Brasserie Ellezelloise Blanche De Saisis

After reading some reviews, it seems the "Tarwebier Biere de Froment van des Saisis" is the same as this... just a different same for the same beer from Brasserie Ellezelloise, a small Belgian farmhouse brewery I had never heard of before.  Okay, now that I have that figured out... this one had a brewed-on date of March 2008, so it had been aging for 2 years as of this review.  I hope that helps things rather than hurts.  Some beers are meant to be aged for years and only get better while others are best when as fresh as possible.  I believe a general rule is that the higher the alcohol content the better aging will be, and this one is at a modest 5.9% so I don't want to get my hopes up.

Poured into a Chimay goblet, not a lot of head, but a murky orange-brownish color to it. There is some lacing and creamy residue after what little head there was dissipated.  Smells very sweet, of caramel and spice and a definite alcohol presence on the nose. I love it. One of the best smelling beers I've put my nose to.

Very light body to it, not much carbonation, but the flavor is mostly the same as the smell... a bit of a skunky aftertaste unfortunately. I guess the aging didn't do this one too well. It's still not bad, just I know it used to be better... oh well, I'll be on the lookout for some fresh ones with the new label.

If you see this one, or any from Brasserie Ellezelloise they are probably worth checking out, but make sure you're getting some fresh beer and not something that has spent too much time on the shelves!

My rating: B

BeerAdvocate: B+

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