A Salute to Saisons (2020-2021)

Ya I just need to go by one of my more regular beet spots. I know one place always has DuPont. Honestly though, saison is not a commonly available style around me. I think the nearest place that brews any is about 4 hours away and besides DuPont at a few stores and La Vermontoise at one place i can't think of any regularly available.

Our one real full on beer store is kind of a one man show so you have to call and leave a message with your order made using their online menu and then get a call back about when pick up is possible. Upside of that is, next week I could call and just say, "I want $40 worth of saison please" and know that he will have some good stuff and everything is on a fat discount right now

 

Enjoying Off the Beaten Path from Jackie O’s version one.
Clean grain expression, mixed cultures add a nice peppery thread.
Lemongrass and earthy hops. Excellent frothy cap, lasts forever
Do good
Be well

 

Um, today is Saturday no? Why no posts yet at 8:15pm EDT? Oh well, I’ll start things off with what I’m ashamed to say is the first saison I’ve had in almost 4 years. This is a new one for me, a Belgian import from Brouwerij de Glazen Toren. The first sniff and sip brought good memories flooding back. It checks the appropriate style boxes with aplomb. Seems contradictory, but the mouthfeel is crisp yet simultaneously creamy. The flavor and aroma profiles are reminiscent of the saisons I’ve enjoyed most in the past, yet are its own unique spin. Wish I’d bought more than two cans, but that can be remedied.

EDIT: Ha, @SABERG slipped in first while
I was composing.

 

I just recently tried the barrel aged farmhouse pale ale from them for the first time and was blown away. It tasted extremely unique and was well balanced.

 

Do they make a saison?

 

If you're referring to Apex Predator, I agree that is an underrated Saison!

 

Ah OK, missed that part. You had me all excited to.bother the old rednecks that one the store that weirdly carries the best euro selection around to get me some 3F saison.

This is the store where I was purchasing a pack of SN porter and asked them "do you ever order their stout?" And the manager responded "is it a different brewery?"

Was really looking forward to trying.to convey to them that I wanted another weird expensive beer from.one of the weird European brewers

 

Enjoying a home brewed, sour mixed fermentation saison. One of my favorite styles to brew and drink.

 

Drove 7 hours to NYC and back and was able to squeeze in this afterwards.

I truly believe that without the Coronavirus, Fox Farm would have absolutely blown up this year. I think they are certainly getting more acclaim this year despite it and more people are talking about it in the New England forum than last year. This was tart with restrained acidity. Really well made.

While I was initially introduced to them in 2017, I've had very little of their beer. This was good to great. The Cabin, their smoked helles, is outstanding. Their IPAs are chewy yet a good use of the hops. I'm already looking forward to visiting and grabbing their stuff again.

 

Broke out Flora Pear for NBS/NBW, as fruited Saison goes this is my favorite
Never moving to far past the base Florence, through the barrel treatment to Flora.
The pear adds a layer of complimentary, texture and flavor. Outstanding
Enjoy your Saisons

Do good
Be well

 

What final gravity did you achieve with this yeast?

Cheers!

 

To expound on this topic some Saison yeast strains can produce a notable amounts of glycerol. Glycerol provides a sense of smoothness and body to the beer. So, even though a Sasion will achieve a low final gravity (crispness) if the chosen yeast produces a notable amount of glycerol the beer will indeed have the contradictory aspect of crispness and smoothness (creamy). I find these aspects to be intriguing and enjoyable.

Cheers!

 

1.004

 

Lovely beer. I tried that at the taproom one day when I was there with a friend. We each got a bottle to drink to ourselves. I think I've only had the Flora: Plum which might've been what was released at the time that I had that at the taproom, and I haven't had the original Flora, I do love Florence though. I thought the pear was a great rendition, as the fruit is more subtle and not overpowering and blends well with the farmhouse flavors. I didn't give a full review but my brief notes after drinking that were it was super drinkable with balanced acidity, great pear taste but definitely with the base Flora beer shining with it. I enjoyed it much more than the Plum version I had, which was really good too but I think the plum overpowered the Flora a bit more, where the pear was more subtle and well-integrated. Gotta say, I don't go up to VT much, I've only been to HF a handful of times, I am a bit jealous of all the great HF beers you drink and post. It seems like your "regular" rotation consists of them, which is a pretty high standard. Cheers!

 

I agree with you on the plum, also the cherry was very Kriek like in dimension.
My review is over at NBS/NBW
Cheers

 

I'm staying on the wild side today.

 

So I drank a saison yesterday, popped over to look for the new Saison day thread, and didn't see any new threads, and promptly wandered off to continue drinking. So will this just continue as one long thread rather than new ones every week like NBS?

Gonna post my saison selection in any case, please don't ban me for #saisonsundaying.



Bernice is a desert island beer for me. She can do no wrong. The most common question I hear when I share this beer for the first time is "what do you mean there's no fruit in this?!" because well, sure tastes like there is! It's an explosion of flavors that takes some time to sort out. Definitely a strong stonefruit undercurrent here, along with a slightly tart funk. Aroma is yeasty, funky, lemon, apple cider. This is the beer that really made me appreciate unfruited saisons, and it's the beer I grab when I just want a damn good beer.

Notes on this batch, the most recent April batch from Sante Adairius: I'd say this batch leans towards more acidity and tartness than I recall from previous batches. Still well-balanced, but not quite that "I can solodome this and have another" kind of easy drinking.