovely. A symphony of flavors in the tongue.

On top of all this, Foret is certified organic by Ecocert. (It goes by Moinette Bio in Europe)

Run, don't walk.


Brasserie Dupont

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 10: Rogue Festive Ale 2006

Rogue Festive Ale is a Saison that goes clocks in at 8.5% alcohol. According to the website, it's brewed with a variety of spices including Grains of Paradise, ginger root and orange peel. This is a bomber I picked up last year. Let's see how it held up.

This pours a hazy bright orange topped with voluminous frothy khaki head that leaves light lacing. The aroma is filled with spice. There's coriander and pepper smells (I'm guessing from the Grains of Paradise) along with some lightly fruity malt.

The flavor is also dominated by the considerable spice. I can't pick out the ginger root but the orange peel is quite evident in the middle of the spice. Some sweet fruity malt. Quite big flavors. Not too sweet as the spice tend to dry the palate a bit. Spices dominate the finish and aftertaste.

This is clearly the best American brewed Saison I've ever tasted.

Rogue Ales