A Salute to Saisons! (2022)

I think the the combination of perfect bitterness and carbonation is as important to saison as it is to pilsner. Bright, sparkling, snappy are all words I want to describe either style with. I think the best saisons could be recommended to pilsner fans, and Vice versa.

Afterthought Brewing is local to me, and makes lots of saison listed with IBUs above 35. Often listed up around 45. It never feels out of place, and it seems the bitterness softens up after 6-12 months in the bottle

 

Well, I enjoy drinking both Saisons and Pilsners but the flavor profiles of those two style are quite different. Pilsners should have notable hop flavors/aromas (i.e., the hops are more than just for bitterness) while Saisons will be dominated by the yeast produced flavors: fruity (esters) and spicy (phenols). My wife enjoys drinking my homebrewed Pilsners but absolutely refuses to drink my homebrewed Saisons.

Yes, bitterness (e.g., IBUs) decrease with the aging of beers. This is illustrated in the below graph (courtesy of Dalgliesh):


Since I made mention of homebrewing Saisons you might be interested in reading:

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

Cheers!

 

Of course some pilsner fans will be turned off by the yeasts found in the saison world. What I’ve found though, is that there is a lot of common ground, provided the customer isn’t opposed to different yeast profiles. I think getting more beer drinkers into pilsner and saison in America is a good move for the longevity of the beer industry of America. It’s almost become the resistance to the modern beer trends of hazy ipa and pastry stout. When I draw comparisons between to two styles, I find that a good chunk of customers drinking pilsner due to a rebellion against the current trends are open and excited to get into the saison world. They are looking for flavorful beers that are more functional, more stable on the shelf, and won’t fatigue their palate. Craft beer in America is looking for the next big thing, and I think it’s lager. I’ve found lots of new lager heads that are open to exploring saison based on the similarities I’ve laid out in the previous post.

 

A wild (top-fermented) salute to the style, where the tallied years come with an acerbic sensibility. One that’s regulated thru mixed culture auras, while offering an operative uniqueness to the raspberry add-ons, as a bacterial exsiccation maps out -

Blend Six

• Bottled: June 21st, 2016
• Released: July 22nd, 2016
• Consumed: November 23rd, 2022

An earthy introduction with a relaxed awareness on esters, as the microbial contagions adhere to the vintage. Confident components to the aged-oppressed raspberries through a matured involvedness, from a ripened oldness to an oxidative mephitis. Howbeit, a calculated fetor that’s initially repressed, as the draw comes with an hourly aridness. With this mind, the presetting notations reap the aggregates, of an array on drupelets ascribing raspberries. The symbolism stretches to a Clafoutis complexion, while remaining seedy and rooted to the additive. All the while, an implication to ethyl hexanoate, where the apple correspondences meld softly to the phenolic spin-offs. Such bonuses speak to the loitering spices found in eugenol, while complimenting the framework over the adjacent ketone (C10H12O2). At no cost, a wet – woodsy – hop effect that lends a resin kindness to the leafy tannins, aside the peppered herbaceous rearguards. The bacterial agents on lactobacillus are present to the caducity, while evolving a Camembert refinedness thru the employed (bottle) conditioning. Sequentially, a more captivating element on the native drivers, which offer a nuanced mustiness to cattle sheds, amid a smirched growth on Stinkhorns

The virulence is perceptible on the cellared acidity, which comes with a well-bred dryness, for yeast explicitness. Nonetheless, a raspberry opulence to not be overtaken, yet an accessory that now parallels the implied draws on clingstone peaches & citron lemons. Markedly, an isoamyl octanoate nexus to the structure, which is supportive to the grains on rusticity. Assuaging hops provide a herbal kick to the eugenol compounds that touch on clove, when pitching resin to the concourse. The age welcomes a pastoral fondness with a vanilla oak consideration to the tannins on berries, as an acetate solvency crawls behind. A movement that expresses abandoned bunker silos, while airing farmland mildew on rabbity phenols. Moreover, an Alpaca wool note that corresponds to damp cattlehide, as a decanted nuttiness formulates aside moldy caverns. Oxidation comes sequentially with an elevated solvency on epoxy, while setting up Sangiovese commonalities. Correspondingly, a move in time that’s deftly degassed, as dry leather nears tobacco, when bordering burnt guaiacols

An alleviated sweetness that’s pitted against acidic motorists, which is aeriated intentionally to strategically stabilize. There is a minerality factor that resembles an autumn jog with a soft mist, while tannins support an attenuated dry rider = In this situation, the approach inaugurates a bright vivacity that doesn’t pierce, but rather respects the framework, as a soft texture grows upon the weathered advancements

 

hey guys , long time first time!
Zebulon Brewing For Fred Eckhardt
House Saison from a great brewery!!

 

Seeing this thread has inspired me to pull some Casey out of the cellar to drink today instead of the usual hops/stouts/barleywines. Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

I had a HF Arthur with Thanksgiving dinner. Bought it back in late June when I was up in New Hampshire for a week for a workcation (ie working remotely in a beer Mecca area). The Arthur was delicious, even better than the first time I had it. So well balanced, such a clean finish, with the touch of funk in the nose. Even my 2 relatives (1 is a Bud drinker and the other a hop head), both very much enjoyed it as well.

 

I nodded as I read this catching up on this thread. Farmhouse Ales remain my favorite style of beer, but there are just so few great examples of shelves, and I really noticed it this year.

The best ones are at breweries I would have to travel to, but, even then, I didn’t get out as often as I typically do this year. It has been much easier (and less expensive) to just grab 12 packs of High Noon and/or a Mexican import.

 

Here's a nice one that's sure to please. Cheers!
Castle Danger Solstice Saison 5.2% ABV
3.78/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12oz can canned 11/03/22 into a 12oz tulip glass.
L: Pours pale grey w a pink & fleshy hue w a thin, smooth white head, good retention to edge foam, lively even carbo, light skeletal lacing.
S: Funky dry green apple, lightly spicy & peppery, grassy, earthy cardamom, pear, melon rind.
T: Fruity, fairly tart, pear, citrus zest, yeast, crackery bread, mulberry, white grape, resinous cardamom, melon rind, well balanced and not overly dynamic, has a faint brine.
F: Lightly brisk, zesty and drying med-light bodied feel. Punchy w an effervescent center and a fast, dry, lightly parching finish.
O: Organic aroma, great taste, lovely feel. A bit like a fruity dry party punch. Refreshing and very good in its style.

 

Really, this is closer to an adambier, strong ale, eisbock, or imperial stout than to a saison, but it's Fantome, so...

Review here (4.17)

 

Such a great beer!

 

Possibly some of the vague pepper/funk was from Brett (mostly detectable in the dregs) - but there was vanishingly little compared to the concentrated malt notes. Might buy one to age for a decade or two.

 

When I was an ex-pat in Gent, one of my co-workers was good friends with one of the founders of Troubadour. I loved their beers back then, but sadly, I have not been back to Gent since 2015.

 

Very cool, one of the four musketeers. Were they originally from Ghent? I think the brewery moved (from Ursel?) to Sint-Gillis-Waas about five years ago. I haven't been to Belgium since 2006!