Saisons have been around for the best part of two centuries at this point, first popping up in the city of Liège, Belgium at least as long ago as the early 1800s. It was typically brewed in the winter months and consumed through Spring and Summer during the harvest season, hence the French word for season: ‘Saison’.
Typically, these brews were consumed by farmhands through the warm harvests and hence tended to have a lower alcohol content so as not to hinder productivity. In modern brewing, this rule has become a bit more blurred, with some breweries producing Saisons up to the ~10% mark.
Saisons tend to be cloudy and golden in colour, though there can be a decent amount of variation from pale through to amber in brews using some darker malts in the bill. Quite a few breweries tend to bump the temperature during fermentation from the usual 18-24°C up to 29-35°C. This causes the yeast to produce more pepper/spice phenolic characters, to which brewers can sometimes add adjuncts like orange rind and coriander, much like a Belgian witbier, to compliment these more unique flavours.
The style is quite dry due to the highly attenuating strain of brewer’s yeast used, which ferments out a higher proportion of the sugars in the brew. This also can result in a much higher carbonation in the brew, especially after a period of bottle conditioning. In some types of Saisons, especially those aged in oak, other critters like Brettanomyces and/or Lactobacillus can be found giving slightly funky flavours, adding some tarter notes, and drying the brew even more.
While a lot of brewers believe a key characteristic of a Saison is that it should have a strong connection to the region and time it was brewed, globalisation has allowed for huge reach. This gives us all the opportunity to enjoy these delicious brews, no matter the Saison!
FEATURED IN ALE ODYSSEY - BOX #15
- La Sirene - Reserve Saison 2023; a barrel aged Saison presenting some funky barrel tartness alongside the classic Saison notes.
- High Water - Felice; a barrel aged wild ale brewed with Saison yeast but also brettanomyces so expect a lot of wild flavours!
Want to explore further?
Take a peek at Carwyn Cellar's range of Saison!
Image: Brasserie Dupont - an iconic & saison-focused Belgian brewery!