School me on Saisons

For me some of the greatest Saisons I've had thus far have been less on the hoppy side and more on the earthy (like you stated), sweet and smoky side. Another great example of the style would be Red Barn Ale from The Lost Abbey, hoping you can find that up there.

 

I also like a strong presence of spice/pepper flavor in a saison

 

You liked Pretty Things Jack D'Or, it's labeled a "Saison Americain." It is a lovely Belgian-style Farmhouse Ale, made with American hops. You'll experience a lot of variety trying different Saisons, IMHO, a lot more than you would trying different Porters or Stouts. I'd say a main characteristic of the style is that there is no one true "representation of the style." If there was one, it would probably be Saison Dupont.

Edit: Brooklyn Sorachi-Ace is made in New York, you should definitely give that a try. And get some imported Belgian/French ones.

 

Assuming you had Jack d'Or as the Pretty Things Saison it is on the hoppy side for the style and uses some "new world" hops as well. It also uses a traditional saison yeast - Blaugies if I recall correctly - plus adds Champagne yeast to get it extra dry / attenuated. At least it used to, I think Dann tinkers with the recipe. Jack d'Or is probably my favorite saison but it is a bit like a Saison meets an IPA. Many others, esp. from Belgium are more about yeast character and use very earthy "old world" hops.

 

I'd have to say my favorite style is saisons...

 

Fantome.

consider yourself schooled.

 

Crap shoot!!

 

I'm not as big on saisons but when I do I reach for a Saison Dupont. I also really like Jester King's Pecan Smoked Saison.

 

Anything from Hill Farmstead.

 

Dupont
Fantome
Jolly Pumpkin
Ommegang Hennepin
Good ones to start with.

 

One could post that in any "School me on XXX thread."

 

There is one aspect that should be common to all Saison beers: they should be very dry since Saison yeasts are highly attenuating (they ferment almost most of the sugars and leave very few residual sugars).

The Saison yeast strain will produce varying levels of spicy (e.g., peppery) and fruity (e.g., citrus flavors). So, depending on the yeast strain used the Saison will vary from being spice forward to citrus forward or a complex combination of both.

A traditional Saison moderately utilizes European hops which will provide subtle flavors. If American aroma hops (e.g., Amarillo, Citra, etc.) are used the hop flavors will be more prominent.

So, there is variety of flavors which can be evident in a Saison depending on the ingredient selection.

Cheers!

 

Pretty Things Jack D'or is my favorite saison, excellent stuff.

I am sure others have mentioned this already, but you'd be smart to try both Hennepin from Ommegang and the classic Saison Dupont.

 

Tank 7 year round
Saison Brett (once/yr) both superb

 

If saisons you seek
Try Ommegang Hennepin
Spicy and sour

 

+1 on the Tank 7, give me one any day!

If you can get it in NY, Prairie Hop out of OK is excellent! Hoppy saison but very much a saison. Its absolutely delicious!

 

Hill Farmstead
Tired Hands
Prairie
SARA

Seek them out.

 

I recently had a dry hopped Saison on draft from Brash Brewery. I am guessing that the folks at Brash are ‘interesting’ people because they select some ‘different’ names for their beers. They call their dry hopped Saison: Cold Ass Honkey. It is a tasty beer and the Amarillo hop aroma/flavor complements their Saison yeast strain very nicely. If you see this beer I would recommend that you try it.

Cheers!

 

Seconding the Ommegang Hennepin, and seeing as how you are in New York go for Ithaca Groundbreak in the Spring.