Your Top 10 Saisons

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Immortale25, Dec 7, 2012.

Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Anonymous1

    Anonymous1 Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2012 Illinois

    No Hill Farmstead, Upright, Logsdon, or Fantome? I think you left the four best saison centric craft breweries off your list!

    Upright is just crushing it right now. Especially with their sole comp series.
     
    luwak likes this.
  2. rfbenavi80

    rfbenavi80 Initiate (0) Mar 15, 2010 Missouri

    Have to put some love for Boulevard out there. I want to add Tank 7 and Saison-Brett to the list.
     
  3. JonnyBeers

    JonnyBeers Savant (1,187) Oct 24, 2012 Canada (BC)

    Logsdon Seizoen Bretta is probably my fav at the moment. Boulevard Brett pretty damn good. Anything by Upright is damn good. Defining moment for me in craft beer was having a Dupont Foret at NOPA in San Fran a few yrs ago with a pork chop the size of my head. Meat and beer combo was mind blowing. End of story... Craft Beer For life! (and I love Saisons)
     
    matthaslaservision and vurt like this.
  4. yourefragile

    yourefragile Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2006 District of Columbia

    DSlim71 and sideshowe like this.
  5. yourefragile

    yourefragile Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2006 District of Columbia

    Also the quality and variety (usually at least 4 different saisons on draft every visit) of Tired Hands makes them a must try if you like the style.
     
    Thorpe429 likes this.
  6. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,848) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Just so you know- the Weyerbacher is more of a spiced Belgian Strong Ale than a saison- with more sweetness, body and alcohol presense. Drink it on its own terms, don't expect something dry and a bit funky, and you should enjoy it (I've had quite a few myself over the past few months), but I don't think it belongs on any list of top saisons.
     
    fmccormi likes this.
  7. fmccormi

    fmccormi Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2010 California

    I have to admit, a few of those I haven't had, a few of those I have and do enjoy, and a few of those would be nowhere near my top 10 saisons list. Echoing TongoRad, Weyerbacher 17 just isn't a saison. It's a slightly farmhousey BSPA with weird adjuncts, and it was okay but not great in any way (my opinion). Athene had some really good moments but was way too heavy on the chamomile for me; Smuttynose is tasty, but a heavy bastard (admittedly, it's been a while and I need to revisit it); Great Divide Colette, to be honest, I found to be thoroughly mediocre in most respects.

    My favorite saisons (that I've had, in no particular order): Ommegang Hennepin, Pretty Things Jack D'Or, Stillwater Stateside, Stillwater Cellar Door, Epic Utah Sage, Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, Cigar City Guava Grove, Boulevard Tank 7, and Goose Island Sofie.
     
  8. fmccormi

    fmccormi Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2010 California

    Though I do have bottles of HF Anna and Arthur waiting in the wings, and am continually tempted to pull the trigger on Saison du Swamp, so my list my expand sometime soon.
     
  9. nulledge

    nulledge Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2008 Florida

    In no particular order:
    Brooklyn Sorachi Ace
    Swamphead Saison du Swamp
    del Borgo Duchessic
    St. Somewhere Athene
    CCB Cucumber Saison
    CCB Table Saison
    Logsdon Seizoen Bretta
    Oxbow BA Farmhouse Pale
    Saison D'Erpe Mer
    St. Somewhere Rose

    I've had the normal Logsdon Seizoen, but it was not a great experience, there was some weird stratification going on in the bottle. The top of the glass was super-dry, and then the bottom was straight pear juice.
     
  10. nulledge

    nulledge Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2008 Florida

    The $20 price tag on the Saison du Swamp is so hard to justify sometimes.
     
    fmccormi likes this.
  11. fmccormi

    fmccormi Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2010 California

    Yah. I'm fuckin' poor, man. (Relatively speaking, anyway.) Hard to spring for that when you've got a teaching assistant's salary.
     
  12. riotinmyskull

    riotinmyskull Initiate (0) Dec 15, 2011 Virginia

    this thread needs more stillwater
     
  13. fmccormi

    fmccormi Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2010 California

    I nominated two Stillwater beers!
     
  14. Thorpe429

    Thorpe429 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,655) Aug 18, 2008 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah


    Tired Hands, Hill Farmstead, Logsdon, and Upright win the American battle, hands down. There are plenty of other American breweries making good saisons, but none are at the level of these four. (Jolly Pumpkin gets added to this list if you want to include their beers under the Saison/Farmhouse umbrella.) Boulevard Tank 7 is really nice as well, but I wouldn't put them in the elite level, particularly since Logsdon has come on the scene and blown Saison - Brett out of the water.

    Outside of the "top" ones, McKenzie is way up there, though demoted slightly due to a lack of selection. There are plenty of other good to very good producers, but these are the best, IMO.

    Outside of the U.S., Fantome and Dupont win for me. The two main saisons from each are amazing, though in very different ways.
     
    raveskdr, cavedave, drewba and 3 others like this.
  15. sjccmd

    sjccmd Initiate (0) Feb 11, 2008 Minnesota

    I feel like I must reinforce The Bruery's Saison de Lente and Anchorage Love Buzz, and not just Fantôme Saison but anything by Fantôme.
     
  16. Jnorton00

    Jnorton00 Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2007 Massachusetts

  17. tendermorsel

    tendermorsel Initiate (0) Oct 22, 2006 Massachusetts

    There are very few good American Saisons out there. A bunch of Shaun Hill's saisons are awesome. I had an amazing Rye Saison from Oxbow in ME. It was 4% and quite the quaff. I did like the Love Buzz too. And Saison w/Brett.

    Overall though I think most American Saisons are crap. Nothing is better than Saison Dupont and in particular Avec Les Bons Voeux. Thireze makes some great stuff too. I would say Fantome but I have had too many DISGUSTING bottles over the years to real get behind them. Fantome is basically a 60% 40% crapshoot. 60% chance of being awesome and 40% chance of being garbage. I am all for bottle variation but at 15-20$ for a 750 ML I am not playing that game anymore.
     
  18. tendermorsel

    tendermorsel Initiate (0) Oct 22, 2006 Massachusetts

    Remember that strange Ghost that wasn't green? That's what I am talking about with Fantome! The Grassroots stuff I tried in London was damn good BTW.
     
  19. cfrances33

    cfrances33 Initiate (0) Jun 12, 2012 Illinois

    Some highlights for me:
    1. Any HF saison, they are that good. Had Civil Disobedience 4 last night and it blew me away for a black saison.
    2. Only had the Fresh Hop Seizoen, but I echo bstyle that Logsdon seems to be making some really clean and delicious saisons right now. I'm definitely looking forward to Seizoen Bretta and Oak aged Bretta.
    3. Boulevard Saison-Brett. A classic.
    4. Not really a fan of the other things they do, but Jolly Pumpkin De Viento was a beautiful black saison.
    5. Sofie. Don't care about the In-Bev crap that people will spew at me for it, this is a great beer.
     
    bstyle, ILOVESTOUTS and fmccormi like this.
  20. fmccormi

    fmccormi Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2010 California

    I dunno. I just wish Pretty Things would put Jack D'Or into a smaller, cheaper format, like in a six-pack. Or better yet, in 500ml four-packs like Jack's Abby.

    Come to think of it, I wish a LOT of beers came in 500ml four-packs, and especially saisons would be great this way.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.