Southampton Saison Deluxe

I have been a huge fan of the saison style for a while now. This is especially true for the really funky, loaded down with brett, smells like a barn yard kind of wild beer that a saison sometimes turns out to be. Whenever I get a beer that has that horse-blanket kind of aroma, I get a little bit excited. I don't know what it is that I love so much about these beers, there's just a wild and untamed quality to them that you don't really find anywhere else.

My favorite saison so far has been DuPont's Avec Les Bons Voeux. However, this beer was only rated as the 5th best beer of the style on Beer Advocated, with the Southampton Saison Deluxe rated 4th highest (since the time I got it they have switched positions though). The funny thing was that when I picked up this beer, I didn't even realize that, it was more or less a random choice by Julia. In any case, Avec Les Bons Voeux has been my baseline for comparison for all saisons since, and when I saw the ranking of the Southampton I was definitely curious about how it would stack up.

When I first poured the beer, I knew it was off to a good start. Even though the aroma was a bit faint, I got a nice funky smell right off the bat. It was dominated by grass and hay, with a bit of an earthy quality to it as well. The grass smell lent just a bit of sweetness to it that was quite pleasant.

The beer poured a slightly hazy golden straw color, and supported a big foamy white head, about 3 fingers thick. The head was sturdy with good retention, and left lots of spotty lacing as I progressed through the glass.

The taste had a funky brett character to it as well, along with a touch of sweetness. There was a grassy quality along with a mild bitterness in the back of the mouth. I also noted a slight peppery spiciness to it. In the middle of the mouth I found a bit of apple quality, and a little bit of a tart aftertaste. Really I thought the smell was a pretty good indicator of the beer's actual taste.

In the mouth, the beer had a slightly thicker quality than I expected. I had anticipated that the body would be fairly light, but it was really on the lighter side of medium-bodied. The carbonation levels were good and moderately high, with tingling bubbles. I found that there was just a bit of coating of the mouth as well as a touch of warmth in the throat. The beer was pretty dry, but not the driest I've had, especially from a saison.

Overall, I thought the beer was very good, and decently flavorful. Despite it's 7.4% ABV, it really didn't feel all that strong. It has a decent brett character, but certainly wasn't over the top. It was fairly well balanced, even though I did note that it was a bit sweet. It certainly was easy to drink, and I don't think I would get sick of drinking it. I do still think that the Avec Les Bons Vouex was better though. This beer didn't quite have the completely untamed nature that I just love in a saison.

- Adam