Saison

ABV 5.0-7.0% · IBU 20-35 · SRM 5-14 · Serve 45-50F · Glass Tulip

Identify

Pale gold to deep amber, sometimes with an orange cast. Usually hazy rather than bright, because it is not filtered. A huge dense white head, rocky and slow to fall, that leaves rings down the glass. It smells of black pepper, lemon and orchard fruit, with a grainy note underneath and almost no hop smell. Very light in the body, and very fizzy. The bubbles arrive first and clear everything out. Pepper and citrus in the middle, firm bitterness, and then a finish so dry it can feel almost chalky. Nothing is left on your tongue after about five seconds.

Place

Wallonia, the French speaking south of Belgium, and Hainaut in particular. Saison Dupont has been brewed at Tourpes since the 1920s.

Cause

Saison yeast eats more of the sugar than almost any other brewing strain. Brewers measure this and call it attenuation, which simply means how much of the sugar the yeast got through. A Saison finishes around 1.002 to 1.008, which is close to the density of water.

Confused with

Belgian Tripel at 7.5, which is stronger, sweeter grained and less rustic. Belgian Blond Ale, which is softer and rounder. Biere de Garde, which is maltier and smoother. Witbier, which is milkier, weaker and spiced by hand.

Numbers

A Saison is a dry, peppery farmhouse ale from Wallonia. The dryness is the part that does the work. Everything else in this style sits on top of a beer that has fermented further than almost any other ale. Swallow, then count to five. Your mouth will feel scrubbed and slightly dry, as if you had drunk sparkling water rather than beer.

Will you like it and Try

Dry cider, the sharp kind rather than the sweet kind. The dryness, the fizz and the orchard fruit are all in the same place. A crisp dry white wine with food. This beer does the same job at the table, and at a similar strength. Black pepper, and lemon squeezed over things. Those are the two loudest flavours in the glass.

Order and Pair

This is the fizziest beer in the module and it will get away from you. Use a glass much larger than the pour. Tilt it, start slowly against the side, and straighten up only once the head has settled a little. Expect to pour it in two goes. There is live yeast in the bottom of the bottle, put there to carbonate the beer.

Judge, Myth and Remember

Pale gold to amber, hazy, with a huge white head that holds and laces. Black pepper and lemon in the smell, over a grainy note. Very light in the mouth and very fizzy. Firm bitterness, and a finish that keeps drying until there is nothing left after about five seconds. A bad Saison is sweet and heavy.