Nøgne-Ø Saison

Nøgne-Ø Saison, 6.5% from Norway.

Ahhh, more Nøgne-Ø... I was extremely pleased to find another variety from my favorite Norwegian brewery at Whole Foods in Orlando. I'm not a huge fan of saisons, but I'm learning to appreciate them.

This one pours a hazy golden orange, with just a light dusting of foam. It smells sweet, yeasty, but doesn't have that barnyard funk a lot of saisons have.

The taste however, POW. It's starts mouth-puckeringly sour, with plenty of horsey funkitude. The hops chime in. This is some complex stuff, but it some how ends clean, and leaves you reaching for the next sip.

Glad to see this one didn't disappoint. Now if I could just find their Imperial Stout...

Cigar City Guava Grove Saison

Cigar City's Guava Grove Saison, 8% abv.

Here's one from a new Tampa brewery, Cigar City.
(Interestingly enough, the head brewer used to brew for the greatly-missed Buckhead Brewery in Tallahassee.)

I allegedly had this before as a sampler at Coaster's, where they had a small keg on hand (that promptly ran out with my order). I think I got served something else with no explanation. I wasn't surprised to find this bottle tasted a little different.

This pours a pleasant red-orange with a massive head. It smells like guava, as it should, since it's fermented with guava. There's some Belgian spice aroma, clove, some funkiness (appropriate for a saison).
The taste is fruity, grainy, spicy...some yeast goodness in there. It ends sweet, but crisp. It's very refreshing, yet very complicated. It's a little champagne-like in some respects.
Exciting stuff from this new brewery. I grabbed both offerings available at Downtown Produce...the Scotch Ale is calling...

Ommegang Hennepin

Ommegang Hennepin - a 7.7% saison poured from a corked 25.4oz bottle.
This is the next beer from the Ommegang 3 pack I bought (featuring the glass shown here). I've had this one before, but it goes on record now.

Apparently, this beer was named for Father Hennepin, the Belgian missionary who discovered Niagara Falls...nice tie-in for a New York brewery that makes Belgian-style beers.

I'm not a fan of saisons, usually - they're either quite nice, or just undrinkable. This one falls in the former category.
The smell is a crazy mixture of fruity yeast, spices, and alcohol, with just a hint of wildness - maybe a little barnyard. This is a farmhouse style ale, afterall.
The aroma alone gets my mouth watering...can something smell tart?

The color is amazingly light and crystal clear, with huge mounds of foam that quickly dies down. It almost looks like a Bud, with a slight reddish tint.

The first sip is packed with lively carbonation. It's crisp, hoppy, but not bitter. This ale is SNAPPY. There's a good deal of peppery apple, and the alcohol isn't hiding at all.
The mouthfeel is very champagne-like. The aftertaste is a hint of spice, lots more apple...a little bit of earthy funk. Everything a rustic ale should be.