Beer Review, Saranac Belgian Ale Style

After losing at co-rec softball again :( went to BW and ordered a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy. Finished that and ordered another. Nobody at the table is sure exactly which beer was brought to the table. It definitely wasn't a Summer Shandy. It came with an orange instead of a lemon. It was darker than the shandy, it was lighter than the Blue Moon that someone else at the table was drinking. We think it might have been a Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat. I sent it back, but a guy on the team was gracious enough to say "If you are going to pour it out... I'll drink it."

We finished up there; then went home. Changed out of my sweaty softball clothes and then opened a beer. It was the last of the 6 pack of Saranac's that I got from Jay up in the Quad Cities. This one was the Belgian Style Ale.

It poured extremely dark. It was like a brown amber. There wasn't lots of head, but what there was, was a white thin fizzy head. It smelled malty... that was about it. Just malty, toasty grains. It felt rather thin across the tongue, and was noticeable on the back of the tongue and not on the front (which is odd, as it wasn't that bitter).

The first taste was winey, vinous. There was a little bitter, or at least the impression of bitter activating the back of the tongue. At first it reminded me of a sugar cookie, but then I thought more of those Christmas cookies that come in the tin. I thought there might be some plum in the flavor.

This beer was weird in that it made my mouth water. I've had some that did that before, but this one really activated my saliva. It was a pretty good brew. Based on the drinking/appearance and all that other stuff we look at, I'm still not sure exactly what style of belgian it was.

hmmm

This deliciously fruity ale is brewed with a generous amount of Belgian aromatic malt, hand selected hops and a traditional Belgian ale yeast. Brewed in the "Trappist" style, our Saranac Belgian Ale's fruity, malty character will leave you craving another bottle. Enjoy!

Ratebeer has it as 29% Beer Advocate has it at B-. I'm not sure it's either. Probably more of just a C. It's a good beer. But nothing to make me want to rush out and buy all of them off the shelf. I wouldn't pour it down the sink.

*hmmm, where's the 6th beer?*