Boulevard Smokestack Series: Saison
The French-speaking region of southern Belgium is the birthplace of saison, the love child of a centuries-old tradition of small rural "farmhouse" breweries, where native yeasts and time-honored recipes combined to produce some of the world’s most distinctive beers. As a tribute to this artisanal institution, we offer our own brisk, unruly Saison. Truly an artful balancing act, it is both rustic and subtle, robust yet effervescent, spicy and fruity.
3.7
376 reviews
Kansas City, United States
Community reviews
Pours clear golden with a large, sudsy white head. Smells bready, yeasty, strong earthy tones, some hoppiness and a bit of malt. Tastes damn near perfect; earthy, bitter, fruity and sweet, a bit spicy. Light-bodied with a wet texture and active mouth-carbonation, Boulevard Saison finishes with a touch of funk.
C&C 750 mL bottle, Batch S8228, from Woodman’s West Madison. Pours an amber color with a ton of visible carbonation. Large frothy white head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of yeast, bread, stone fruits and caramel. The taste is apricots, dates, other stone fruits, caramel, bread and an herbal hop finish. Medium bodied with soft carbonation. Quite tasty.
Bottle. Might be an older bottle. Still poured a hazy yellow color with a smaller white head. Aroma was citrus, lemon and grapefruit. Aroma was lemon zest, pepper, and citrus. Tangy aftertaste. Still a good beer no matter how old it is.
750ml corked from Pick’s Liquors. Poured into a snifter. Batch 8109. Pours a cloudy golden yellow with lots of carbonation and not much head. Strong aroma of citrus, wheat and slight hop spice. Light sweet, light sour and light bitter. Has a slight hop spice and a nice citrus tang. Light bodied with a thin slick texture. Lively carbonation and not much of a finish. Overall, its not too bad for a saison (which is not my favorite style). Probably the worst of the smokestack series, but still not that bad.
750 ml bottle from Woodman’s Madison, $3.99
Ar: Spicy flavors dominate the aroma, a bit of ginger and some orange zest.
Ap: Very hazy golden orange pour with a big frothy head that sticks around quite a while. Great lace on this one as well.
T: Lightly sweet with some mild cinnamon and ginger flavors. Very nice tart finish.
P: Medium, slightly sticky body with very assertive carbonation.
O: Excellent beer. Quite refreshing as well.
750ml bottle from ericandersnavy, shared with jsprime. highly enjoyable dry, fruity, aged saison. wonderful afternoon beverage. thx eric!
Bottle on deep clearance, since Boulevard has pulled out of WI - Pours clear amber with a nice fluffy off-white head. Smells lemony and fresh, surprising since this bottle’s been in the store forever. Light spice, firm malt, and a smooth yeastiness. Dry, spicy yeast on the first sip, transitioning into some tropical fruit, honey, and a grassy, warm finish. Velvety carbonation and a nice hefty body make this a nice one to drink. Probably should pick up some more bottles of this before it’s gone.
It is nice and fruity with a hint of spice, a great American saison with a Belgian heart.
Bottle shared by Tmoney99. Pours a hazy golden color with some floaties and a medium sized off white head. The aroma was fruity citrus, herbal, slightly funky with hints of the farm in Asheville. The flavor was slightly fruity, floral, herbal, with some barnyard funk. This was a nice sessionable saison.
Bottle at the Funky 6. Pours yellow, lightly hazy with a clinging, white head. Lots of fruits in the aroma with spicy and floral notes. Flavor has good sweetness, some must, yeast, lemon and pepper. Medium bodied with average to lively carbonation. Dry, sweet and lightly yeasty finish with lingering spices. Great stuff.
750ml bottle served in a tulip. Pours hazy peach orange with a medium sized white head. Good retention and decent lacing. Aroma is citrus fruit, belgian yeast, rose petal, and spice. Flavor is creamy sweet with light fruit and yeast on the palate. Tastes a bit like you are drinking a mimosa with a splash of grapefruit. Medium body, fizzy carbonation, creamy texture, off-dry finish. Really good. Why would you discontinue this fine brew? Very tasty nontheless and I could drink a bucketload of this.
Bottle. Poured hazy amber color with a large fizzy white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Medium to heavy yeasty citrus aroma. Medium body with a dry texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy sour & sweet flavor with a medium to heavy sweet & sour finish of moderate duration. This is a very good beer.
Orange with a large foamy head. Aroma of orange and mild funk. Flavour of fruit, spice, esters, funk, light bitterness and a dry finish. Could use more roughness and funk.
Courtesy of HOPSHUNTER. Pours deep gold with slight haze and off white head. The mild aroma is an open meadow with fresh breezy perfumy floral notes, some grains, spicy yeast and lemon. The taste is pretty slick with sweetness supporting light skinned fruity esters, red apples, spicy yeast and graininess. It ends with an additional note of lemon.
750 ml bottle; picked up a little stash of these once I heard it was being discontinued; lots of carbonation with thick, eggy white head taking over half the glass and falling slowly; sparse floating proteins in an otherwise crystal clear glowing gold; stale lemons, pale malt, dry spice on the nose; maybe a little lavender too or dusty wild flowers; amazingly clean and light mouthfeel with fresh lemons, dry malt, sticky fruit; crisp finish with lingering dryness; simple, clean and dangerously drinkable; lack of spice is quite welcome and overall a very clean, simple yet very tasty saison; get some pears, dry apricot as it warms and I make my way through the bottle; clean fermentation allows the malt, light fruit esters from the yeast shine; though retired for a while now, there is a nice little stash sitting at a few shops in town; yum
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Original Rating 9/12/08 (Score - 3.9): 750 ml bottle @ liquid sunshine tasting - thanks to bvc; straw gold with plenty of carbonation; thin white head remains; aromas of lemons, bread, yeast, slight tartness; body is thin and light with some tartness coming out again; very nice with a wheaty finish; carbonation comes off a little strong, but otherwise very nice
Bottle. Poured a hazy, lemon yellow color with a small white head. Fruity and spicy nose, notes of lemon, apple, coriander, light toasted malt. Medium body with a clean, crisp mouth feel. Flavor is moderately sweet, slightly herbal and spicy, notes of citrus, yeast, and pepper. Finishes slightly dry and herbal. I enjoyed this and find myself becoming a big fan of Boulevard Saisons.
Thanks to hopshunter for the share. Pours hazy yellow with an excitable white head. Nose is citrus, spices, slight funk, slight citrusy brett, and a hinge of sweetness. Flavor is similar with lingering sweetness into the finish of this light-to-medium-bodied saison.
Appearance: hazy gold and sun-bleached straw. Slow stream of bubbles arc their way to the surface to meet with a fluffy white head. Eventually fades to a thick blanket, leaving clumps of lace along the way. Swirls with more fluff and more lace.
Nose: citrusy up front and dry in the back. Citrus rind and pith; lemon, orange, mandarin. Lots of soft underbelly, the white pith which is both dry sweet and bitter at the same time. Straw and bread crust in the back and underneath. Coriander, grains of paradise, and white pepper permeate. Faint husked straw.
Palate: soft and frothy from start to finish. Light in the mouth and atop the tongue; almost like airy clouds of homemade white breads with the crust adding some crunch. Immediately starts to dry the palate with citric skins and dry straw/hay in the finish. White pepper and coriander in the breath. Less lemon than the nose implied, though key lime and orange zest liven things up a bit. Refreshing and vivifying without overwhelming. Essence of spring.
Final Thoughts: saisons are always intriguing to me because they hold such a loose set of parameters. They are beers of the season, of the earth, of the people who brew and drink them. As with all Smokestack brews I have tasted, this one from Boulevard was another tasty addition.
750 ml bottle from Shop ’N Save in Maplewood, of all places. It really isn’t on shelves anymore, so I was thrilled to find one as soon as I moved back to St. Louis. Paired with Thanksgiving dinner, and it worked very well. Pours a nice hazy golden color with a finger-thick, foamy white head that rises and falls evenly. Aroma of farmhouse funk, peppery spices, herbs, Belgian yeast, lemon citrus, and some white grapes. The flavor follows suite closely, with a nice balance of yeast, funk, fruit, spice, and malts. I didn’t find it to have much tartness/sourness at all, as some other raters have indicated. Maybe that’s because I’m more used to the Saison Brett. Medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation. Great saison.
Aroma:A little hops in the aroma, very mild.
Appearance:Light yellow color. Very clear. Tons of head with good retention.
Taste:Very light flavored, lightly bitter. Slightly sweet wheat flavor on the foretaste. Slight pepper notes. It tastes a little like corn flakes, which makes sense cuz it has malted wheat and malted corn.
Palate:Light bodied, good carbonation.
Overall:Very refreshing, easy drinking saison. It doesn’t really push many boundries for this style, but it’s very pleasant.
750 ml bottle purchased 16 months ago at South Bay Drugs ($6.99). They retired this? Pours a cloudy golden yellow with two fingers of creamy white-ish head with good retention. Aroma is very typical saison: Belgian yeast, lemon, bready malts, spices. Flavor is much of the same with some tart lemon, more bready malts, and a little bit of funk. The very good carbonation adds to the flavor with its spritziness. A solid saison, but nothing special here. (340, 403)
Had this a few times first time rating. Aroma is musty, light pepper, not much else. Flavor much the same, residuel sweetness, not much else. On a good note, carbonation/mouthfeel is nice. Nothing special.
Wow, waited so long to procure one! Thanks sour Pete! The aroma is awesome - sweet and funky from the yeast style so pleasant in the nose. The appearance is perfect for a saison, golden orange and thick with a beautiful creamy head. The flavor is funky, sweet, and smooth settling on the palate for a while so nicely.
bottle. Pours bright yellow orange with some fine particles of sediment, and a big fluffy white head. Aroma of freshly baked bread, yeast, subtle clove, white grapes. Mouth-feel is lively but not as carbonated as expected, smooth with a dry finish. Flavor of white grapes, apple, and pear, french baguette, light spices. As it warms a little the finish becomes less dry and more sweet. This saison was a great way to start out the evening, glad I got it.
750ml bottle bought in Evanston
Appearance: Pours cloudy orange with a nice white head and good lacing in the glass
Aroma: Citrus, orange peel and pepper
Taste: Sweet malts, yeast, coriander, bitter orange and spices
Nice.
750 ml bottle shared by sledutah- thanks Craig. Pours a cloudy gold color with a large foamy white head. The aroma is rich citrus, malty and lots of yeast. A very nice mix of citrus, dry yeast and malts, funky and a fluffy mouthfeel. Very damn good.
Bottle from a trade with phaleslu. Pours slightly hazy golden color with white head. Bready and fruity aroma with some spices. Lots of dough flavor with some spices, fruity esters and a hint of sweetnessand some lemon tartness. light to medium body with modeate carbonation. Light and refreshing. A really nice saison. Thanks Peter.
A: snifter. pours a really opaque vibrant straw yellow in color with a solid bright white head. outstanding head retention level and really nice lacing.
S: wonderful sour aromas mixed in with some citrus, mostly lemon. very yeasty aromas as well.
T: great sour flavors, mostly like a tart lemon or some sour lemonade. big yeasty saison bite all over this. wonderful saison flavors, a lot of spices in this.
M: big, bold saison. I love the chewiness of this saison. big carbonation level and a big sour level.
D: wonderful brew, well worth getting. My second Smokestack Series beer from Boulevard and it is really good.
750 ml. bottle from the QFC in Renton, Washington. Retired? I’m not sure about that. It has the exact same label on the bottle as it shows on the screen, so I don’t know why the QFC just had this sitting around. Anyways. Yellow/gold haze appearance. Given the aforementioned information, one could glean that this beer is translucent. Somewhat of a fluffy head that seems to be staying around. Looks like a nice saison. Slightly spicy aroma i.e., it’s a bit peppery. There’s some fruit aroma kicking in there as well. Light sugar, yeast, and dough kicking in; this isn’t the most pungent saison that I’ve tried. It tastes much better than it smells. Nice fruit flavor, followed by a nice spicy, dry, lightly bitter bite. It has a nice texture. I’m trying to determine which fruit flavor this represents best. My best guess for fruit would be grapes. This is a fairly good saison.
750ml Bottle: Aroma of yeast, fruit, pale malt, pear, and a hint of spice. Poured yellow/slight amber in color with a large, creamy, pillowy, off-white head that greatly diminished but lasted throughout. Cloudy. Sparkling. Full of tiny and small particles throughout. Very good lacing. Flavor is light to medium sweet. Tastes of yeast, fruit, pear, slight hops, slight malt, and slight spice. Medium body. Smooth, lightly tingly, then lightly dry texture. Average carbonation. Yeast, fruit, slight hop, and slight spice finish is lightly dry. Very drinkable.