The 750 Saison

Whenever I am at a bar with OEC on the tap list, I get some no matter what. In the unlikely event that I happen to bump into some before I'm through with this thread I will include it.

 

I was actually very tempted to buy a Transmitter bottle for the thread. Ultimately, I didn't because they go for about $17 a bottle in the stores I go to. I'll spend that kind of money if I'm really splurging and either love the beer or incredibly curious. In the case of Transmitter, I've had a little bit of their stuff in the past and enjoyed it, but it's hard taking that leap all things considered.

 

Pretty Things Jack D'Or

If I'm not crazy, this is the only 22oz I've put in the group. I did so for good reason. For those that don't know, Pretty Things has called it a day (or not, more on that later). Jack D'Or has been an absolute favorite of mine. It's sad to see it go. I couldn't leave an old bottle of Jack D'Or out.

Here are the brewers - Dann Paquette and Martha Holley-Paquette.


I've heard that Jack D'Or was the first flagship saison for a US brewer. Dann used to brew for Daleside in Yorkshire and Martha is from Yorkshire, but rather than setting up stone Yorkshire squares in Massachusetts, they became tenant brewers and made a saison their flagship.

The beer features Pils, Vienna, Wheat, Oats, and Rye on the malt side, Nugget, Styrian Golding, Columbus, and Palisade on the hop side.

The beer's head was minimal. The beer was very hazy, almost yellow grapefruit juice-ish. I don't recall the beer being exactly like this in the past and I wonder if the age of the bottle had anything to do with it.

The joy of this beer is how everything is balanced. One could not accuse this saison of being too yeasty. There's a fruitiness and a spiciness but everything is kept carefully in check. The only element that shouts a little loud is it's bitterness, but compared to some Belgian beers it's still a little restrained. The brewer has described the beer as having a "proper plant-like bitterness" and I think that's fitting. The beer is quite dry. In a post above, @Urk1127 used the term confidence. I think that's a perfect description for what this beer exudes. As a result, it's incredibly drinkable. A delicious beer.

My timing is accidentally perfect here. Turns out Dann and Martha just brewed a new Pretty Things beer at Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland called "Seasoned Traveller." It's a pale, golden, hoppy beer. To me, that sounds like a "Golden Ale." The bad news is that it's only in UK pubs.

@bleakies

 

Brouwerij De Glazen Toren - Saison d'Erpe-Mere

Brouwerij De Glazen Toren was started by brewmasters Jef Van den Steen, Dirk De Pauw, and partner Mark De Neef. Here's quite a pic of Jef Van den Steen:



... and here's a chance to listen to him talk saison:



Before he was a brewer, Jef Van den Steen was a Belgian beer expert and author. When other brewers that he criticized asked him if he could do any better, he decided to try brewing. Saison d'Erpe-Mere was the first beer he professionally brewed. Erpe-Mere is the region in Belgium where the brewery is located.

You’ll note in the pic that I used a pint glass. I usually prefer using similar glasses from beer to beer in this thread, but I love the serving instructions on the bottle’s paper wrap and feel compelled to obey. No stems!



The beer is a really lovely bright gold. It’s dry and delicious. There’s a fresh bread quality to it. There is some measured bitterness. Coming after the Pretty Things beer, I can’t help but to think of it as a plant bitterness. One thing that distinguishes this beer is how smooth that bitterness is.

This is the real deal. I’m not certain about this, but I seem to recall an interview with the brewer where he mentioned following in the footsteps of Dupont or something to that effect. I could drink glass after glass of this. Nothing is out of place.

A few months ago I had a smoked version of this beer called "Gerookt." I did not care for this version as much as I had hoped.

 

I don't know, but it might be a case of following Dupont. Dupont's saison glass is like a willi becher and Glazen Toren's saison glass is like a pilsner glass.

 

I opened a bottle of Saison Dupont that I am guessing is a few months older than the bottle I opened in the beginning of this thread. It felt like the elements of this one were a little muted in comparison, but it could have been just the way I was perceiving them on different days. Cheers.

 

Blaugies La Moneuse

The name of this beer comes from A.J. Moneuse, a bandit and gang leader in the 18th century and an ancestor of the brewers. Blaugies was started by a husband and wife. The brewery was located in their farmhouse garage. They were helped out by Dupont and they use the Dupont yeast. Truly a family affair, the wife used to do the brewing but now their son does it.

Here's a video where Pierre-Alex Carlier gets to discuss his beer:



La Moneuse was the first beer that they brewed. The first time I ever had this beer, I loved it, particularly because it had an old damp basement quality to it. That might be a silly analogy, but it felt right at the time. Since then, I have not had the same experience with this beer.

My guess is that this is an old bottle. Here's a pic of a different bottle with a different label in a store:



If anybody knows which label indicates the newer beer please let me know. I've only ever had this beer with the label with the man's face. My guess is that the store pic is of a newer bottle, but that store has some seriously old Belgian beer, and in this case you can see the row of green bottles just hanging out on the top of the shelf.

The cork from this bottle pops out with a BANG. I like this honest excerpt from the Shelton site: "Like many saisons, the beer is over-lively in carbonation, due to conditioning in the bottle with perhaps a touch too much live yeast." There's lots of sediment in the beer. It's a dark amber. This beer doesn't impress me like the first time I had it. There's a bitterness that just isn't working for me because it feels uncohesiveness with the beer, as if it was sitting alongside the beer and not quite in it. The beer is earthy, fruity, characterful, slightly tart, and a touch oxidized (but still light on it's feet all things considered).

Take a look at this empty bottle:



One side of the bottle is completely coated in sediment. Like Dupont, Blaugies must be bottle conditioning their beers and storing them on their side for a few weeks to increase the surface area between the yeast and the beer. The film that is stuck to the La Moneuse bottle is incredible. I've seen this in other La Moneuse bottles, but I've never seen anything so extreme in other saisons.

 

Blaugies D'Epeautre

The name of this beer translates to spelt. Spelt is a type of wheat that was a staple in Europe in centuries (and centuries) past. Today, it survives in small isolated areas. This beer is made with spelt and barley. Sean Hill has called this beer his favorite saison.

Like La Moneuse, the cork is just begging to explode out of the bottle. In this case, the beer is also producing an out of control head (check out the little hill in the pic). The body is light. There's a soft creaminess here but also some zippiness (I don't care if that's a total contradiction) and the beer just dances on the tongue. The spelt is very noticeable, in a slightly tart wheaty way. The yeast contribution is bright. There's some lemon. The dryness is at a nice level. The hop character is very much in a supporting role. This beer is an absolute delight.

The thing that astonishes me is that this beer is 6%. It easily feels like it's just under 5. Not to suggest that it's lacking in any way though - it's incredible for a 6% beer.

This beer drinks just like what some American brewers are calling Grisette. Thanks to someone pointing me in a good direction, I now know of a great website that details the history of Grisette and I can't wait to starting getting into the words. I'll be back with a little info once I get a chance to investigate. I have no doubt that my understanding of the subject will be much better.

@utopiajane , this beer has your name on it.

 

Here's where things take a turn into mad scientist territory.

When I opened each beer, I poured the first eight ounces into a half pint Ball jar, tagged it, and hid it away.



After the first 13 beers, I opened each jar and tasted the beers side by side and blind. I'm totally aware of all of the many shortcomings in doing this, but this thread was the only time I would even be able to attempt such a thing - so why not?

Having beers side by side emphasizes certain differences and bridges other gaps that aren't as apparent in other circumstances.

The big surprise here was the lack of any big surprises. Blind tastings can often yield very interesting results.

I ranked the beers according to my enjoyment and here was my order:


12 - Southampton Deluxe
11 - Southampton Cuvee Des Fleurs
10 - Perennial Saison De Lis
9 - Thiriez Blonde
8 - Fantome Pissenlit
7 - Blaugies La Moneuse
6 - Cambridge BC Morning Dew
5 - Blaugies D'Epeautre
4 - Glazen Toren d'Erpe Mere
3 - Pretty Things Jack D'Or
2 - Saison Dupont (older bottle)
1 - Saison Dupont (newer bottle)

I didn't bother including a jar of Fantome Hiver... with the smokey notes and all.

It's worth noting that the beers were obviously in different levels of shape due to age. Oxidation really jumps out in a side by side, and the playing field was certainly uneven. The number 12 beer was very clearly oxidized for the worse, but it's interesting to point out that I did feel like the Pretty Things beer was pretty oxidized as well... and I ranked it so high regardless.