Raspberry juice version - pours 1 finger of foam, cherry brown in color. Aroma is a fruit cake and spice. Flavor is sort of a cherry jolly rancher with yeast phenolic and a fruit cake sort of bread malt; I pick up a little alcohol at the end but not terribly prominent. Body is medium to thin and the palette is very soft. Overall, I really enjoy this beer and think that there is a slight bitterness from the hopping that is slightly detracting from the beer. I would give this 5 stars if not for the bitterness. 4 stars then.
Pours 2.5 fingers of foam that is slow to dissipate, brown-orange in color. Aroma is dominated by yeast phenolic but there is a slightly citrusy burnt sugar note to it as well. Flavor is yeast phenolic and then a not so sweet brown sugar flavor that ends with a noticeable bitterness that is unexpected. Body is light and a definite sharpness from the carbonation. Overall, I'm a bit disappointed in the hop expression on this one as I was expecting more complexity based on the HBC 682's description of wood and coconut; there. The malt profile is hard to discern and I wouldn't say that I get any dark fruits that are characteristic of a dubbel. So, as a dark saison this would be quite good. As a dubbel, this is just okay. It's interesting enough that I want to keep drinking it but only because it evades description. 3 stars as it didn't meet my expectations but it is still an intriguing and well made beer.
