History
The Hainaut Narrative
Saisons were most commonly brewed in Wallonia, southern Belgium in the province of Hainaut. These ales were brewed at the beginning of winter and stored until summer. If a farm did not have the means to brew their own beer, they would usually buy a few casks from a neighboring brewer or farm. Then they fermented and conditioned the beer at their own cellar. Up until the first World War, Saisons were fermented in unpitched wooden barrels. There are records of breweries who only used spontaneous fermentation and aged the beer from 1 to 2 years in wood barrels. Originally, saisons were served for farm workers during the summer harvest. Every worker (called saisonnier) could have up to 4 liters (a gallon) of beer every day.
Blending was common practice. Often Lambic was used for this, however sometimes vinegar, acetic acid or tartaric acid was also used. This suggests that at the time sour flavors were desired in the saison regions (Northern-France, Belgium). Blending added complexity and vinous character to the young beer. While the young added, it’s freshness and carbonation.
After World War 2, the farmhouse breweries almost completely disappeared. The modernization and the lack of need for seasonal workers rendered the beer obsolete. Only a few high-quality examples survived. German lagers and English ales were of better quality, had a slightly higher alcohol content, better shelf stability and more consistency.
These farmhouse ales were around 3% to 4% ABV, not higher than 4.5%. Even though this alcohol content is considered low nowadays, they were higher than average at the time. Saisons usually used multiple types of grain, like barley, spelt, buckwheat and others. Escourgeon, a type of 6-row barley, was widely available at the time and considered being the backbone of these beers. The grains were either not malted at all or malted by the farmers themselves. This resulted in varying flavors and quality. The usage of spices was common practice. Mostly star anise, sage, coriander, cummin, green peppercorn, orange peel, ginger. The two most common were ginger and star anise. These spices contributed freshness to the beer and helped with the preservation. The beers were heavily hopped, due to the low alcohol content, to survive the long aging period. Sometimes even multiple batches of dry hops were added, some at the beginning of the maturation and some at the end. Mostly Belgian hops were used, varieties which were grown in the area. However, Belgian hops were lower quality and added a harsh bitterness as opposed to German and English hops. Because of this, at the beginning of the 20th century, breweries started to use German and English varieties as aroma hops. Heavy hopping did not prevent the acidification of the beer, which was considered a desirable trait. Lactic acid also helped the conservation of the beer. The end beers were highly attenuated, with a low amount of residual sugar left in them. During barrel aging, different strains of lactobacillus and Brettanomyces fermented the beer further. This added complexity, sourness and vinous character to the beer.
The Liège Narrative
The findings of Roel Mulder suggest that Saison did not originate from Hainaut, rather, it was a beer made all around Belgium. An 1823 document describes Saison as an Advent or March beer brewed in Liège. This beer contained mainly malted spelt, unmalted wheat and was rather sweet. There was also a double and a triple version of this Liège Saison. There are also findings that suggest that at the time in Hainaut they used the term de saison, meaning an aged version of a beer. This also implies that saison was not a farmhouse ale, but a beer brewed by commercial breweries. These findings also state that at the time in Hainaut, there was no big farmhouse ale scene. According to Roel Mulder, in Hainaut, they bought barley from Flanders, France and the Danube area. This suggests that these were large breweries and not small scale farmhouse brewers.
Styles
Grisette
In the late 1800s, the province of Hainaut shifted from agriculture to mining and these miners mostly drank an ale called grisette. There are multiple origin stories for the name of this beer. One is that grisettes (young women working in the factories) offered fresh drinks to miners exiting the mine after their work. Another explanation is that the stone mined in the region had a grey color, and gris means grey in French. This Grisette beer was similar to saisons of the time. The fundamental difference was that Grisettes got their refreshing character mainly from hops.
Saison Regal (Super Saison)
For many brewers, the history of this style starts in 1954 with Sylva Rosier. Rosier was a second generation owner and brewer of Brasserie Dupont who created the L’Abbaye de la Moinette. This beer was based on the Dupont Saison, but unlike the original it reached an ABV of 8.5%. After the success of this beer, many other breweries followed suit and with that, a new style was born.
Modern Continental Saison
Most modern interpretations are yeast driven, displaying fruity esters (especially citrus) and spicy phenols (pepper and moderate clove). with a pale color, high attenuation, and moderate alcohol content. Malt base is usually fairly simple, with a minor addition of wheat, rye, oats or spelt to the pilsner base. Bitterness is moderate to high and has a medium hop character, with earthy, spicy, floral notes. Sometimes Brett is used to impart some barnyard characteristics to the beer.
Modern Saison
While “Modern Continental Saison” is the evolution of the classic flavor and aroma profile, “Modern Saison” is the evolution of the mindset behind saisons. Modern saison can range from pale to dark color, hops can range between traditional noble hops and new world hops, with fruity profiles. The grist can contain various caramel/crystal malts or just the base pilsner malt. The yeast can be a single saison strain or various mixed cultures. It can be sour, bitter or both. One common attribute of these beers is their dryness however, there are exceptions even in this regard.
Recipe Building
Malt
Mostly Pilsner malt is used as a base, with 0%-30% malted or unmalted non-barley grain. Rye is used to add spiciness, silkiness and an overall rustic feel to the beer. Wheat is used to add head retention, mouthfeel and light tartness, breadyness to the beer. Oats can be used to add silkiness, mouthfeel and smoothness. Some say that Vienna and Munich malt should be avoided at all costs, as they impart too much maltiness. Others totally disagree and brew saisons with 50% + vienna malt. I rarely use these malts, however I like a bit of maltiness in my saison, so I do add a small amount of light caramel malt (Caramunich I or similar) in some of my recipes.
Hops
For more traditional recipes, I mainly use Stryrian Goldings as my go to variety. However, there is a long tradition of mixing and using different hops in saison making. These hops are usually English and German noble hops, like EKG, Fuggles, Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger or Hallertau Blanc. For non-traditional recipes, the sky's the limit. Northern Brewer is said to be a good choice, however I never used it in a saison myself. New World hops like Mosaic, Citra, Amarillo, Motueka, and Nelson Sauvin can be good choices if used in subtle quantities or, on the contrary, used in great quantities.
Yeast
Most saison yeasts are diastatic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus), which means that they have a gene called STA1. What this allows to the yeast is to release such enzymes, which can break down complex sugars into simple sugars. In turn, this allows the yeast to achieve high attenuation, in some cases over 90%. This can cause so-called overattenuation or hyperattenuation, which can lead to over-carbonated beers or exploding bottles. Another concern is diastatic contamination, which can cause too high attenuation in inappropriate styles, like an imperial stout. Such contamination can easily ruin a batch of beer, so sanitary methods are especially important when handling such a strain.
Although there is a wide variety of saison and farmhouse ale yeast in the market. I will only mention the three most commonly used strains:
Dupont: One of the go-to yeast is the Dupont strain, commercially available as Wyeast 3724, WLP565 (Belgian Saison) or YF-208 Priest Passion. This strain has a spicy phenolic and fruity estery profile. Famous for stuck fermentation, however, this can be helped with increasing the temperature if it’s stuck. Another interesting finding is that this yeast might have been a wine yeast, which would explain a lot about its behavior. Some sources suggest that using a higher amount of yeast nutrient could resolve this issue. Others suggest that using open fermentation techniques can help, but I personally never tried these methods.
Blaugies: An alternative is the Blaugies strain (YF-502 Farmster, B56 Rustic, 3726 Farmhouse Ale). Similar to the Dupon yeast, but does not have a stuck fermentation problem.
Thiriez: The last famous yeast is the Thiriez strain (Wyeast 3711, WLP590, B64 Napoleon, YF-501 Kingster). Although it’s usually marketed as French saison, because the brewery it’s harvested from (Brasserie Thiriez), some source suggests its originated from Belgium. This strain has the highest attenuation, easily reaching 90% +. It has a citrusy character and is heavy on the spicy phenols, especially black pepper.
Regardless of the saison strain used, I would suggest pitching it at around 18℃-20℃ (64.4℉ - 68℉) and letting it free rise to warmer temperatures.
Some even argue that saison yeast is not important at all and that historically, the main profile would be contributed by the Brettanomyces and Lacto/Pepto strains. As Brett can dominate and dry out any beer easily. One can argue that, in case of using Brett, there are many yeast strains that could be used for primary fermentation.
To imitate the sourness and funkiness of classic saisons, modern brewers use different strains of yeast and bacteria. To achieve the acidity and tartness, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus is a good choice, although there are some experiments done with Philly sour, with good results. As for the infamous horse blanket, barnyard and band-aid like flavors, they use Brettanomyces. Most of the main character of Brett come from two compounds. 4-ethylphenol which gives the well-known horse blanket, barnyard and Band-Aid like taste and 4-ethylguaiacol which is described as smoky and spicy. Isovaleric acid is also a common byproduct of Brett. This acid is also what gives the foot odor, like aroma.
Types of Brett:
Brettanomyces bruxellensis: Named after the Senne valley near Brussels. Most known for Orval, but used by other Breweries around the world, like Allagash Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada and many more. Has a sweaty horse blanket character. Commercial available as Wyeast 5112, WLP650, YF-801 Brett Pid.
Brettanomyces lambicus: This strain was isolated from Belgian Lambic beers, has a cherry like flavor, with sour tones. Especially good for Flanders red ale and lambics. Commercial available as Wyeast 5526, WLP653.
Brettanomyces claussenii: First isolated by Seyferrt of the Kalinki Brewery in St. Petersburg from English beer. In 1889, Niels Hjelte Claussen was the first to publish a description of this strain. At the time, this strain was said to impart a distinct English character to beer if used at secondary fermentation. This was caused by Brett infection in barrel aged British beers. Nowadays we associate the Brettanomyces claussenii with fruity, pineapple-like flavors, with medium-low Brett character. Commercial available as Wyeast 5151-PC, WLP645.
Spice
There is a great debate around spices in saison, just like with Belgian beers as a whole. The purist says that there is no place for spice in a saison and all those flavors should come from the yeast, grains and hops. Others say that if you can achieve them this way, why shouldn't you? As for me, I don’t rely on spices to create a saison, however for me this style is all about experimentation and freedom. Because of this, I brewed saison with black pepper in the past and am planning another batch with cumin. For me, this is not about getting around the yeast, but experimenting with new ideas. So my advice is that if you want to put spicy in your beer, then go ahead and do it.
Conclusion
Saison is a very interesting style. There are still debates about its history and the modern interpretations vary so wide, that 3 different styles would not be enough to cover them all. It makes you question everything about beer and forces you to think outside the box and be creative. For me, this style embodies what's great about Belgian beers and maybe this is why my most brewed style is Saison, because the possibilities are endless.
Tipsy Hawk Brewing Saison
Stats:
OG: 1.051 SG
FG: 1.005 SG
Color: 6.3 SRM
IBU: 37.4
BU/GU: 0.729
Grains
73.2% Pilsner
7.3% Malted Oats
7.3% Rye Malt
7.3% Pale Wheat Malt
4.9% Caramunich I
Hops
35.9 IBU - Magnum - 30 minutes
1.4 IBU - Styrian Golding - 15 minutes of whirlpool at 74C
Yeast
Lallemand - Farmhouse Ale
Temperatures
55℃ (131℉) - 15 minutes
62℃ (143.6℉) - 30 minutes
69℃ (156.2℉) - 30 minutes
75.6℃ (168.08℉) - 10 minutes
100℃ (212℉) - 30 minutes
74℃ (165.2℉) - 15 minutes
Sources
Jean-Christophe Larsimont: Saving Saison
Emily Hutto: Brewers’ Perspectives: Mad for Mixed Fermentation
Joe Stange: Saison: A Story in Motion
Joe Stange, Yvan de Baets: Interrogating the “Myth” of Saison Yeast
Dave Carpenter: The Many Faces of Brett: Overview
Phil Marhowshi: Farmhouse Brewing Then and Now
Michael Jackson: Great Beers of Belgium
Phil Markowski: Farmhouse ALES, Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition
Yvan De Baets: A History of Saison
Roel Mulder: What was a 19th century saison really like?
Jason Yester: Saison Resurgence
Roel Mulder: Lost Belgian Beers: Liège Saison