Your welcome Glenn. We also got into the Soma Saison and Texas Chili Stout last night.
Soma Saison: again poured brilliantly clear, just gorgeous. Nice white head of fine bubbles that did last throughout with nice lacing (made sure to have a properly cleaned glass this time.) A great pale yellow in color that you could read a newspaper through (does everyone remember reading newspapers?
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Aroma was all saison spice and peppery, from the yeast and Tettnang? Little to no malt notes above the mentioned phenolics.
Taste: front of palate(as I understand it) was great. Typical saison notes and first inkling of the phenolics. As you mentioned though, the mid to late palate is bombarded by the High AA Tettnang, I think you said 11%! The heavy hop presence really did clash with the saison characteristics. I could really enjoy this in the hot summer months as a hop head, but it really came off as odd last night late in the session. I can only imagine how great it would have been if you had the AA that you planned for. Again, the hops dominated the mid to late taste, but that front of palate taste was awesome. The 6.1% ABV was not at all noticeable, making this a dangerous summer afternoon beer.
Mouthfeel was crisp and dry as a bone. Hop bitterness kept it from being quaffable but was still enjoyable. Light body. No alcohol warming. Nice, high carbonation level.
Overall: Despite not hitting intended target of bitterness, still an enjoyable brew. As I said above, would love to try it with the intended hop presence. What was your recipe, as I need to fit a saison into my brew schedule this summer: the garden is overflowing with Lemon Balm just waiting to add to a saison.
Texas Chili Stout: from your notes, you think the blackberries are too light, but I did get and enjoy them. They had enough presence to notice, but not sure if my palate could have named what I was tasting if you had not told me. They were a nice addition. I am assuming from the name that were some peppers used and gave off a little back of palate heat. Not overwhelming, just a nice tingling. The brew itself was easily drinkable but I did not get a lot of the usual stout notes of roasted malts, chocolate, or coffee. Coming in at 5.6%ABV, there was no alcohol heat or warming. In the end, I would drink more of this with no concerns. Not a typical stout, but definitely enjoyable. Thanks for sharing both of these with me. On the to "Not Orval" this weekend sometime