Saison/Farmhouse Preference

De garde petit desay. A tart farmhouse but by far the best saison I've ever had.

 

Not sure where you're located in NY, but Plan Bee in the Mid-Hudson Valley is making some awesome, unique saisons right now.

 

ABV doesn't matter to me for this style. I love saisons. As long as the are full of funk, I'm happy. You may just not be a fan of the style.

 

Dupont or a good bottle of Fantome FTW!

 

The saison range is fairly broad running from fairly tame to marvelously funky. Try Saison Dupont in a brown bottle. Don't buy the green because because there is a good chance you will hate it. Many American interpretations of the style do not get the fermentation temperatures down right and they loose some of the wonderful funky yeast character. St. Feuillien comes in either a bottle or a can and is pretty good. Hennepin and Sorachi Ace are decent and not too outrageous and know what they are doing. You should be able to get South Hampton. Boulevard Saison Brett is worth a try as is Sierra Nevada Ovila. Jolly Pumpkin brews some funky saisons - try the Oro de Clabaza. Then there is Fantome - if none of these work then you probably do not like the style. I know a couple of beer judges who taste the saison yeasts as kind of a bacony off flavor and can't drink the stuff - you may be one of the unfortunate few who can't handle the yeast flavors.

 

Keep an eye out for Off Color Apex Predator. It's the best clean saison made in America. I'd have a hard time drinking anything else if It was Disto'd where I live. Logsdon farms Seizon Bretta is excellent and like others have said Fantome is pretty amazing

 

Is Ommegang Abbey Ale classified as farmhouse? Then I'd vote for that. The absolute worst was by that brewery that makes Long Strange Trippel. Long Strange Trippel is fantastic. Their farmhouse ale is revolting and undrinkable. Complex as hell, but undrinkable.

 

Saison Brett? That's from Boulevard and is a world class saison if you ask me... One of the best ones I've ever had, actually.

 

HF shelfs....EOT

 

I'm thinking it was Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. I notice BA give it 95. I can't figure it out. Really really complex, bitter, unpleasant. Its like Long Strange Tripel was made by a different company.

 

It's a Witbier, not a Saison/Farmhouse Ale.

 

Ommegang Abbey Ale is a Dubbel. Ommegang Hennepin is a Saison and I would recommend it. Tank 7 is way too hoppy for a Saison. More of a Belgian IPA.

 

Tank 7 bitter? ...
I will admit fresh tank 7 is NOWHERE near as good as a 7-12 month old one
(I drink alot of tank 7)lol.
.. saisons are not for everybody but bitter nah lol

 

I'm not a fan of overly funky saisons, yet, I still consider saison probably my second or third favorite styles. Full disclosure, I've never had anything from Hill Farmstead, Fantome, or Anchorage (sadly), but Stillwater makes some delicious ones - Cellar Door is maybe my favorite. Saison Dupont and Boulevard Tank 7 are simple and good, but nothing surprising. Hennepin and Sofie are also solid. I also love Heavy Seas Red Sky at Night, despite its lower ratings. It's a bit on the sweet side, maybe not quite farmhouse-y enough to really be called a true saison, but it's just good.

 

I'm pretty new to the style and have been trying different ones. I've found I like a little less "funk" then some. As to the alcohol, I think you get more developed flavors with high ABV so I prefer those.
Goose Island Sofie is by far my favorite.
Sorachi Ace is nice as well.
North Coast Puck the Beer is lower ABV I think like 4.5 and very drinkable but lacks some of the citrus flavors I like.
Prairie Artison Ales's 'Merica was also very nice.
Not a huge fan of Tank7 because it has a lot more funky flavors.

Cheers

 

High abv ruins the style if it's not masked well. I'd prefer lower abv, but higher is okay if done right. My intro into that category was with Hennepin, been my favorite style since. Logsdon Seizon Bretta is tops on my list.

 

Seizoen Bretta by Logsdon, Red Barn Ale by Lost Abby and Tropic King by Funkwerks are a few of my favorite Saisons. I prefer a higher ABV saison (around 7 is good)- the bolder the better!

 

Another vote for Tank 7, it's fantastic!

Also if you can find any of the Stillwater beers up where you are, try them, as they are fantastic! At least I think so.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22150/

 

Logsdon saisons and Tank 7 are wonderful. Funkwerks is nice too.

 

Let us know how you like the Hennepin. One of my favorites. Ommegang Spiced Saison with Boulevard is good too.