Saison vs. Farmhouse

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/are-saisons-and-farmhouse-ales-the-same-thing.54338/

 

They are pretty much the same but some people classify Saison as a sub-category of Farmhouse and also include Biere de Garde as a farmhouse ale. The BJCP style guidelines do not include the Farmhouse category.

 

P.S.: I appreciate your thirst for knowledge.

 

I've been curious about this as well. You beat me to the question!

 

For me "Farmhouse" has a more elaborate malt bill than just your simple saison.

 

Look at it this way. Trying them all is a tough responsibility but if you don't do it, who will?

 

There are some fine-pointed distinctions, sure, but with all the various takes you'll encounter on the style(s), it's safe to lump them together.

 

Going back in time a bit, according to what I've seen in several sources it was customary for farms to need help with the planting, crop tending, and harvest, etc. and in those days they brewed it relatively low strength as a beverage to have with lunch. Get some liquid but without a lot of alcohol to cope with as well. There were brewed on the premises, hence the term Farmhouse. This would invove brewing beer in the spring for consumption in the summer season. In French Saison means season. Hence the term Saison. So as with many things there were two different words to refer to the same thing.

When the style had nearly died out and was revived in Belgium (which is where such beers were was mostly brewed) a gradual slight differentiation began to take place (e.g., bumping up alcohol levels and tweeking the beer slightly in a few ways). But basically they are still the same style family. It is also one of the most losely constraint styles, again, probably because of where and how it originated. The farmers wouldn't insist on everyone using exactly the same ingredient list, only that it be appropriate for a summer/early fall beverage with meals and would so, that other than barley malt, water, and local yeast they would use what ingredients they would have ready to hand.

Today, some saisons have brett yeast others do not, but the odds are that back when, all farmhouse ales had it in the beer/brewing, but most of those beers didn't last long enough for any one to focus on it since the beer would all be consumed during the season it was available and before the Brett character (funk) had a lot of time to show off its unique flavors.

 

Yeah, what @drtth said!

 

I like Saisons more. I find them to be more dry and thirst quenching.

 

In my opinion, Saisons usually have more of a Belgian yeast aroma. A Farmhouse should be slightly less aggressive and have a mild "wild-note" to it. Have it be noted that there are MANY different variations of farmhouse/saison. If you like the style I would recommend a grisette.

 

To me saison is a specific style whereas farmhouse is more of a methodology/mindset

I like this as well, in the same way that "sours" isn't really a style, but rather a broad descriptor that includes many specific styles.

 

*this*

Saying "Farmhouse Beer" is kinda the same as saying "Country Style Cooking"

 

There's a pretty good (if colloquially written) chapter from the book The Brewer's Tale by William Bostwick, if you're interested in some weekend beer reading.

 

Farmhouse and Saison = Porter and Stout