Food & Gourmet Items

Item Description

This collection of Saison Ales will take your tastebuds on a tour of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. Six 22 oz. bomber bottles are large enough to share. Read the descriptions below and you'll surely be inspired to bid high on this thoughtfully curated Saison Tasting.

As a beer style, saison began as a pale ale brewed in the cooler, less active months in farmhouses and stored for drinking in the summer months. These farmhouse beers would have been of a lower ABV (alcohol by volume) than modern saisons—around 3 to 3.5% ABV on average, rising in the early 20th century to between 4.5 and 6.5% ABV. They were served to farm workers who were entitled to up to five liters each workday.  Brewing outside the summer months was common for all brewers before the discovery of refrigeration, due to the likelihood of the beer spoiling while fermenting in the summer, the height of airborne bacteria activity.  Farmers possibly also brewed during the cooler months to provide work for their permanent staff during the quieter period. After brewing, the beer was stored until the summer when the main consumers would be seasonal workers ("saisonniers").

Historically, saisons did not share enough identifiable characteristics to pin them down as a specific style, but rather were a group of refreshing summer ales made by farmers. Each farm brewer would make his own distinctive version.  This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness – enjoy now that winter is behind us!

Dupont Saison Dry Hopped – Belgium (96 pts)

For the 8th year in a row, Brasserie Dupont sprl released Saison Dupont Cuvée Dry Hopping, a limited edition version of the Tourpes, Belgium-based brewery’s Saison Dupont farmhouse ale that is dry-hopped with a different hop varietal every year.

This year’s version comes in at 6.5 percent ABV and is dry-hopped with Styrian Eureka, a hop developed by the Institute of Hop Research and Brewing in Slovenia.  It pours a hazy golden color, with a generous white head.  Aromas of Belgian yeast esters and citrusy hop, with grassy notes and candi sugar notes.  Aromas carry to the flavor, where citrusy and grassy hop notes show from dry hopping.

New Belgium French Oak Saison – Colorado

To understand "Belgian-style beer" is to understand Belgium's nuanced regions and historical past. To the north, we have Flanders, a region invaded and occupied by many foreign powers over hundreds of years, known for everything from white beer to oak-aged sour brown ales.

To the south, we have Wallonia, a region known for its rich farmland, industrial coalfields, French culture and farmhouse ales or saisons. This French Oak Saison pulls inspiration from both regions by marrying a dry, hop-forward Wallonia-style saison with a golden ale soured in French oak foeders for 15 to 18 months -- a method derived from Flanders. The rye and spelt grains in the saison contribute to a medium-light body while the Huell Melon and Tettnang hops give aromas of honeydew and white pepper.

The result is a rustic, goldenrod yellow saison offering pleasant lemon and white grape aromas and a bright, mouthwatering sourness with a clean, dry finish.  A true blending of inspirations.

Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale – Missouri 93 pts

The Boulevard brewers were experimenting with variations on a traditional Belgian-style farmhouse ale, when the perfect combination of elements came together in fermenter number seven. You could call it fate, but they called it Tank 7, and so it is. Beginning with a big surge of fruity aromatics and grapefruit-hoppy notes, the flavor of this is complex.

Tank 7 pours a hazy golden yellow color, with an inviting aroma of citrus fruit, black pepper, sweet grains, Belgian yeast and light hops.  Tastes of lemon, sweet malts, grassy hops, black pepper yeast and cloves with a bitter finish.

Uinta Croggy Brett Saison – Utah

A rich tropical whimsy captivates the mind as bananas, papaya, pawpaw, apricot, pineapple and apple lead the estery way.  A rebuttal of peppercorn, cumin, curry and white pepper seem slightly medicinal but also show a spicy balance that offsets the fruit even-keel.  Clear and hazy, it is a refreshing summer brew, with a nose filled with white grapes and a nice saison grain profile. The profile is similarly sophisticated, refreshingly acidic and a palate that is light without being thin or grueling.

Croggy Brett Saison is brewed with a hefty dose of mosaic hops, un-malted wheat, and rolled oats. This Saison possesses a tropical fruit character and snappy aroma that partners perfectly with the crisp, dry tartness of the Brettanomyces yeast. Pop the cork and hang on for the ride. 

Dupont Saison Dupont Ale – Belgium 93 pts

The Saison Dupont is a top fermentation beer with refermentation in the bottle.
Coppery blond, the finest aromas and a strong bitterness transform this beer into a thirst-quencher with no equal, just the way it was created. Dupont's selection of yeasts is the perfect base for these typical aromas and ditto taste. A real refermentation in the bottle, which will continue for a long time in your cellar, result into this complex and particular aromatic beer.

This beer is the most well-known saison in the United States, and for good reason: It has the classic cloudy appearance of an unfiltered farmhouse ale and the citrusy notes saison lovers have come to expect. The aroma is lemony and backed up by the malt. Peppery notes come through in the taste that pair well with the citrus and malt tones. This beer has to be one of the most refreshing brews you can buy; plus it's very drinkable, making it a great substitute for standard lawnmower beers.

The Bruery Terreux Saison Rue – California 98 pts

Saving the highest rated brew for last!  Saison Rue is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned, Belgian/French-style farmhouse ale. This is a beer of subtlety and complexity, with malted rye, spicy, fruity yeast notes, biscuit-like malt backbone and a slight citrus hop character. With age, this beer will dry out and will become more complex with rustic notes of leather and earth from the contribution of a wild yeast strain. Being a saison, Saison Rue is ambiguous unto itself as it is a different beer when fresh and when aged. 

It has a soft taste and is a bit creamy up front, with a nice tropical fruitiness, and then there is quite a nice little hit of pepper, and grains of paradise, followed by some more tropical fruit and a lightly lemony finish.  Pairs well with salmon, chicken and light summer salads.

Item Special Note

This collection of beer was personally curated and donated by Doug Marquart. 

Must be 21 years of age to pick up this item.

Sorry, no shipment allowed; pick up in Beverly, MA