'Tis the Saison

"Saison is Life." -Master Saison critic, Ernest C. of Boulder, Colorado

While it is extremely hard to pin down what exactly characterizes the beer style Saison in today's eccentric beer market, historically, Saisons are a bit easier to classify. They originated in Wallonia, a region in southern Belgium, where they were brewed for farm hands in farmhouses. Their utility lied in providing potable water in a time when clean water was not necessarily adequately available. Since the goal of drinking Saisons was hydration rather than getting blasted while farming, it was a necessity that Saisons have low amounts of alcohol (generally, 3-3.5% ABV). As a style, these type of Saisons also tended to be refreshing, very dry, and could exhibit characteristics of the terroir such sourness from wild yeasts. Today, Saisons can (and often do) have an alcohol content up to 10% ABV, sometimes have additional spices (such as Coriander or Black Pepper) added to compliment the natural spiciness from Saison yeast, and are occasionally aged in oak or wine barrels.

For the holidays, I reexamined many of my favorite Saisons, including a couple of traditional, Old World examples and a couple of new age, American-made Saisons. For a beginner to the style, I highly recommend trying the world famous, Saison Dupont Vieille Provision. Saison Dupont Vieille Provision is usually referred to Saison Dupont, has 6.5% ABV, and runs about $8.99 for a 750 mL bottle in the US. It is brewed in Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium and can be easily found in most specialty beer shops. The carbonation is very apparent after the initial pour, both interspersed in the body as well as in the long lasting white head. There's a really refreshing, tangy lemon juice note and effervescence to the aroma in addition to notes of black pepper, herbs, and flowers. This is really an inviting, refreshing nose. The first taste exhibits some of the same lively, refreshing carbonation with notes of zesty lemon and citrus peel followed by an herbal, dry, fairly bitter, floral hoppy element. Acidity is present to a certain degree due to the carbonation and really makes this a refreshing, easy to drink beer. Saison Dupont is truly a world-class brew that anyone interested in beer should seek out to get an introduction to Saisons.
Aroma: 9/10, Appearance: 5/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 17/20 (4.4/5.0)

Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux has long been one of my very favorite Saisons. Like Saison Dupont Vieille Provision, Avec les Bons Voeux is brewed by Brasserie Dupont in southern Belgium. Unlike Saison Dupont, this beer has a fairly high alcohol content at 9.5% ABV. It is released in the wintertime and can be found at most beer specialty shops for around $10.99 for a 750 mL bottle. Avec les Bons Voeux has a very hazy yellow-orange appearance with a really nice, creamy white head. There's almost a ginger-like spiciness in the nose along with a fair amount of black pepper notes. Bread is also noticeable in the aroma along with a fair amount of citrus, but not as much as the Saison Dupont. In addition to a fairly citrusy/lemon zesty flavor, there is a fairly dry, straw grainy taste apparent. Some acidity exists from the carbonation leading to it being pretty easy to drink despite the high alcohol content, but there's an even more extensive bitter, floral hoppiness to the beer. This is really a nice beer to share at the holidays.
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 5/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 17/20 (4.3/5.0)

While the two previous Dupont Saisons are some of the more popular Belgian versions of the style, I also recently tasted two of my favorite American-made Saisons. Anchorage Brewing was opened by Gabe Fletcher, who formerly brewed at Midnight Sun Brewing in Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage Love Buzz Saison was one of the brewery's first releases and is among the most highly rated American-made Saisons. Love Buzz has been released twice since 2011, runs $17.99 for a 750 mL bottle, and can be found on a limited basis in the western United States. As with other Anchorage releases, it tends to sell out quite quickly due to growing popularity of the brewery. Love Buzz is brewed with some additional spices and is aged in French oak Pinot Noir barrels and it pours a cloudy dark orange appearance with an off white head. I found the aroma to be especially zippy with a big vinous element along with some dark berry, herbal, and spicy notes. The flavor is pretty funky with a white pepper-like spiciness. Some grape sourness also exists in the flavor with a dry oaky element that really takes over. While the wine barrel really provides a lot in this beer, there are a lot of other nice spicy, herbal elements to the beer. As with all Anchorage releases, this beer is fairly pricey, but it is well-made, complex, and very delicious to drink. Hopefully Anchorage will see expanded distribution in the near future!
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 16/20 (4.0/5.0)

On Christmas Day, in addition to Anchorage Love Buzz, my brother and I also tasted two of my favorite Saisons released by Hill Farmstead: Art and Flora. As with most Hill Farmstead releases, these are extremely limited and are generally only available at the brewery in northern Vermont. Unless you live in the New England region and don't mind driving multiple hours to Hill Farmstead's releases, the only way to obtain these bottles is through the legally dubious, highly addictive hobby of beer trading. While I won't go into details on the intricacies of beer trading in this post, it will suffice to mention that obtaining Hill Farmstead beers is difficult and usually requires you to trade the most limited beers in your beer cellar. Hill Farmstead Art is a Saison aged in white wine barrels and retains some of the more white fruity elements like apple and pear, but the true winner of our Saison Christmas Day tasting was Hill Farmstead Flora. It pours a fairly hazy, golden orange appearance with a white head and has decent head retention. A tropical fruit bouquet (mango, pineapple, passionfruit) dominates the aroma and is beautifully complemented by some of the vinous elements from the French oak wine barrel aging like oak and vanilla. To me, the key element of the flavor is a fruity tartness that makes it so quenching and delicious. The tropical fruity elements just dominate your palate along with a lesser, dry wheat malty note. Super delicious and easy to drink. A truly beautiful beer and among my twenty favorite beers. Fuck yeah.
Aroma: 10/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 10/10, Palate: 5/5, Overall: 18/20

Good American-made Saisons are not necessarily easy to come by, but the aforementioned Hill Farmstead Brewery, the Fort Collins-based Funkwerks, and the Colorado Springs-based Trinity Brewing all produce some fantastic Saisons. Some other delicious Saisons worth seeking out include Trinity Farmhouse #57 (Saison Provisional), Boulevard Saison Brett, Cigar City Guava Grove, Upright #5.

For further reading, check out Ernest's great article, Saison is Life, and the book Farmhouse Ales by Phil Markowski.