Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale

A super tasty brew with a clean fruity, hoppy, and floral aroma. HInts o' the Belgo funk let you know that this beer has authentic farmhouse character. The beer poured a hazy golden orange with a creamy white foam that gently faded. Flavor-wise the elements are all in place: a soft pilsner core, continental hoppiness, fruity and spicy yeast notes, a slight farmhouse thang kickin', some minerally character, and a profile that stays true to its Belgian roots. With a creamy body and a balanced carbonation, Jamey's Saison needed just one more elusive component to seal the deal: dryness via a super-low final gravity. Straight up: my Saisons aren't dry enough and neither was Jamey's. That being said, this crispness is what haunts all Saison brewers and keeps us tinkering and obsessing with the style. A carefully-crafted and lovingly concocted ale. In my upcoming Saison-centric ventures I plan on mashing oh-so low and long (147, 90m) and cranking up the heat on the Dupont strain--probably all that the style needs to hit that low terminal gravity.
Thanks for sharing!

I also received a bottle of Jamey's Saison.  I found it to be terifically drinkable - something I've never been able to say about a Saison previously.  That statement alone probably makes some of the saison-heads of the group cringe, but take it as you will.

The aroma was terrific and I thought the crisp palette was dry, but not overly so.

Ok, I found this in the back of the fridge the other day, and I admit, I had no idea what it was, or how long it was sitting in the fridge.  I knew it was Jamey's because it was his handwriting on the cap ("F2").  So, I called and asked.  F2 is Jamey's saison, and it is about 6 months old.

The beer pours a light copper color.  It was crystal clear, except for the bit of yeast sludge that I accidentally got into the glass.  The head, what little was there, vanished almost as quickly as it was formed.  The beer aroma is interesting.  There is some dark candy sweetness in the smell, much like you get in some belgian tripels.  There is also a hint of bubblegum and clove, like you find in some hefeweizens.  Overall, a very interesting smell.

This beer has a lot of body.  It fills your whole mouth with a kind of prickling feeling, similar to champaigne or heavily carbonated beer, though this one is not super carbonated.  I definately got a cidery flavor on the middle of the tongue.  That flavor lasts for a while and does not go away quickly.  The back of the taste is sweetness, probably from some non-fermentable sugars.  There is also a light hint of sourness on the back of my tongue.  As this beer ages, that might come more to the forefront, or it might stay where it current lies. 

Overall, this beer has a lot of body and is very full flavored, with hints of apple and candy sugar.

Thanks for sharing with me, Jamey.