Reserve Apricot au Poivre Saison

Nebraska Brewing Co.
Papillion, NE

Available: NE, IA, WI, CA, OR, NC, NY, MA, RI, PA, MO

This interpretation of our saison is made with Apricot puree and black pepper.  The Belgian yeast plays up the fruit nicely and the black pepper provides a drying character on the finish.  We further age this beer for 6 months in French Oak Chardonnay barrels which have been used 3 times previously by our other beers to bring the Chard character down and in line with the beer itself.

ABV: 6.8
ABW: N/A
Color: 4.7
Bitterness: 33
Original gravity: 1052

Some beers are just lookers and this one certainly fits that bill with a luscious brassy-gold body topped by a creamy-white meringue bonnet. Fortunately, this beer follows through in flavor, starting with bright lemon-apricot aromas and more than a dash of pepper. The first sips match the aromas, with a tart, apricot-peach fullness—also felt in the richness of this beer’s body—and just enough black pepper spiciness that makes this beer finish drier than anticipated. The chardonnay barrels that the beer was aged in come through in a tart, vinous quality that keeps this succulent beauty from becoming too cloying.
- Lisa Morrison

There are some beers you just can’t wait to open and this saison, for me, was definitely one. But would the beer live up to the classy packaging? The answer is a resounding Yes. I loved this hazy golden beer—the tart, juicy, well-judged apricot fruitiness; the peppery tingle; the slightly sour and bitter tang of oak from the chardonnay barrels; and the light, airy, spritzy nature. Like all good saisons, it was quenching, spicy and very refreshing. The only downside was the bottle size: It may have been big, but it was not big enough!
- Jeff Evans

Lisa Morrison
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.

Jeff Evans
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.

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