Tag Archives: Saison

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 21 – La Debauche Saison

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Image result for la debauche saison

I’m getting excited. My wife and I are travelling to Hawaii for the holiday season and I can’t wait to get there and enjoy the beach. The time is coming soon. I’m looking forward to also checking out some of the breweries there that have popped up since the last time I’ve visited. Saying all this, I won’t be posting much other than this calendar and one other write-up I have scheduled to be posted. So, no Friday Beer News until the new year. But, we still have a few more days of this Calendar left, so let’s get to it.

Today we have a beer coming to us from La Debauche Brewery located in Angoulême, France. The beer is a Saison.

The brewery was founded in 2013 by a couple of beer lovers and amateur brewers. Wanting to bring their beers and a love for the craft to the people in their region, they decided to make a go professionally. They are one of the new development of breweries that seem to be popping up in France. The brewery is located close to the town centre to reintroduce the brewing industry to the urban environment.

They produce a wide range of beers ranging from an Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon to a Saison, to the amber we are trying aged in Cognac Barrels. What’s even more interesting about their beers is that they partner with local artists and tattooists to develop designs for their labels. This creates some neat artwork and makes for a unique experience when drinking their beer.

Saison’s are a sturdy farmhouse style of beer.  Originally brewed in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium, it was a beer brewed at the end of the cool season to last through the warmer months before refrigeration was common.  It had to be sturdy enough to be able to last but also not too strong so it would quench your thirst in the summer months. This style of beer is very complex with a lot fruit notes, spices, and earth yeast notes to the beer. They tend to combine nice fruity notes with spice and a subtle sourness or tartness.  Usually lots of spice with mild bitterness and a dry crisp finish and only a hint of sweetness.

At one point in time Saison’s were an almost extinct beer style but they have seen a great resurgence and are commonly brewed by several craft breweries across Canada. Saisons, for me, are an interesting and flavourful style of beer that can bring a lot of interesting notes. I’m excited to give it a try.

Appearance – Pours a cloudy blonde colour with a thick white head.
Smell – Yeast esters bringing some yeasty notes, fruit and floral aromas (orange, honey, grapefruit) and some hints of coriander.
Taste – Citrus notes along with some of that Belgian yeast character. A bit of a bitterness to it on the finish. Those floral notes come across more as a herbal taste. There is a slightly metallic finish on this as well.
Mouth feel – Belgian yeast and some pepper with a slightly bitter, metallic, dry finish.
Overall – Overall this brings mostly what I’d expect from a saison. Good Belgian yeast notes along with some citrus and herbal notes. Coriander is there along with a slightly bitter dry finish. The odd metallic taste is slight off putting.
Do I like it? – I did like. Overall I found it to be pleasant and enjoyable.

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2016

Day 17 – Monyo Brewing Co – Black Alligator

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It’s definitely that time of year. It’s crazy out there. People are in the thick of last minute holiday shopping and the roads are packed with people. It’s also cold outside. All this makes it feel pretty nice to just stay inside, relax in the warmth, and have a good beer.

Today we have a beer from Budapest, Hungary. I’ve never had the opportunity to visit Budapest, one of the few places I missed out on, so I’m excited to give this beer a try. The beer comes to us from Monyo Brewing Company and it’s a Black Saison called Black Alligator.

Monyo Brewing Company was founded in 2014 by Pein Adam, Antal Nemeth, and Zoltan Elek. The entire process of founding the brewery from scratch occurred over the course of less that one year. Quite impressive. Adam was frustrated with his local pub. They tried to serve good quality craft beer to its patrons, but the quality wasn’t very consistent. So, he decided to open a brewery and solve the problem he saw.

Using the most modern equipment and keeping the brewery at the highest possible cleanliness, Monyo brews good beer. They use the best ingredients they can find and have consistently produced high quality beers winning themselves Brewery of the Year in 2015. Brewing both standard beers as well as experimental ones, they like to try new things and play with different ingredients. They believe that hard work, technology, cleanliness, quality, and professional knowledge result in good beer.

Saison’s are a sturdy farmhouse style of beer.  Originally brewed in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium, it was a beer brewed at the end of the cool season to last through the warmer months before refrigeration was common.  It had to be sturdy enough to be able to last but also not too strong so it would quench your thirst in the summer months.   This style of beer is very complex with a lot fruit notes, spices, and earth yeast notes to the beer.    They tend to combine nice fruity notes with spice and a subtle sourness or tartness.  Usually lots of spice with mild bitterness and a dry crisp finish and only a hint of sweetness.

At one point in time Saison’s were an almost extinct beer style but they have seen a great resurgence and are commonly brewed by several craft breweries across Canada.  Black Saisons are essentially brewed in a similar fashion as a typical saison but using darker malt varieties to give it bit more malt character and a darker colour. This particular one uses both Juniper Berries as well as Alligator peppers along with the malt, hops, and three kinds of yeast. Seeing how these flavours work together will be interesting, on to it.

Appearance – Pours black with a red hue and a good 3” head that fades quickly.
Smell – Smells of roasted malt, peppery spice, biscuit, caramel and juniper berries.
Taste – Sweet flavor with peppery spice, juniper berries, black licorice, dark fruit and some of that candied sugar coming through. Finish is sweet candied sugar and alcohol warmth.
Mouth feel – Medium body with a slightly oily mouthfeel and good carbonation. Finish is dry with alcohol warmth.
Overall – There are certainly some subtle components of a saison in this beer. Still, it comes across more like a Belgian strong ale. Certainly it could be called saisonish.
Do I like it? – For a saison, this is lacking the crisp refreshing fruit flavours I look for. If you look at this like a Belgian tripel or another Belgian strong ale, it comes across quite nicely. There is a lot going on in this beer and I quite enjoyed the combination of the juniper berries and alligator peppers.

 

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2016

Day 7 -Naparbier – The Crimson Bird

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Man it’s snowy out there again today. Yesterday and today have been difficult driving. I’ve got to say it’s been rough. Before I get into today’s beer I want to mention that Torque’s taproom officially opened today. So, that means you can pop in, enjoy their beers and snacks right on site. I’ll also mention that Half Pints has a really neat sounding event coming up on December 21st. They are doing a 12 beers of Christmas at their taproom. So, add this to your calendar. I’d also suggest you take a look at their new untapped profile as it provides an up to date list of the beers available and upcoming events. Check it out here.

Onto today’s beer. Day 7 comes to us from Napabier, a microbrewery located in Noain, Spain. The beer, The Crimson Bird, is a saison made with raspberries. One thing I will say right off the top about this brewery is that they have fantastic artwork. Check the awesomeness of the art here.

Naparbier was founded in 2009 and was originally located in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. Not necessarily as well known for beer as it is for Bull Fighting or Hemingway, Naparbier was looking to change that. The name is a combination of the Basque word for Navarra (Napar) and the German name for beer (bier, of course).

Originally they started with just two beers — a pilsner and a dunkel — and now have a range of 14, five of which are year-round.

These guys are focused on freshness and creativity. With the exception of something like an imperial stout, their beers shouldn’t be aged. Head Brewer Juan Rodriguez is passionate and innovative, exploring both classic styles and more out-there endeavors. One such endeavor is the Pumpkin Tzar Russian Imperial Stout, brewed with pumpkin and habañero chile. They also recently launched a new range of “avant-garde” beers that the brewer calls “a little bit different” from what they usually brew, including a Belgian dubbel and a barley wine aged in whisky barrels. You can see all of their beers here.

Naparbier has been growing in reputation over the years and some of their brews have included collaborations with the likes of Evil Twin Brewing. They’ve also made an impression on the folks at Brew Dogs who specially brought in these beers for a £30 a person dinner and beer tasting. The beer we have today is one they’ve done with both Strawberries and Raspberries and I’m pretty excited to give it a try.

Saison’s are a sturdy farmhouse style of beer.  Originally brewed in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium, it was a beer brewed at the end of the cool season to last through the warmer months before refrigeration was common.  It had to be sturdy enough to be able to last but also not too strong so it would quench your thirst in the summer months.   This style of beer is very complex with a lot fruit notes, spices, and earth yeast notes to the beer.    They tend to combine nice fruity notes with spice and a subtle sourness or tartness.  Usually lots of spice with mild bitterness and a dry crisp finish and only a hint of sweetness.

At one point in time Saison’s were an almost extinct beer style but they have seen a great resurgence and are commonly brewed by a number of craft breweries across Canada.  We are seeing them pop-up more and more here in Manitoba and it’s a style of beer that I really enjoy drinking. Let’s see how this one tastes.

Appearance – Pour slight rose amber colour with a good 4” head that fades slowly to a retained 1” head.
Smell – Smells of raspberries with a tartness on the nose. Some funk comes through from the yeast as well as some subtle citrus notes.
Taste – Raspberries with some moderate tartness and a good sweetness to balance it out. Some subtle almost peppery spice and yeast funkiness is noticeable on the end.
Mouth feel – Medium-light body with a good carbonation and slightly tart/funky finish.
Overall – The raspberry and tartness from that fruit are at the forefront. The funkiness from the yeast is there but not as prominent. Overall a good beer.
Do I like it? – I did very much like it. I think the balance of tartness with sweetness and a subtle funkiness was great. It was a refreshing beer and very drinkable. I’d be happy drinking more of it.

 

 

Beer Review, Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2015

Day 7 – Cameron’s Brewing Company – Into the Shade Saison

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Day 7 - Cameron's Brewing Company - Into the Shade Saison

Well, yesterday was a little bit of a disappointing day in respect to the particular beer.  I am hoping it’s the only one that has been oxidized.  I had the opportunity to brew yesterday which a good bit of fun.  I am brewing a Tamarind Ginger Saison with a friend for a competition and I’m pretty excited about it.  After all this advent calendar blogging is done I’ll have to do a write-up of that beer.  It was pretty fun to make and I’m cautiously optimistic for the final product.

It’s quite fitting that I brewed a Saison yesterday as today’s beer is in fact a Saison from Cameron’s Brewing Company in Oakville Ontario.  It is there Into the Shade Saison, limited edition unfiltered release.  Unfiltered beers tend to have more nutritional value, better head retention, and more flavour.

Cameron’s is a family owned craft brewery that was founded in 1997 by Cameron Howe.  Cameron wanted to introduce quality craft beer into the Ontario market and started off home brewing before quickly turning into a small business.  Cameron’s tries to remain true to these roots and brews high quality beers that have won a number of awards over the years. They do a good job of running through there history and have a timeline on their website of some important milestones. It’s worth taking a look.

Currently Cameron’s president is Bill Coleman who was originally in a senior marketing role at Molson.  He is part of the team who was responsible for the “I am Canadian” ads as well as launching Rickard’s Red.  After leaving the beer industry to join Alias in the tech industry, he found that he missed beer and brewing.  After Alias was sold to Autodesk he sought to return to the brewing community and brought his experiences to Cameron’s.

He joins the brew master, Jason Britton, who has over 20 years of brewing experience from around the world including at Amsterdam Brewery in Ontario and Walkerville Brewing Company.  He works with his brewing team, Kyle and Curtis, to produce high quality beers using the best ingredients possible.  You can take a look at there brew system and process on there website.

Saison’s are a sturdy farmhouse style of beer.  Originally brewed in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium, it was a beer brewed at the end of the cool season to last through the warmer months before refrigeration was common.  It had to be sturdy enough to be able to last but also not too strong so it would quench your thirst in the summer months.   This style of beer is very complex with a lot fruit notes, spices, and earth yeast notes to the beer.    They tend to combine nice fruity notes with spice and a subtle sourness or tartness.  Usually lots of spice with mild bitterness and a dry crisp finish and only a hint of sweetness.

At one point in time Saison’s were an almost extinct beer style but they have seen a great resurgence and are commonly brewed by a number of craft breweries across Canada.  We are seeing them pop-up more and more here in Manitoba and it is really one of my favourite styles of beer right now.  Let’s see how this one tastes.

Rating:  78/100

Appearance:  Crazy.  I popped off the cap and it just started shooting everywhere and wouldn’t stop.  Once I poured it into the glass it had a golden hazy colour with very little head.
Smell: Very fruit.  Pear, apples, apricot and citrus notes. Almost smells a bit like an apple juice or a cider in many ways.
Taste: Tastes quite fruity as well.  Pear, apple, apricot notes all come through on the taste with a nice tartness and a semi-sweet finish.
Mouthfeel: Really quite carbonated.  The bubbles on this almost numb the tongue in some ways. Dry finish with that semi-sweetness from the fruit.
Overall: Quite good.  I ate it with some spicy food which really brought out a lot of the flavours and extenuated them.  It’s also not really a winter beer. In the summer this would be fantastic.  Overall it was a good, but not mind-blowing, Saison.
Do I like it: At first I found the fruit notes to be a bit much for me.  It tasted almost like I was drinking apple juice or a cider.  As I got into it more the complexity of the flavours, the apricot, pear and peppery notes came out. As I ate my supper these were intensified and I enjoyed it more as I ate.  So, yes I do like this beer, but only in particular circumstances.

Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2014

Craft Beer Advent Calendar – Day 11

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Beer 11

The question was asked of me this morning if I am getting beer’d out.  I think I likely would be if all of the beer were the same. Luckily with 24 different styles from 17 countries, I think I’m going to be excited ’til the very end… and then sad.

Today’s beer comes to us from Brazil.  This is our first South American beer of the calendar.  The beer comes to from the Wäls brewery located in Belo Horizante, the capital of the Minas Gerais state in Brazil.

Founded in 1999 the brewery wanted to bring beer to the demanding consumer.  They chose the tourist region of Belo Horizante as the location for their dream and started brewing beers based off the Belgian, Czech and English styles.  Dare, invent and believe is the spirit by with the brewery creates its beers.

The brewery itself produces a number of different styles of beers and employs some different methods such as oak barrel maturation and brewing in the champenoise style (sparkling wine/champagne method).  They have enough storage for 2500 bottles to mature at any given time.

They like to produce unique beers from the standard Pilsner, to Hoppy Vanilla Cookie, and the one we are trying today which is their Tropical Christmas Saison, a flavoured strong beer sitting at 7% alcohol/volume.

Saison (French for season) is a broadly defined pale ale that is generally around the 7% mark for alcohol, highly carbonated, fruity and spiced.  This particular one has had raisins, figs, orange peel and coriander added to it during the brewing process to create the “Tropical Christmas.”  This style of beer originated from beers brewed during cooler less active months in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, and it is thus a Belgian style beer similar in many ways to the Krampus that I tried a little while back.  Let’s give this one a try!

Rating: 81/100

Appearance:  Clear, golden, and light bodied with minimal head that retains well.
Smell: Figs are noticeable right on the nose with the coriander and citrus from the orange close behind.
Taste: Very light and crisp on the front with citrus and the flavour of the figs and the coriander coming through at the end to create a dryness that results in a refreshingly dry beer.  The coriander leaves your mouth dry and works well with the sweetness to create a fairly well balanced beer.  It would make a fantastic summer beer which makes sense as Christmas is during the Brazilian Summer, go figure.
Mouth feel: High carbonation, light bodied, crisp.
Overall: Refreshing, light, citrusy with not too much spice or fruit flavouring to overwhelm the taste buds.  This is an excellent saison in that it really fits what it is trying to accomplish.  The flavours are truly Christmassy and given that it is summer time south of the equator, the refreshing crispness of the beer works well.
Do I like it: Considering that I was expecting the Krampus, which I did not like, I was pleasantly surprised with this beer.  It was delicious.  While it is not my favorite style of beer I found myself enjoying the flavours and the crispness of this particular saison.  I dare say, I would drink it again!