Saison: Day 1

My trip through the world of classical beer styles starts in the French speaking Wallonia Region of Southern Belgium with Saison. Historically a low abv beer brewed to slake the thirst of the seasonal farm workers Saison has evolved from the ~3% beer it once was into a much stronger all year round brew that now satisfies the demands of a growing global market of beer fans.

Almost ubiquitous in the repertoire of North American craft breweries, the resurgent interest over the past decade in this once endangered style by US brewers and drinkers alike has elevated Saison from its lowly origins to a place alongside the world's major beer styles.

The American produced BJCP style guidelines lists the following commercial examples of Saison to be good examples of the style:

Saison Dupont

Fantôme Saison

Saison de Pipaix

Saison Regal

Saison Voisin

Lefebvre Saison 1900

Ellezelloise Saison 2000

Saison Silly

Southampton Saison

New Belgium Saison

Pizza Port SPF 45

Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale

Ommegang Hennepin

I was able to get hold of three of the Belgian produced beers on this list so it is with Saison Dupont, Saison Voisin and Lefebvre Saison 1900 that my journey begins.

Saison Dupont (6.5%) from the Hainaut province is widely viewed as the Saison touchstone and the beer that inspired a generation of American brewers to turn their hand to this once little-known style. It currently holds a 99% rating on ratebeer.com and 94% on beeradvocate.com. It's an effervescent, hazy straw coloured beer with a coarse, foamy white head. The aroma is phenolic cloves, pepper, orange peel and a spicy, somewhat abrasive earthiness. Complex but enticing. It is medium bodied with a dry refreshing aftertaste revealing more earthy bitterness, citrus fruit and grassy notes. Rarely do I find a much praised beer lives up to the hype but Saison Dupont delivered admirably, remaining interesting and involving until the end.

Next up was Saison Voisin (5%), another beer from the Hainaut province although that was all it had in common with Saison Dupont. It pours a golden copper colour with high carbonation and a long lasting foamy head. Aroma is bready and slightly funky with a floral sweetness. It is tarter, drier and thinner than the Dupont with a milder bitter finish. Overall a much less interesting drink but refreshing and unchallenging enough to be enjoyed idly on a hot evening.

The third Belgian Saison I sampled was Lefebvre Saison 1900 (5.4%) from the Walloon Brabant Province that borders the Hainaut province to the right. It's an attractive golden coloured beer that's less carbonated than the other two. The aroma is not particularly intense, hinting at toffee sweetness and breadiness and developing a mild pepperiness as the beer warms up.This is a fairly clean, dry beer with subtle toasted caramel notes, vanilla, bitter orange and spice. A little tartness comes through in the finish but it is dominated by the sweeter maltier flavours.The least interesting of the three Saisons, it does have the best label however.