The Season for Saison
It’s summertime and the living is easy. This is definitely an outlook one can take when faced with the various options presented by the craft beer world in the summer. While many will lean towards the summery pilsner, I was to focus more on a Belgian tradition, the summer Saison.
Saison (French, “season”) is the name originally given to low-alcohol pale ales brewed seasonally in farmhouses in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, for farm workers during harvest season. Modern-day saisons are also brewed in other countries, particularly the USA, and are generally bottle conditioned, with an average range of 5 to 8% abv, though saisons at the more traditional 3.5% strength can still be found.
via Wikipedia
Whether it’s a classic, something new or a twist on the style, Saisons are a big part of a craft beer summer. Bold, spicy, tart and refreshing, saisons are great on hot days or cool evenings. As stated in the excerpt above, traditionally Saisons are a light table beer but recently have grown to be bigger beer less appropriate for sessions.
For those looking for the classics, a great place to start to start is Brasserie Dupont. In the style of the traditional saison, Avril is light in alcohol and a refreshing Belgian ale. The Saison Dupont, famous as possibly the best saison in the world, is higher in alcohol but is still considered the gold standard as far as Saisons are concerned. I know that I personally compare all saisons to this Belgian classic. In addition to these traditional saisons, Dupont also brews organic versions (Foret) as well as a Christmas version.
Here in the states, craft brewers are creating their own traditions. This includes teaming up with monasteries here in the US to brew traditional Belgian Ales with Trappist Monks. One of the beers is Sierra Nevada’s new Ovila-labeled Saison. American craft brewers lean towards more aggressive saisons with spicy phenolic notes. Another newcomer to the saison scene is Grand Teton’s Grand Saison.
If something unique is what you’re searching for, the Boulevard brews the saison for you. Starting with their Tank 7 saison as a base, the brewers at Boulevard add 3 months of brettanomyces bottle conditioning before releasing Saison Brett. I instantly fell in love with this beer before even trying it as it was introduced to me as George Brett, the Kansas City baseball hero. Full of all the flavors yopu’d expect from a saison but with the complexity and dryness that comes with the added “brett”, this beer sits deservedly atop RateBeer’s saison ratings at #1.
What are your favorite saisons in the summer? Have any great saison stories to share? Let’s hear from the RateBeer community.
One Comment to “The Season for Saison”
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Instead of “A Season for Saison” I brew a “Saison for Every Season”. This comes from an article in Zymurgy a few years back and I am in my 3rd year of this brewing rotation. The Summer Saison is much like the traditional Saisons you talk about here, the Autumn (Automne’) is a bit darker and full bodied, the Winter (Hiver) is bold, dark, strong, and spicy. The Spring is light and hoppy. I have even created a few more Saisons, such as the Saison d’Potiron (Pumpkin Saison) and Harvest Saison (50% fermentables from oats, maize, rye, and wheat).
As you can tell it is my favorite type of beer to brew and drink.
Cheers