Name: Saranac Belgian (style) Ale
Brewed By: Matt Brewing Company
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Belgian (style) Ale
ABV: 5.9%

What They Say: Saranac Belgian Style Ale is deliciously fruity. It is brewed with a generous amount of Belgian aromatic malt, hand selected hops, and a traditional Belgian Ale yeast. Brewed in the “trappist” style.

Website: Saranac passes my muster for a good website. Navigation on top, everything easily noticeable and findable without much work. Well done, guys.

Why I Picked It: Part 4 of The 12 Beers Of Winter. This was definitely in last year’s incarnation of the 12 Beers and, according the website, this is it’s only availability. Another odd choice for me in a winter pack because I’ve always filed Belgians in the warm weather folder.

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Presentation: A light red bordering on dark pink label. The watercolor of choice for the Belgian is a small bit of whitewater with a rowboat off to the side — obviously to remind the drinker of Belgium. 3

Originality: It seems like every brewery is in a rush to get out a Belgian (don’t you DARE say Trappist) Ale of some sort. Very few of them (read, only breweries located near the Baseball Hall Of Fame) do them particularly well. With the relative robust availability of Chimay, Leffe, and Corsendonk — I really don’t know why American Breweries waste their time. 1

Taste: The primary reason I never really go out of my way to find great Belgian beer is because I find most of them taste the same. I like the flavor, but they all follow the same early citrus, late clove, bitter drymouth at the end formula. I like the beer, I like the experience, but most of them end up being OK interpretations of 1000-year-old recipes. They do a fine job duplicating the flavor here, but it’s not an addition to the 12-pack I’d miss. 7

Body: If you’ve had one of these, you’ve had most of them. The relative weight of a Belgian’s body remains hard for me to nail down. It feels lager-thin when you pour it and drink it, but by the time the aftertaste rolls around, it feels like you’ve eaten a meal. I’m just a simple caveman, I don’t understand your complex brewing processes. 6

Efficiency: I find Belgians to be near the pinnacle of craft beer efficiency. Their flavor is generally light and refreshing with only a moderately bitter aftertaste. Even that bitterness is generally countered by the citrus clovey sweetness of the other ingredients. The only downside is they generally dry your tongue and wear out their welcome. This beer is no different. The flavor is fantastic and the sandpaper-tongue is muted terrifically. That said, other Belgians do this with much stronger ABV. 8

Versatility: The relative difficulty in obtaining this beer in anything other than the 12 Beers significantly limits its versatility score. You wouldn’t use it to impress your friends. You wouldn’t show up at a Belgian (style) party touting it as your favorite Belgian. If anything, it’s a cheaper imitation of really good Belgian ales. Unfortunately, since you have to buy a 12-pack to get two of them, the regular Belgian 22s probably work out to be cheaper by volume. 2

Final Grade: 27 (of 50) – Good beer.

Related posts:

1. Friday Beer Snob: Saranac 12 Beers Of Winter 2009 — Rye.P.A.
2. Friday Beer Snob: 12 Beers Of Winter 2009 Series — Big Moose Ale

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