Review: Half Pints Saison de la Ceinture Fléchée (2021)


It was nine years ago this month when I sampled a beer that I'd consider one of the most nostalgic beers I've ever had in my life - La Saison de la Ceinture Fléchée by Half Pints Brewing out of Winnipeg. For the past number of years I've only been able to have this in late winter/early spring only if I happened to be at the brewery, which is a rarity for me. This year they started to can the beer as well as have it sold at my local LC for the first time since (I want to say) 2016. Well, this past year just hasn't been your usual year so breweries are canning a lot of their seasonals/one offs because growler fills and sampling at the taproom just isn't possible for a lot of breweries.. so for someone like me who can't go to Winnipeg regularly, I'm giddy to have this again. 5.5% ABV

Appearance: Deep copper-orange body to it, no clarity to it, a bit of micro-carbonation in the body and a finger or so thickness of beige head on top. Once the head dissipates a tad it leaves behind a sprinkling of lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Mild sweetness with a nice caramel profile to it (reminiscent to candi sugar), Belgian yeast, a hint of clove(?), bubble gum and lemon. Sweet bread profile to it and a faint hint of orange peel at the end.

Taste: A bit of an iron-like mineral profile right from the beginning.. something that reminds me of the oldschool Saisons I used to drink 5+ years ago. Mild bitter hops that tickle the tongue and linger for a good moment or two. Alongside mild bitter hops there is a leafy hop profile as well. Mildly sweet with a bit of caramel/candi sugar presence to it, hint of lemon, orange peel, and a nice bubble gum presence. 

Overall Thoughts: The few times I've sampled this over the years I've found the recipe to change from year to year but this one is 100% what I remembered from the beer back in the day.. it's almost as if I took a time machine back to 2012 to sample it for the very first time again. This may be the best Saison in all of Manitoba but I've sampled some really good ones lately that really stood out for me (including Torque's Radiant Blood Orange Saison which here's the review of). I wish this was a year round beer but only being able to try this once every year or two makes me appreciate it more. 

Here's my original review of La Saison back in 2012.

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