Pipeworks Brewing Co. Poivre Rose

Before I jumped in with another brewing posts, I need to get some long (and new in this case) held reviews of beers I have been drinking.  I noticed lately that I have not been giving local breweries outside a select few the attention they deserve since I moved.  What better way to appease my recent saison brewing obsession than with a locally brewed saison?

Pipeworks Brewing Co. Poivre Rose

Appearance- Pours a hazy golden color with a thick layer of foam that eventually settles into a thin layer of white carbonation.  Head of the beer is persistent and a notable sticky lacing coats the glass.

Smell- A lot of citrus up front with lemons and faint hints of phenols including a light clove.  There is a certain floral quality to the smell that melds with the citrus towards the middle of the beer that I am going to attribute to the pink peppercorns.  Towards the end there seems to be a slight amount of peppery spice, but part of me wonders if I am imagining it since I know they used peppercorns in the beer.

Taste- Starts off with the lemony citrus and a surprising malt sweetness.  However, the floral character is more noticeable in the beer and takes the lead towards the middle.  The floral taste is refreshing, not quite tea like, and not overdone.  Towards the end of the beer, the spicy peppercorn character kicks in.  I believe the added peppercorn leaves a little strange taste in the finish, but nothing off putting.

Mouthfeel- Beer is a little sweeter to what I am used to in a saison, but drys out in the finish.  Nice full carbonation as well.

Overall and Notes- Really liked my first saison from Pipeworks and will now certainly try the other one I saw at the store.  I would have liked to see it be a little dryer and personally would like to see how not including the black peppercorns would affect the beer.

Also, can we address the fact that I wrote there where hints of "a light clove"?  Well, I am an ass, but I guess we already knew that.