Salute to Saisons (2024)

that sounds lovely

 

Gushing over this gusher

 

Following up one peach saison with another (this one from Suarez), welcoming (or at least propitiating) the new season - full review here (4.32/5) and in NBW #205 - cheers!

 

Split Squad, a saison brewed by Revolution and Is/Was. Big black pepper & grapefruit vibes here...can't say I'd 'salute' this one but it'll do in a pinch.

 

Saison de la Meuse
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/59027/484362/

A farmhouse ale... brewed in a farmhouse!

Poured a330ml bottle into a tulip. A big four finger fluffy white head on a hazy dirty lemon. Excellent head retention. Lots of thick lacing. Some yeast at the end of the pour.

Yeast and a slight barnyard funk in the nose.

Fruity, earthy with a dry finish.

Light body and carbonation. Very smooth.

An excellent Saison. True to the style. Well worth a try.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

There's a paucity of saisons locally and I'm not feeling flush enough to spring for the fancy stuff lately.

However, Hen House brewing has long been a favorite regional saison brewer and started real distribution here a couple years ago. They, predictably, led with their celebrated ipas but did always include their flagship saison. Finally, today, I saw the first of their annual rotating seasonal saisons. This summer brew highlighted a specific saison yeast (Lalbrew Belle Saison) and Wai-Iti hops.

I didn't get a picture. But it's not worth it. What a dud! I've loved saisons from these folks and honestly this was watery and bland and just a waste.

Salute to saisons, but I cannot honor this one as a win. I'll buy a 4 pack or two of their regular saison to keep market support up but I'm bummed this first seasonal that we got was such a dus

 

The flavor profile of a Saison will be heavily influenced by yeast selection.

Back in 2013 I received a free sachet of Lalbrew (called Danstar back then) Belle Saison at the National Homebrewers Conference and I used it to brew a batch of Saison. That yeast performed really well (i.e., reached final gravity in less than a week) but the flavor profile was very much one-dimensional and lacked the complexity that I prefer in a Saison.

I will be homebrewing my annual batch of Saison in a couple of months and for the past 5+ years I have co-pitched two yeast strains to produce my Saison beers:

“…I do a co-pitch of Fermentis T-58 (Belgian Ale yeast) and BE-134 (Saison yeast) at a ratio of around 3:1 (T-58 to BE-134). I said to myself: what the heck, let’s give it a try. Later that summer I brewed my first batch of Saison using this blend and it turned out great – a nice combination of esters and phenols. In the summer of 2019, I conducted an experiment and just used the Saison (BE-134) yeast and while that batch was good it was lacking in esters. So, in 2020 it was back to using the T-58 & BE-134 blend and I once again very much enjoyed that batch.”

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Saison_Beer

There are other available Saison yeast strains (e.g., Wyeast 3724, WLP565) which provide complex flavor profiles which I enjoy but those strains suffer from a fermentation ‘stall’ which led to long primary fermentation for me. I enjoyed drinking those beer but the ‘angst’ of an excessively long primary fermentation is problematic IMO.

I can understand why commercial breweries may select a yeast strain such as Lalbrew Belle Saison for both peace of mind and scheduling reasons but the tradeoff is less complexity as regards a flavor profile.

Cheers!

 

I can report that in my area there aren’t too many Belgian ales in general being brewed which I wish was otherwise. I homebrew my own Belgian ales to obtain my ‘fix’.

Maybe someday craft brewed Belgians will make a comeback?

Cheers!

 

A nice blend of four ales from SARA (Swarmbox (barrel aged saison brewed with honey), barrel aged Anais, Cellarman, and a saison brewed with local/raw grains) - full review here (4.17/5) and in NBW #206 - cheers!

 

Moony’s Ale (Hoppy Saison) - Another Moon

Not a lot of information about this brewer, did find a fun podcast though. Kinda a rambling conversation, not much discussion of the brewer after the first ten minutes.
http://www.stealthisbeer.com/episodes/2022/3/7/episode-360-matt-moon-another-moon-brewing

First off, it is brewed at Suarez, and Another Moon specializes in Saison. Apparently they are experimenting with wild mushrooms in their beers. Not sure if there is any reference to the Moonies Unification Church, which was located not too far away in Barrytown, NY.

The horse blanket aroma is great! Both in aroma and flavor, with lots of lemon. The farmhouse funk is prominent against pleasantly mild tartness and bitterness. I will be on the alert for more beer from Another Moon, and NOT just for the nostalgia of the area along the Hudson Valley.

 

The second saison resembling ectoplasm that I've had from Fantôme. Full review here (3.8/5) and in NBW #207. Cheers!

 

Hive - Wayland

This is pretty good. WoHooo! There are another three waiting in the refrigerator. The honey is very subtle. The tartness is spot on. Opens a tad sweet, transitions through a brief and mild bitterness, ends dry.

 

Continuing to drink down my SARA stash - this one coming in at a refreshing 4.5% ABV. Full review here (4.14/5) and in NBW #210.

 

La Moneuse
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/825/6436/

One of my favourite Saisons. A massive head. Maybe I should have poured into a pint glass. At least something with no nucleation.

 

Change of Saisons - Brewery of Broken Dreams

Another mildly funky Saison, which these guys do so well. I am pairing it with Fromage Des Jacques which is a semi-soft Gruyère with a light funkiness, and an excellent partner to Saisons in general.

The beer is dry, with distinct notes of coriander, lemon and white pepper. Earthy hops give a light bitterness in contrast to the mild sweetness and earthiness. The long finish is mild with building lemon.

I decided to more out front for a change of pace and then dark clouds rolled in for dramatic effect. Ahhhh lazy Summer afternoons! BTW, I’m reading John Banville’s The Infinities, such a poetic writer.

 

True Anomaly's Rosette. Wild Saison, Foder aged, bottle condition Saison with Scarlet Tea. 6.7% ABV. Review over at the NBW thread.

This is really nice, and complex. Toasted malts, baked bread, fruity esters, orange and citrus. The tea is very apparent and nicely complimentary, herbal, spicy, floral, hibiscus flavors. There is a musty yeast character and a tartness that slowly builds and lingers on. The tartness becomes full on puckering sourness after a bit.



Supplemental entertainment:

Making headway on this hilarious satire by Joseph Heller, what else would you expect ha. Also listening to the Brother Thelonious Quintet, which was a student band from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Created and sponsored by North Coast, of course.

 

Monarch - Brewery of Broken Dreams

My review from a few years back still holds, although the cranberry is much more noticeable. Definitely an unusual take on the style.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38141/520530/