Hof ten Dormaal is a small farmhouse brewery in Tildonk, Belgium which produces a series of saisons.  The Janssens family grows their own grain, grows all their own hops, and cultivates their own yeast strain.  That’s all interesting, but how’s their beer?

First of all, be warned that the Hof ten Dormaal beers tend to be highly carbonated.  As soon as I loosened the wire cage on the 375ml bottle of Hof ten Dormaal Dark (7.5% ABV), the cork popped and fine light brown foam came pouring out.  So be ready with a glass and a towel.  Once poured, the beer is a hazy brown color with abundant light brown head that eventually settles to a thin layer of tiny bubbles.  The smell is better than the appearance — typical saison spiciness — very nice.  The mouthfeel is somewhat creamy, but with a very dry finish.  The taste is anchored in flavorful malt and even a hint of cocoa in the finish.

Overall, I would drink this again and look forward to trying the other saisons from Hof ten Dormaal.