Portland, Maine’s Peak Organic Brewing has created a winter seasonal in their Holiday Saison that has an incredibly rich and deep set of flavors while keeping the alcohol pegged at a level that makes this a perfect session beer. Peak’s Holiday Season pours with an orange-amber coloration and with a small amount of off-white to tannish head that is slow to break down. Hints of Belgian yeasts and spices (including cinnamon and nutmeg) are immediately evident in the nose, while the first sip of the Holiday Saison provides imbibers with flavors of orange peel, cloves, ginger, and farmhouse/barnyard notes.
The wide array of flavors that come to the fore in a bottle of Holiday Saison ensure that one will complete one with just as much gusto as they began the experience; no two sips of this beer will be exactly the same. As one gets further into the Holiday Saison, rarer elements including black pepper, honey, and lemon can be picked out; these other flavors highlight and otherwise bolster the more dominant elements to keep things light and lively in the last gasps of the brew. The lower alcohol content of Peak’s Holiday Saison is a smart decision as the intensity of the alcohol of most winter warmers dwarfs a number of the more delicate elements.
Peak Organic Brewing’s Hop Harvest Oktoberfest was a highlight of the marzen style in the late months of 2015. For further information about each of the brewery’s efforts, their website keeps up to date with each new effort. The brewery’s social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter) are perfect ways to see which new products are available. Keep an eye out for our coverage of Peak’s Winter Session Ale.
Rating: 8.7/10
Holiday Saison / 4.7% ABV / Peak Organic Brewing / http://peakbrewing.com/ / http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peak-Organic-Brewing-Company/18292863559 / http://twitter.com/peakbrewing