Beer Talk by Art of the Table
August 13, 2010
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Oh the joy of Farmhouse ales. Funky, delicious and wildly varied in style and taste. It could be considered a subculture amongst beer drinkers. In fact, I do consider the world of Saison to be a world of it's own when talking beer.
It's a style, but no real rules; it's hoppy, but sometimes not, it can be very spicy, but then again a red Flemish Saison is far from that.
Saison, or "farmhouse" is a balloon term for many styles of beer...as long as its got a li'l of that "funk". Take Jolly Pumpkin, a Michigan brewery, for example. They are a farmhouse style brewery, but they produce vastly different styles of beer. Everything that they produce is an open fermentation ale, yet not one beer tastes like the other. Similar traits? Yes. Same flavor? No.
Saison was considered to be an endangered species in the beer world for many years until Men's Journal named the Belgian produced Saison Dupont the "Best Beer in the World". Since then, American microbreweries have been producing similar (and sometimes way over the top!) Saisons to ride the cultural success wave that Brasserie Dupont brought to the world of funky ales.
Ales like Le Merle from North Coast Brewing Co. from California, and Ommegang from Cooperstown, New York have found huge success with beer lovers. Though different in style and production, the similarities to Saison Dupont are noticeable. I for one am very thankful Saisons have made a comeback. Here below are a few highlights from the cooler.
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 Brooklyn Brewery Local 1
| | A really wonderful golden ale with a hint of funk. The funk comes from a Belgian yeast, and this ale is 100% bottle fermented, not just bottle conditioned. Bottle fermentation is now a very rare process, even in Europe where it was once the "norm". This is a brand spankin' new beer for us, and we are excited to carry it.
We hope you will enjoy as well as this is what you might taste:
Dry spice with golden maltiness. Slight astringent "funky" notes on the nose and in the back palate. Fruity tones of orange and lemon zest compliment the floral and malty bouquet. Would be outstanding with dry cured hams and aged goat's milk cheese. I might even go so far as to say some spicy seafood would accompany this beer nicely!
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Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere
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| Smashingly good artisan ales brewed in  Dexter, Michigan, Jolly Pumpkin only produces open fermentation ales. Every beer is barrel aged, and bottle conditioned. This takes a lot of time, and more than twice the effort to produce than your typical microbrew.
The yeast strains used are Belgian and French to maximize quality and reproduce their traditional styled ales to the highest standard possible (which is crazy high...you should look up how many awards and praises these guys receive!)
While all of Jolly Pumpkins beers are amazing and could fit into our discussion today, I wanted to point out the Bam Biere in particular because they specifically call it their Farmhouse Ale. If you haven't had the pleasure of trying a Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ale, start here and open Pandora's box to a whole new world of beer.
What will this new world be like?
Golden color with a little cloudy haze. Aromas of wild flowers, spice, fermented apple and earth. Spicy and tart flavors that are very refreshing and intense, but very balanced. A truly fantastic ale with a multitude of food options ~ seafood, garlicky pasta/pizzas, strong bleus (cheese that is) and spicy/salty meats - try our new Fra'Mani picante salami!
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Other Saison/Farmhouse Ales We Carry |
| Saison Dupont
North Coast Le Merle
Ommegang Hennepin
Ommegang
New Holland Golden Cap
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