Belgian Saisons

The smell of fresh cut grass, baseball on TV, the sound of kids out of school, steaks on the grill, weekends on the beach, hikes, 101° F temperatures and 95% humidity outside means it must be summer in Houston. For those of you not from Houston, allow me to explain. Go into your bathroom, close all of the doors and windows turn the shower on at hot as it will go, in a few minutes, you can begin to understand a hot, wet summer day in Houston. As the mist of Texas Amazonia begins to grasp the city our thoughts begin to shift toward relief; what can we drink to help ease the pain?

If you are weary of the light summer beers that have become common place in today’s market, take a look at the most classic of summer beer types, the Belgium style Saison. The word Saison is French for season; this farmhouse style of ale originates from Wallonia a French speaking region in Belgium. We call this ale type farmhouse ale because it was first brewed in farmhouses during the harvest season for field workers who traditionally got 5 liters of beer a day. Wow! Let me be a Belgium farmhand. In many ways, good Belgium Saisons are like good French wine; top fermentation of this beer type takes place in hot farmhouses sometimes at temperatures above 90° F (this might be a little high for the safety of the yeast so many Saisons today are brewed around 80°).

In the age before refrigeration, farmers had to have a way to persevere their harvest from year to year, brewing or distilling were common tools to help do this. Saisons are strong ales that were brewed in late autumn or winter for consumption in late summer. The ales had to be strong enough to survive the months long aging but not so strong as to diminish the efficiency of the farmhands. So many times these beers were blended with Lambics or Saisons from the previous season resulting in a brew that was about 3% ABV. Today many Saisons are bottle conditioned around 8% ABV.

The Saison was once thought to be a disappearing style of beer, but with the help of a fearless American craft brewing market, the Saison has found new life, and consequently many Saisons that were favorites for centuries in their home country are finding their way to American shores. Combine that with the well crafted American takes on this brew, and you have yourself a good selection to choose from. But my three favorites from this category are the Saison Dupont Vieille Provision brewed by Dupont Brasserie of Tourpes-Leuze of Belgium, Saison Dupont’s organic brother Forêt Dupont (A.K.A. Moinette Biologique) and the Hennepin Farmhouse brewed by Brewery Ommegang from Cooperstown, New York.

Saison Dupont Vieille Provision, or Saison Dupont for short, is considered to be one of the best examples of this beer type in the world. Ranking in the 96^th percentile with a 3.81 from ratebeer.com and posting an excellent rating of A- from beeradvocate.com. This is the most readily available example of top notch Saisons you can get. This farmhouse ale comes slightly lighted than you might suspect with only 6.5% ABV. The beer pours a hazy straw yellow color. It has a thick white head made up of tiny little bubbles, the head settle quickly but hangs around in a thin form for most of the time you consume it. The nose is a dusty mix of spice yeast and hops. The mouth feel is highly carbonated; this comes from the bottle conditioning. The taste is a sweet mix of spice; I get light coriander, cloves, peppercorn and nutmeg with a very forward flavor of acidic lemon. The finish is a dry sweetness that is somewhat lingering. By far a tasty beer that is good all year round, but it is truly satisfying after a hard day of yard work, or farm work, whatever you might be doing.

Moinette Biologique is the same beer as Saison Dupont but it is brewed with 100% organically grown hops and barley, with no added pesticides, no chemicals and filtered natural well water. The beer is in the 95^th percentile on ratebeer.com and gets an Excellent A- from Beeradvocate.com. The beer is very similar to the Saison Dupont in almost every way, but it is slightly more carbonated and has a more refreshing mouth feel. All things being equal I would choose the Moinette Biologique over the Saison Dupont simply because it is basically the same beer with a smaller carbon foot print (blog score points with green community).

Using the standards set forth by the great Belgium breweries like Dupont Brasserie Brewery, Ommegang is thousands of physical miles away, but right in step with the great tradition of the Saison. Ommegang is an American brewery like Allagash that has chosen to base its brewing on the time honor methods of Belgium beers.

It is right to talk about Ommegang and summer as summer is indicative of sports like baseball, and Ommegang and baseball are the only two important things in Cooperstown, New York. Brewery Ommegang is an architectural masterpiece based on Belgium farmhouses, the brewery was built on an old hop farm in 1997. The brewers work on one simple idea, brew a product that is a deep complex totally-quaffable marriage of partaking and art. It is under the illusion of the European country side that Ommegang brews their only Saison; the Hennepin Farmhouse Ale. The brew has been called nirvana in a bottle, the beer God would drink, and a beer in the classic tradition of Belgium. Hennepin is in the 93th percentile with a 3.69 from ratebeer.com, and gets an Excellent rating of A- from beeradvocate.com. This bottle conditioned ale weighs in at 7.70% ABV.

The beer pours a hazy golden color with a light, lively fluffy head that doesn’t last long. The nose is full of sweet citrus mostly an orange flavor. The beer has a very dry mouth feel that is unexpectedly hoppy. The taste is a mix of yeast, sweet citrus layered with a ginger flavor. The beer has nice lasting bitter finish. This is a great example of a Belgium beer done the right way outside of Belgium. Try this beer with rustic foods like roasted chicken or duck, meaty fresh water fish, some shell fish like lobster, whole grain breads and full bodied cheeses, or foods with a little more spice like BBQ, Mexican, Thai or Indian.

So as the weather turns warmer and you find yourself working outside, remember that long before the watery light beer became America’s choice for summer time refreshment the Belgium Saison was quenching the thirst of hard working men and women and doing it without sacrificing flavor or character. So get out of the steamy bathroom and grab one of many great Belgium style Saison we have to choose from.