Day 126 / May 6, 2011
Yards Brewing Company / Philadelphia, PA
A | NG | P | G | VG | O |
OK, this is a little more like the Saisons or Farmhouse Ales I have had before. However, you should expect some significant variation is Saisons. From what I have read (and Henry, correct me if I am wrong), a Saison is more about when and how it brewed, and less about the ingredients.
This beer was a cloudy, light amber color in the glass. While not as overpowering as yesterday’s Helios, there were still quite a few different tastes going on in this beer, a little tart, with hints of pepper, and some mystery fruity flavor.
A bit of background: Farmhouse ales were traditionally brewed by farmer-brewers for consumption on the farm and generally fall into two categories: Saison and Biere de Garde. So expecting to see at least one biere de garde during this run!
ReplyDeleteSaisons originated in Wallonia in southern Belgium and typically were lower-alcohol, refreshing ales brewed to quench the farmhands' thirst while allowing them to keep working (so the higher alcohol e.g. 9% saisons we see on the today's market are atypical). The name may have come from "les saisonniers" (seasonal workers) hired to bring in the harvest. These ales were also called "saisons d’été" or summer saisons since mainly brewed in the fall for consumption in the summer.
Since we are seeing several saisons so far, it should be mentioned Saison Dupont is considered the benchmark in the style, a world classic. It definitely has many flavors going on at the same time.
A votre santé!
Henri