Belt's Beer Garden: Heading South

For this weeks theme, it's a Southern thing. I try two saisons inspired from Southern hospitality.

Up first, a beer from Mississippi that will have you lounging around all day.

Mississippi might not be known as a beer haven, but Lazy Magnolia has been making some good brews in the Magnolia State since 2003. Lazy Magnolia was the first brewery to open in Mississippi since the end of prohibition and are currently available in a plethora of states (mostly the South) that include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

This "southern saison" pours a crisp golden hue with a huge topping of head. More than three fingers of fluffy, white foam rose from beer. As the foam slowly faded down, it began to lace my glass before I had even sipped it, leaving airy clouds around the entire glass.

There was a nice aroma of spiced Belgian yeast with a lemon tartness hiding behind all the spices. Notes of toasted pale malts, pear and coriander were also lingering behind all the foam in this saison. It was a really nice smelling saison.

Lazy Saison didn't have nearly as much carbonation in the taste as the mountain of foam would indicate. On my first sip, I got the pear and lemon up front for just a brief moment before the spices - mostly pepper and coriander - took control of the taste and lasted through the completion of the sip. The aftertaste had a sort of yeasty funk to it that mixed with those spices and lingered for just a few moments after each swig.

I was a bit surprised at how little carbonation I actually felt during the sip, there was not the usual bubbly rush you get with saisons. Instead, the brew seemed to have a watery mouthfeel and that left it being a little bland overall.

As I continued to drain the contents, the beer continued to build a strong lacing on the sides of my glass. There were no distinct lines only because the entire side of the glass was covered in bubbles that slowly, very slowly, slid down.

This is an easy drinking saison with a modest 5.5% alcohol and an even more modest $1.49 price tag for the 12 ounce bottle.

There's nothing incredibly special about this beer but it is a good beer for those days when you just want to be lazy. It's got some good flavors initially but the watery mouthfeel washes out some of those flavors leaving it missing something. Overall, good but not great: 7.5/10.

Next up, a collaboration from Denmark and Tulsa.

Amager's collaboration with Cigar City was so good that when I saw another Amager beer made in association with Prairie Artisan Ales, I knew I had to try it.

As you may Amager is out of Kastrup, Denmark, near Copenhagen, and has been making beer since 2007. Prairie Artisan Ales calls Tulsa, Oklahoma home and has become one of the nation's best breweries since their inception back in 2012.

When the people at Prairie Artisan went to the Copenhagen Beer Celebration, Amager decided they needed to team up, making a beer that Prairie has become known for - a farmhouse ale. That beer is Tulsa Twister.

Tulsa Twister poured a hazy golden color with over two fingers of head that fizz down to a modest amount of light airy foam rather quickly. On the nose, this saison has some nice Belgian spicy yeast notes with a huge amount of tart lemons and other citrus aromas.

The first taste was quite good. Initially there is a huge rush of carbonation that is followed by a slight spiced taste. Then the fruit notes hit and forced the spicy yeast flavors to the backseat.

A burst of slightly tart lemon and citrus hit my tongue with a slight floral hop backing. After the citrus, the flavor faded into a peppery aftertaste that lingered for a few moments on my tongue between each sip.

The medium-bodied brew finished pretty crisp slightly dry and, as I mentioned above, was really quite carbonated. The head, or what remained of it, didn't do a whole lot of lacing as the contents were emptied into my mouth.

As far as saisons go, this one is higher in alcohol content at 7.5%. The booze is completely hidden in the taste and that makes this a dangerous brew. Tulsa Twister doesn't come too cheap, however. The 16.9 ounce bottle will run you about $10.99.

The further down I drank, the more the citrus seemed to fade and the spicy, peppery contents seemed to step up in their stead. Towards the end, I was missing the citrus but, overall, this was a very tasty saison. 8/10