Saisons: Summer's Original Session Ale

Your New Post-ride Beer?

Saisons are “seasonal” beers that were brewed in the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium, beginning somewhere in the 1700s, if not before, as in: my guess is that farmers have brewed beer similar to saisons for eons. Wait, what? Farmers?

A saison is a saison is not a saison, but is it a farmhouse ale? The story goes something like this: Belgian farmers and their workers brewed beer during the down time of winter into early spring. Using locally procured ingredients, including the all-important locally captured yeast (barn yard, hay mow), they brewed a light pale ale, coming in around 3-4% ABV so that they’d have a refreshing drink for when the work was done come summer. From one farm to the next, saisons differed. They were unique.

3-4%? Sounds like a session ale? Maybe a post-ride beer?

Nowadays, saisons come in around 6-8% ABV, but the idea is that brewers keep to the tradition of locally procured ingredients, and if so, then, for some, they have a “true” farmhouse ale, which a saison can be. For others, a saison can source ingredients from outside the local agricultural landscape, but then it might not be a “farmhouse” ale.

Beer politics.

Anyway…

Years ago I read an article that beer drinkers in the US of A don’t really understand saisons. That rang true to me, which put me on the path to trying to learn about them. Here’s what I know: no two saisons are alike, which is why I like ‘em. They are often fruity/lemony, highly carbonated, have a peppery bite to them, and almost never/rarely come in at the sessionable ABV rate. All that said, they can be hoppy, but some come in on the malty side, some are straw bale light and others come in looking like a weathered hay bale.

Growing up in a farming family in PA, when I later learned of saisons I felt like maybe I had a connection to the style. Looking back, it would have been great to sit under a shade tree after a day of baling hay/straw and relax with a saison in hand. I cannot begin to imagine the yeast that could be collected from the ole barn.

family farm

Wherever it is that you are reading this, check out the local beer scene for saisons. Ask if they source any of the ingredients for it from local farmers, especially small-holder farmers. Don’t put the can/glass/bottle to your lips expecting something/anything. Let your mind be empty and take it in. The idea of a saison, for me, can be a bit romantic: picture a bucolic scene of rolling hills and verdant, productive farm land with people working the land.

(Reality check:

How nice to think of a bucolic scene. Not really. Farming is hard work and there’s nothing romantic about it. Sure, hard work is good for you. I get it.

Some say beer is good for you, as in good for your health. Is it?

Drink your saison and be thankful you have time to ride your mountain bike and then kick back with a beer, not having to slop the pigs, milk the cows, harvest the corn and bale the hay. If you do any of this, my hat’s off to you.)

If you’re looking for a place to begin understanding saisons, start here:

Many agree that it is the best saison on the planet, and some say it is a perfect beer, regardless of beer style.

Cheers! Happy weekend! Hoping you get out and ride … and are making plans for the summer!

-James/Jim/Jimmy