Salute to Saisons! (2023)

Shoutout BFM in Switzerland, their 225 saison is the best I've ever had.

 

2018 Allagash Saison Gratis. I don’t think they’ve bottled another batch since this one, I was lucky I found it in a bottle shop recently. This is top tier Allagash all of the way. Balance, complexity, restrained acidity. The base Saison is present but loads of tropical fruit from their Brett strain. One of my favorites from them.

 

Now enjoying Slayzon, a saison (almost a wild ale) from Ale Apothecary in Oregon. Added the profile myself, will add the photo too in a bit, even though it will be of an empty bottle. Cheers!

Preliminary review below:

4.25/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
375mL bottle (packaged 6/2023) into a tulip. Pours a clear bright golden color with a quickly dissipating white head.

Aroma is earthy, funky, grassy. Some tart qualities possibly indicative of a wild yeast strain.

Taste is even more sour/wild than the aroma. Definitely on a tightrope between a saison and a wild ale. Biscuity neutral pale malt, lemon zest, oak. Finishes super dry and clean.

Mouthfeel is crisp and light, refreshing. Lively carbonation tickles the palate.

Overall a tasty, understated saison/wild ale. Surprised I had to add this beer’s profile myself. Excellent stuff.

 

Calling out OP...yo @FBarber - have you had any tasty Saisons lately?

 

Jester King Fantome Del Rey: Farmhouse Ale w/ Truffle Honey, Coriander and Black Peppercorns.

This was fantastic. The truffle honey came through quite a bit but it was complimentary. Almost an earthy mushroom/aged cheese character. Citrus and pear. Drying finish with white wine like acidity. They don’t talk about using Fantome yeast but it’s very Fantome in the aromatics. Drinks light for being almost 9%. Great saison/farmhouse to pair with food.

 

Reorganized refrigerator this morning, the first of two remaining canned saisons planned for the season. Still have several bottles I'll store until next year.

Revolution & Afterthought Collaboration Foreknowledge

 

Trees starting to change here, so last planned post for 2023, unless I run into something unexpected.

This brewery is more known for their lagers, but don't sleep on this one.

Dovetail Saison

 

Enjoying this lovely, low ABV Farmstead ale
Cheers all

 

Another decent collaboration from Brasserie Fantôme, this time with St. Somewhere. Cheers! Full review here and in NBW #170 (4.08/5).

 

Today couldn’t be any more Saison in Chicago. Many great beers remaining at The Beer Temple today after the weekend Pratiquons event!

Current Menu



Hill Farmstead Florence



Weather permitting, I’ll be back for more later this week. Full review here.

 

Did you try the Oxbow Farmhouse? If so, whatcha think?

I actually had a six-pack of Oxbow Farmhouse in my hands earlier today but decided to buy Oxbow Zeit Pilsner instead (spoiler alert: I will discuss this beer this Saturday in NBW).

Cheers!

 

I try to keep to 2-3 beers tops during an outing, and quit after two today to enjoy the beautiful weather.

I really enjoyed the barrel aged version of the Oxbow Farmouse (review link), and if they are still on and I can avoid rain to return, the Oxbow and De Garde will be my next two selections.

I would highly suggest retracing your way back to that six pack of Oxbow if given the opportunity! I look forward to your review of the Pilsner, and hope I can run into that one day as well.

 

farmhouse pale is the 2nd bear Belgian pale behind the one. Teras.

 

Stuck with the plan and embarking on Part II of Pratiquons Day for me. First up, Oxbow Farmhouse Pale Ale, of which I’ve only enjoyed the BA version, so away we go.

Oxbow Farmhouse Pale Ale



Beer Temple Bar Notes: 6.0% ABV, $8 12 oz draft pour into a teku glass, Saison. Newcastle, Maine.

Appearance: Dark tan orange clear pour, negligible carbonation, bright right ring above the rim, thin cover over the base. 4.25

Aroma: Funky yeast, banana, clove, citrus, lightly sour. Works well, medium in strength. 4.5

Taste: Aroma complexity AWOL here, funky yeast, faint lemon emerges a bit more as this warms, and even fainter oak if I squint real hard. Digging the funk. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Very dry, gentle carbonation, light easy drinking. Light crisp body, dry, funky finish. 3.75

Overall: Enjoyable take on a pale ale. Less complexity than typical with this brewery and style, enjoyed the BA version more. 3.75

Cheers!

 

Cross post from WBAYDN. Bold Monk's (GA) Spring's Promise 5.2% ABV. Not only does Bold Monk make outstanding beers, this tap room is one of the most unique in Georgia. Spring's Promise is Saison the way I like it. Light, dry and spicy/herbal. I highly recommend Bold Monk Brewing if you find yourself in Atlanta. Cheers!

 

Saison Sunday
That's my fun day
My I don't have to run day....

Firestone Walker & pFriem Family Brewers Collaboration California pFriemin'



Full review here. Definitely worth the jump if you have access. Creamy, decadent, classic.

 

Sitting on my back porch enjoying a couple of Farmer’s Daughter from The Alchemist and a lovely 75 degree day in Western NC. This is a Pilsner/Saison cross with some here attributes but i am enjoying this. Unfortunately i suck at working with the iPad and pictures…

Nose has notes of lemon and bubblegum along with some earthy and floral hops.

Taste is a Pilsner malt baseline whereby the yeast imparts some bubblegum and lemon. Finishes with a good dose of earthy and spicy floral hops to leave a substantial bitter aftertaste; 7/10 on my scale.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and very refreshing.

Overall a different twist to the saison style, glad i was able to try. Rated 4.06.

 

A vintage that undertakes brettanomyces operatively, aside the lactobacillus regulations with a primitive granularity. The age offers a coriaceous earthiness amongst the polyphenol compounds, beyond the rhythmically stale (senescent) hop effects, as the deployments on Hearts’ Beat unravel a bacterial network…

• 2016 Vintage
  • Brewed: June 25, 2015
  • Bottled: June 16, 2016
  • Release: October 13, 2016
  • Yield: 101 Cases
• Elements
  • Grains: Two-Row, Caramel, Special Roast
  • Hops: 2013 Harvest Hallertauer (Aged at Room Temp)
  • Improver: Bairds Family Orchards Brooks Cherries
• Decanted: November 22, 2023
  • Timed: Incrementally
  • Temp: Ongoing/Gradual

…wild microorganisms cautiously flank the grain bill with a paradigm scheme, of yeast delineations. A ruralism that brings a rustic coarseness to the tannin derivatives, when encumbering skins aside stems afore an oak intangibility. Correspondingly, the notations have a Brook cherry residency, which pits a soft sweetness against the compelled – lactic acid – fermentation(s). An earthy correlation builds alongside the bready malts, while the oppressed hops impel funk upon the vintage. Albeit, the initial impressions continue to push the additive, which enforces a presence above assorted red fruits. Chiefly, by implying Pinot noir with drawn recordings near raspberries & cranberries. Such factors play into an ester aggregation, while the chopped molecules define their conversions through bunker silos. All the while, a hop effect that aids Brettanomyces in a sensitive fetor, when finding affinage cheeses atop old bookcases. A perception that remains docile to the vintage, and to the refermented aspects, of timeworn densities. The development links phenolic compounds to goat-y homesteads with a mildewed dryness, while cusping leathery tannins to masonry smokers in the hourly retaliations

There is an isovaleric acid symmetry to the old lupulin applications, as the blend embellishes hydrolysable materials with an additive correspondent. The tacked years offer a distinctiveness to isoamyl format/s and heptanol butyrate/s, when showcasing the Baird Orchard Cherries above. On the other side, a malt bill that indulges in biscuity courtyards across cattle straw & stable tack carts, while phenolic occurrences entertain eugenols. Namely, cloves with a nutmeg to cinnamon undercoat, when penciling in a subtle sweetness aboard lemon drops. Such factors have a masked moderation to the affixed blend, yet more alert upon the refermented – stored – years. A factor that is encouraged through aeriation, where time is extended to support a temperate (°F) crawl. In the interim, cherries correspond to an unraveling, of vanilla wafers, as guaiacol turbulences deed the underparts. The progression is pushed to a near oxidative state with a Barbera resemblance to a vinous awakening, while rattling native compounds. Equivalently, an indigenous movement around the weathered circumstances, when neighboring antiquated labyrinths

The conditioning properties thread a fine texture to the acidic natures, providing a smooth counter to the elderly natures. Accordingly, a cellared rendering on yeast capabilities, for incentivizing & initiating fermentable complexities. Principally, esters, due to a microbial sugar breakdown, which lends an attenuated neatness. These aspects shepherd an olden mineral quality, as a chalkboard perception formulizes under a limestone boundary, while the ebullitions parallel softly amid a dispersed habitat

 

Post from Yesterday’s WBAYDN…
Enjoying a Munkle Saison from Charleston, SC. Drinks more like a Saison/Tripel hybrid with the fruity esters dominating along with a phenolic peppery finish. This will pair pretty well with our higher-end restaurant takeout which is currently heating up.
Enjoy the day!
Tom