#whatbeerwednesdays: Episode 4

Saison

After a week’s waylay it’s straight back into our wonderful Wednesday wanders through the walk-in wardrobe of beer styles.

So far we have covered the classic German hefe-weissbier, Belgian kriek lambic ale and the bold but beautiful American amber ale. This week it’s back to Belgium to explore a beer style whose real history totally belies the fashionable on as well as the understated finery of the style. We’re talking about saison.

Saison’s history isn’t the only beguiling aspect of the style. Those who are anything but new to beer exploration have watched saisons go in and out of fashion like literary fiction and thigh-high stilettos. We’re here to quite literally reverse the trends, which is to say remove trend-driven  decision-making while perusing the shelves at the liquor store, so that way saisons may find their way into your glass once again.

My own fridge feels particularly empty when there is no saison to be found, for it is a beer style that wears many hats, not just the hat of the storytelling grifter.

And we all know hats never go out of style!

La Sirene Saison, brewed in Melbourne, Australia is a fine modern example of the saison style. Image shows a tulip glass of saison with its head almost erupting over the rim, and to its right-hand side is its now empty bottle. In the background table decorations.

Saison: What You Need To Know

Origin: Liege, Belgium. Not Wallonia! See below. Now brewed all over the world.

Etymology: Saison translates to “season.” It denoted either a specific style or, when used as a suffix, any beer brewed in winter for keeping in readiness for summer.

Where to find them: Independent bottleshops, specialty bars and brewpubs.

ABV: 3.5-5% (table), 5-7% (standard), 7-9.5% (super).

Approachability: Very approachable. Complexities are nuanced and bitterness is restrained.

Glassware: Belgian tulip.

Seasonality: Any time of year.

 

A (not so brief) history of saison

First and foremost, I implore you to abandon the hopelessly romantic notion that saison originated in farmhouses in the idyllic Wallonian countryside. And I ask you, dear reader looking to reconnect with the modern saison style, please do not shoot the messenger.

Findings by the likes of beer historians Roel Mulder and Yvan de Baets over at Lostbeer.com paint a much grittier picture. You can read more in the links below.

Much like parts of Britain and cities along Germany’s Rhine river, the Belgian city of Liege is at the country’s industrial and mining heart. It is here the very first historical mentioning of saison Mulder could find, dating back to 1823. Indeed the first mentioning of saison within the Hainaut province dates back to 1858 and from the city of Charleroi. Much like Liege, Charleroi is an industrial town, thus putting the myth to bed that saison was brewed in winter when life on the farm slowed down before being stored in readiness for summer refreshment.

Ultimately what this suggests is that early saison, a pale, clear beer often brewed in Liege with malted spelt and unmalted wheat, was brewed to slake the thirsts of industrial, not rural, labourers. Meanwhile across the remainder of Belgium the suffix “de saison” did in fact denote a beer meant for storage, however this did not in any way announce a specific beer style.

I’m sad to say these home truths about saison will doubtless get in the way of its fashionably fantastical story. Moreover it can’t be understated these stories helped see in saison’s recent commercial renaissance. Above all else the real truth of the matter is saison emerged from humble beginnings to become one of the beer world’s all-round classiest acts.

Saison: A beer for all seasons

Modern technologies, namely refrigeration, mean that any beer style can be brewed and enjoyed all year round, which means that the traditionally interpreted meaning of saison is essentially now redundant. This is especially true when one considers saison,can be brewed in hot weather (up to 28°C thanks to its resilient yeast strain). Above all, it also somehow straddles the line between refreshing and warming, making t fit for any time of year. Think of your favourite item of clothing that‘s equally as appropriate in January as it is June and you get the idea.

Moreover, the style is as broad as it is versatile. There are delicate table saisons, the middle of the road "standard" saisons and the bigger super saisons are great for celebrations. Reach for the latter when the season calls for festive Santa hats (hey not all hats are fashionable per se). They are sometimes darker in colour, much higher in ABV and full of nuanced spicy aromatics, warming alcohol and complex malt character.

What is truly remarkable is how drinkable saisons are. Complex but stripped back, raw but refined, yet always balanced. And with their golden hue, scintillating showiness and luscious white head they look damn good while doing it too.

Saison Dupont, brewed in Tourpes (almost incongruously in the Hainaut province, Wallonia) ticks every box and then some. Bottles are corked and caged for added sex appeal, as if the beer itself didn't have enough of that already...

Bumper edition: Saison is better than wine with...

Almost anything you care to mention. The style that wears many hats is also polite enough to take its hat off at the dinner table. It’s here saison shines with elegance, grace and aplomb.

You could start the meal by serving saison as an aparatiff. Carefully pour your favourite saison into Champagne flutes and enjoy the reaction from your guests. The high carbonation of the beer completes the experience while the grainy malt profile will inspire hearty conversation over the merits of Belgium and France’s finest exports.

Champagne is said to be versatile at the dinner table and its saison’s aforesaid grainy-bready character that echoes Champagne’s agility (and catwalk good looks). Truth be known, saison can do so much more, with or without consideration of the higher and lower extremities of its ABV range.

Seafood entrees (salt & pepper calamari in particular) and main courses (think seafood chowder) latch on to saison’s peppery character and fruity esters while the beer’s bready quality plays off the batter or bread, respectively. There’s enough racey acidity to cut like a knife through the fat as well.

Saison Dupont is perhaps the most sharply dressed and dynamic contender at the dinner table due to its yeast strain being said to be a very close relative to red wine yeast. Indeed for such a generally pale coloured beer saison will more than match the dark flavours of steak, mushrooms or even a hearty roast lamb thanks to its peppery phenols.

Saison Dupont in particular takes a shining to the robust dish of  toasted Turkish bread topped with hummus and mushrooms cooked in ginger, garlic, spices and tamari kepap mania soy sauce. This intriguing Middle Eastern meets Asian flavour explosion fits Saison Dupont like a glove. (Are gloves still in fashion?)

The beer’s bready-graininess adds depth to the Turkish bread and its subtle sweetness. The hummus’s tang and bright citrus flavours meet saison’s orange-lemon citrus esters. The peppery phenols - imparted by Saison Dupont’s peppery qualities match the mushrooms’ earthy flavours and soy sauce’s umami. The whole experience then becomes something so much more than the sum of its parts as the spices and dynamic elements of the beer and meal reach their crescendo. All of a sudden it’s time for another bite as the beer’s acidity, vigorous carbonation and dry finish sweep the palate clean.

What Was a 19th CenturySaison Really Like? Written by Roel Mulder.

And more on saison fromYvan de Baets.

Six Pack o' Beer Facts: Episode 1

Quirky and cool things you might never have known about beer you can take home with you right now.

Before we get stuck into today’s post, there’s going to be a few changes around here. Henceforth the Blind Taste Test blog will be more geared towards resources, facts and all things beer knowledge. For beer, event and other reviews, head on over to my Blind Taste Test: Beer Reviews page. For almost everything else, head to @blindtastetestgf on Instagram. I will be exploring other platforms in future to get more content out there.

The Six Pack o’ Beer Facts will be a fortnightly series of, as the name suggests, easily digestible beer facts you can take anywhere.
 
So, without further ado…

Beer is an endlessly fascinating subject, but sometimes it can get a little boring when things get long winded. Just ask Conan O’Brien who interviewed Jim Koch of The Boston Brewing Co...

But there is no reason why beer knowledge can’t be fun and engaging. To that end, here are six quick fire beer facts you can fit in your backpack or share with friends.

1. Enterobacter and lambic

Lovers of sour might be intrigued - or put off - to know that enterobacter (think E. coli, think gut flora) is imperative in the very early stages of spontaneous fermentation.

Enterobacter is quickly crowded out by Saccharomyces, Brett and other bugs, hence it is totally benign long before the final beer is done fermenting. However, many homebrewers fail in their attempts to brew the style because of enterobacter’s absence.

2. B-complex vitamins and hefe weissbier

E. coli is regarded as anything but healthy, but precisely the opposite is true of German hefe weissbier yeast. It is choc full of B-complex vitamins, including B12. It follows a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier with dinner might turn out to be healthy after all.

In fact vegans looking to bolster their B-vitamins may need look no further. It is a common misconception that B12 is present in animal flesh inherently. The truth of the matter is B12 is present in soil and dirt in which animals roll about and humans are no longer exposed to.

But you needn’t think about that. Just think of the health benefits and how awesomely hefe weissbier pairs with things like dahl, masala and all manner of other foods thanks to its higher than average acidity.

3. Saison Dupont: The most underground brewery ever?

Saison is another great table beer, but we mighn’t have one of the stalwarts of the style without a bit of quick thinking and a metric shit tonne of hard work! Belgium’s Brasserie Dupont, makers of the classic Saison Dupont, was directly in the firing line of enemy NAZI air strikes during the Second World War. 


In order to save the brewery, then on the cusp of celebrating 100 years in operation (albeit operating under different owners following Louis Dupont’s acquisition of the farmhouse brewery in 1920), the brewery’s tanks were buried deep underground.

The war never quite ended for Brasserie Dupont and other brewers of fine Belgian ale. As Pilsners and pale ales grew in popularity in Belgium other beer styles struggled to remain relevant. Until writer Michael Jackson introduced the world (and indeed Belgians!) to Saison Dupont it only represented 2% of the brewery’s sales, and it was considered for discontinuation.


4. Blue cheese and barleywine - and the aristocracy

The 1% of Britain during the 1800s sure had good taste! At a time when pesky wars with the French meant fine red wines from the continent were hard to come by, what were the aristocrats to do but enjoy barleywine instead.

Indeed stronger beers such as barleywines and imperial stouts were the preserve of the wealthy elite (so too pale ales for a time) until the wars, taxation and cultural shifts saw darker beers fade into relative obscurity during the middle of the 20th Century. But before that time, the aristocrats found the now famous pairing of blue cheese and barleywine to be so damn good they kept it secret from the common folk.

5. Keep it in the fridge!

Necessity is the mother of all invention. Just ask the military or those who worked with brewing during the 1700s and 1800s. The process of refrigeration, essentially moving a heat source from one point to another, was invented at the Spaten brewery of Bavaria by Carl von Linde in 1873.

Prior to the advent of modern refrigeration brewing was at the mercy of the seasons. Refrigeration ushered in the modern era of brewing in which brewers could brew and lager beer all year round.

What followed of course was the commoditisation and globalisation of beer, a highly perishable product, which could then be distributed over long distances by railcar. Anheuser-Busch established the St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company just five years following von Linde’s landmark invention. Small wonder the 39 breweries in Brooklyn servicing the local comunity all but disappeared while beer took marketshare from cheaper, then easier to produce spirits in the South.

6. The Be-Fuggled New World

Once again necessity is the mother of all invention. Prior to the advent of Cascade hops, Cluster hops made up to 80% of Oregon’s hop production (as overseen by the US Department of Agriculture - USDA’s breeding program) before the onset of Downy mildew which blighted crops. The Cascade hop was developed by the USDA and Oregon State University not only for its aromatic properties but also its strong resistance to disease.

The Cascade hop variety (first released in 1972) is a cross-pollenation between the English Fuggle variety, the little known Russian Serebrianker and an unknown native male hop with the allocated number USDA 56013. The Cascade hop, categorised as an aroma rather than a bittering variety, went on to redefine beer as we know it today with its citrus and piny aromatic profile.




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