Beer of the Week: The Bruery Saison de Lente

Sorry about the late post here folks.  I spent 20 hours the last two days with exam related activities at the Cow Palace and getting some time in front of a computer was one of the last things on my mind.  With the tests behind me (for now), I am free to relax and get back t the things in life that I enjoy. 

I had first heard of this beer shortly before Easter, but had already made up my mind that Aprihop would be my cheesy Easter-related Beer of the Week.  Since that didn’t go so well, I decided to re-do the spring beer.  This time, it would be The Bruery’s Saison de Lente.

As I like to do with the Beer of the Week, I thought it would be good to include the Brue-er’s description of the beer before giving my own impressions:

This March, The Bruery released the first edition of their Spring seasonal beer, Saison De Lente, in a celebration of the warm weather to come and the joy that it brings with it. Saison De Lente is a hoppy, but light beer, brewed with both The Bruery’s house yeast strain as well as the wild Belgian yeast, brettanomyces, which gives it a delightfully subtle yet funky appeal. Coming in at 6.5% abv and served out of 750ml champagne style bottles or on draft at select bars, this is the perfect beer to get you through egg hunting season.

With the imagery of the easter eggs fresh in my mind, I have to say I love the bottle art.  Pastel swirls mark the regular Bruery styling which gives this beer a bit of a psychedlic look.

Upon pouring into the glass, the aroma is of citrus notes and a farmhouse funk.  Saison de Lente comes off as very easy to drink, but light wouldn’t be a way to describe this beer.  The malt and yeast flavors are full and complex, with the brettanomyces adding a tart bite to the finish that teams up with the hops to provide a fresh pop at the back end.  Together, this beer makes for an excellent warm weather drinker, but can also be savored slowly with friends.

I actually shared this bottle with my friend Mike who was kind enough to put me up for two nights while I was in town.  I’ve talked to Mike about beer a few times, and while he’s definitely not a beer gek like me, he does appreciate a fine brew.  Mike also liked this beer which was a bit of a relief.  You never know how a brett beer is going to be received by those who haven’t tried it before.

In the end, Saison de Lente would have made a much better choice for my easter beer, but as the saying goes, better late than never, right?  I recommend going out and grabbing a bottle o this beer if you can still find them.  While this beer saw a March release, finding it with a bit of age couldn’t hurt, as it only allows the brett more time to funk it up in the bottle and add some bite.

I apologize for the bad picture.  I had to take the picture using my cell phone, which was so close to dead that the flash wouldn’t even work.