Your Top 10 Saisons

I do and it was still tasty at least.

 

Saison Brett
Saison Rue
Tank 7
Clara
Saison du Pelican (especially when drinking it at the brew pub on the beach)
Saison Dupont

 

Yeah but it didn't have as much of the HiC Ecto-cooler flavor as the bottle I had 2-3 weeks earlier.

 

It was my first bottle so I guess I did miss out.

 

Give me Hill Farmstead, or give me death. The barrel aged ones obviously speak for themselves. Vera Mae is just a phenomenal beer, I'd drink it once a week if I could. And thrice a week in the summer. Anna and Arthur are so good.

The newest addition, Juicy, is probably in my top 2 of all time.

That's top 2 of all things ever, not just beer. It's #2 behind the evening of October 27, 2004.

 

Pretty Things Jack D'or.

 

The style can rub me the wrong way sometimes, but when it's right it's so impressive. Personal favs:

Fantome Extra Sour Special Original Creation (probably the best saison I have had to date)
Love Buzz Anchorage
Brooklyn Sorachi Ace
Hill Farmstead Flora
Hill Farmstead Vera Mae
Victory Helios
Saison Dupont
Saison Darkly Stillwater

 

Can't beleive nobody mentioned Funkwerks yet, they have some good ones too. Fantome to me is tops. I need to get some Hill Farmstead stuff.

 

Based on what others have said, I completely failed to mention Sofie, which is great fresh and ages extremely well. Oxbow also makes some really great stuff, and I'm glad that their kegs frequently make it down to DC.

 

You cant be a serious saison fan without at least a nod to Fantome. Acquiring the standard Fantome saison is getting increasingly more tricky and the latest batches have some questionable characteristics. But if you can acquire a bottle of the classic Fantome saison with the "sur lie" label, your entire outlook on saisons will inevitably be altered.

Upright is awesome, Tired Hands is growing on me, Hill Farmstead... meh
McKenzie's saison is nice, the barrel aged version is even better.

For some easily acquirable and fair priced saisons, get a couple 750's of southampton. There are a couple different ones but the old standard saison duluxe is good and hardly spoken about. Granted the Peconic is one of the best but it will be a tough bottle to pull considering its limited availability.

Dock Street isnt spoken about much but they won a silver medal at the GABF this year in the session ale category for their saison-like french collaboration. They have/had some other saisons in the past but that collab was a standout.

Edit, I went back over my reviews and I have 5 different Fantomes in my top 8 for the style with scores of 4.3 or higher. Some ones I forgot to mention: Duchessic, New Glarus imperial saison and Iron Hill's Oak Aged

 

Not in any order:
Boulevard Brett
Boulevard tank 7
Ommegang Hennepin
Saison de Silly
Anything Fantome
D'erpe Mere
Bruery Saison de Lente
Three Floyd's Zes Zes Zes

Fell in love this summer with Saison de Silly and Zes Zes Zes!

 

What happened then? This?

 

The Iron Hill Oak-Aged is fantastic. That isn't one that comes immediately to mind, but I love it.

Finally, Stillwater is most certainly worth a shout out as well. I really enjoyed all of the barrel aged editions, especially when fresh, and many of the dry hopped versions of Brian's saisons that appears at bars in DC, Baltimore, and I'm sure elsewhere are fantastic. Out of the current offerings, I really enjoy Table Beer and Premium, and can't wait to see the latter canned.

 

I have not had too much experience with saisons but from what I have had before, this is a solid must try list:
1. Grassroots Wachu Saison
2. Saison DuPont
3. Goose Island Sophie
4. Fantome Saison d'Hiver
5. Upright Fantasia
6. Three Floyds Rabbid Rabbit
7. Victory Helios
8. McKenzie Saison Vauteur
9. Tired Hands FarmHands
10. Saison d'Erpe

 

Stillwater is one of those that I try to keep hidden under wraps... shhh.. don't tell anyone!!!

 

Sante Adairius Bernice (with brett) and Anais (made with spelt) are both amazing. Could have something to do with them filling the void of great beer in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately mostly on tap only at the brewery and very limited hours.

Did a side by side of Bernice with Seiozen Bretta and it was a wash. Both dry and delicious, with thin brett mouthfeel, but drastically different taste.

Saison de Lente got me hooked.

 

Cellar Door, especially when it's fresh enough that it still has some noticeable Citra character, is fantastic. If you like the sage character of that beer, then you might like Epic's Utah Sage Saison—I was very, very pleasantly surprised by that. F'in loved drinking that beer, to be honest.

 

Let's be real, I just love saisons. Amazing how a beer I hated 6 months ago has easily become my favorite style.

 

on the radar! All I have seen I think is the Straight Up. I will also throw in love for Sofie, The Jolly Pumpkin Bam type beers, and really like Cigar City's Dos Costas Oeste - Lemon Wood aged. I want to shove that beer up my nose rather than drink it (which works alright too by the way).

 

I was thinking of this under Tired Hands given the collaboration, but this beer deserves a separate acknowledgement, as it is absolutely amazing.