Aging Saisons

Yes.

 

Sometimes there can be a benefit to it- such as if it has been inoculated with brett. The time will allow that quality to develop- something like Goose Island Sofie with about a year on it becomes something special.

 

2 that i age are Blvd Saison- Brett and Brooklyn Sorachi Ace...Sorachi Ace changes from a hoopy zesty saison when fresh to a more funky saison after say 8 months where as Blvd evolves beautifully a year to 18 month later

 

I aged a Brooklyn Sorachi for about 11 months. Just recently opened it at a bottle share and WOW....it was a whole new experience.

 

I wouldn't recommend doing any of the Belgians other than perhaps fantome. USA offerings I can't comment on as I've never bothered to hoard any for more than a week or two. There are many more rewarding beer styles that benefit from age better than saison. It takes a bit of willpower to not crack open saisons in the summer.

However, nothing wrong with doing it each to their own I guess.

 

Why?

 

I love Ace, why haven't I thought of this myself....

 

But they're sooo gooooooood fresh.

 

If there is brett, it will develop in the bottle. If not, there isn't much of a point, but they still usually hold up well for a year

 

I've been aging Saisons for a few years now. Some I like fresher (Stillwater Stateside), some I really enjoy with age (Dupont, Sofie, etc)

 

Here's a link to an article by Shaun Hill on the topic http://voyage.50webs.org/bbs.html. I tend to agree, I have a home-brew Saison that is over a year old and is now about perfect. I have also enjoyed several commercial examples that benefit from some age. Obviously brett Saisons will add a bit more complexity but even a sacch only Saison will develop in interesting ways.

 

Thank you for that link. It was a very interesting read.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the link and the info...I've never thought about aging Ace before (not sure why!) and I'll be grabbing one to do so shortly!

 

I found a few bottles of 2011 Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux at a shop and they were amazing. It's higher abv than most saisons, so that may have helped, but the flavor was just so rich and perfect- one of my highest rated beers.

 

Looking forward to putting some age on a couple Logsdon offerings. Them's some amazing saisons.

 

After reading this and getting Sorachi Ace in my head, I looked for a bottle at my usual store. They were all a month away from being a year old. It's too bad they've been on the top shelf under the fluorescent lights that whole time. Will have to seek out others...

 

Anybody have any experience aging Brooklyn's Sorachi Ace saison?

 

There is "Sorachi Ace" even its name...so I wouldnt age it.

 

There are a couple posts earlier in this thread giving peoples experiences aging Sorachi Ace. Just scroll up.