Mar 23, 2015

Forge Brew Works The Solstice Black Saison

Lorton, VA’s Forge Brew Works has been in business for a little over a year now, but this bottle of The Solstice is the first product of theirs that I’ve come across in my travels. I don’t know much more than that about the company, but it’s always exciting to run across new beer from local breweries.

Loosely described as a Belgian-style stout that is “finished off” with a saison yeast, The Solstice weighs in at 8.3% ABV and 32 IBU. It’s also a beer, probably shouldn’t be labeled as a saison—black or otherwise. With a variety of Belgian yeast strains within its dark depths, the beer has very little in common with a Saison in any fashion and drinks very much like a stout. I’m sure the brewers were going for something more dynamic, but the beer, which I still enjoyed, is quite confused.

Appearance

Pouring heavy like a stout should, The Solstice produced a stack of rocky brown foam that just wanted to grow and grow, eventually bulging above the rim of the glass.

Forge Brew Works The Solstice Black Saison photo

Aroma

Lots of yeasty notes drive the aroma with burnt caramel, a roasty char and a hint of raisin in the background.

Taste

As stated above this one is all stout. A rich, cocoa-driven flavor is accompanied by a bit of an abrasive char, burnt caramel, coffee and yeast. I don’t get much of that raisin that was in the aroma. The mixture of yeasts give the brew a bit of a confused personality as it finishes lightly drying.

Overall

The Solstice isn’t a terrible beer. The stout body and overall flavors involved were decent enough, but calling this one a black saison isn’t right—there is absolutely nothing saison-like about it. I’m hoping that I am able to check out some of Forge Brew Works other beers in the hopes that maybe this one was just a mishit and not indicative of what I may encounter.

Rating: 2.75/5

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