Saison anyone?

[Wilpar76]

I just tried a Saison beer this weekend. I am pretty adventurous when it comes to beer, meaning that if we go out somewhere and I see a beer I have never had, I will try it. Well, I had a saison beer this weekend. I have to say, I had never even heard about it before this weekend. I got a little history lesson on it as well. For those of you that do not already know, it is a beer that primarily brewed by French farmers to quench thirst and rejuvenate them after the day's harvest. It is light both in color and effect on the palate. I found each sip to be sweet but it followed through with a solid beer after taste. I believe it was about 6.25 % alcohol by volume. I have started to acquire a taste for beers that are stronger but have more robust flavors. I already joke about it with my buddies, but I honestly believe I have become a beer snob.

Anyone, has anyone else tried saison style beer? I liked it as a change of pace, but I do not believe it will crack my starting line-up let alone my steady rotation of go-to beers.

Here is a picture.

 

[Edcculus]

Saisons are great. One of my absolute favorites in the summer. My go-to is usually Ommegang's "Hennepin". Nice, light crisp and very dry!

Dupont is a great beer, but I feel it doesn't travel well, and suffers the same fate as a lot of Belgian beers I get here - oxidation. I almost always end up with a skunked bottle since they put it in green bottles... They are making smaller bottles in a 4 pack now, which are in brown bottles. Its awesome if you can find it on tap too.

 

[Phog Allen]

I had one of these for the first time over the summer in Omaha Nebraska. It was at Upstream Brewing Company. It was called Children of the Corn Saison. It was one of the BEST beers I have ever tasted. It was pulled from the cellar the old fashioned way with a pump handled tap. It was really neat watching the barkeep pulling that draught. It put the creamiest head on it and the whole experience was just superb. I am not normally a big fan of their beers but this one was spectacular. If you guys are ever around Omaha and they have this specialty on tap, grab one. We were there on Fourth of July weekend.

Regards, Todd

 

[Edcculus]

Saison on a hand pump? Never heard of that before. Saisons are supposed to be very highly carbonated and "effervescent".

 

[Wilpar76]

Saisons are great. One of my absolute favorites in the summer. My go-to is usually Ommegang's "Hennepin". Nice, light crisp and very dry!

Dupont is a great beer, but I feel it doesn't travel well, and suffers the same fate as a lot of Belgian beers I get here - oxidation. I almost always end up with a skunked bottle since they put it in green bottles... They are making smaller bottles in a 4 pack now, which are in brown bottles. Its awesome if you can find it on tap too.

I will look for those brands. Generally speaking, are Saison's available year round or are they only in seasonal production?

 

[cardstock]

Keep an eye out for Fantome, each bottle is hand bottled, hand labeled, hand corked and capped. Some great stuff and he makes different varieties per the season.

 

[Edcculus]

Some breweries will do Saison as a summer seasonal, but generally they are avialable year round. I know for a fact Ommegang's and Dupont's are.

 

[QwerkyOne]

SWMBO had a sample of New Holland's Golden Cap at a local specialty store and fell in love. After reading up a bit on the saison style, I found a bottle of Goose Island Sofie (modeled after the Saison Dupont if I'm not mistaken) that she loves even more. They're American breweries, so you don't need to worry so much about the skunking, though they are getting rather scarce. They certainly are very enjoyable, but they'll probably stay a seasonal thing for me.

 

[Gravy]

Made a saison this summer but I think my brother and I went through the keg before it was properly ready. <sigh>

 

[comat0se]

I really like the Dupont - Avec bon voeux, which is like a "special saison" that you see around the holidays. That's one of my favorites... very similar to a saison but richer and more alcohol. Saisons are great and I hope we see more and more of them in the US.