Is the Saison craze out of hand?

[drainbamage]

As for as craft brewery saisons, I think a lot of it is down to how interconnected craft brewing and homebrewing are. Saison being the best high-temp yeast by a mile ensures them a nice big niche among homebrewers and anything that's popular among homebrewers will bleed over into craft brewing. As I don't see homebrewers giving up the yeast that works best in high temps, I don't see saisons going anywhere on the craft brewing side.

I agree with this. Saison is a style with very loose guidelines, and are very forgiving with temp control, pitching rates, and ingredients. That makes it a lot easier to focus on them (and make a lot of different types) than, say, lagers.

 

[QuadConPana]

There's still no saison that beats Saison Dupont...

I both agree and disagree. Dupont is definitely the benchmark for the style. While it is the most impeccable, by definition it's not the most interesting. So, even if I had an unlimited supply of Dupont, I might want a Tank 7 or something sometimes.

 

[QuadConPana]

I am actually quite excited to see the Farmhouse style gain in popularity for many reasons, but mostly because it is such a great style with food. A couple of years back, I was in Bonefish Grill and they had a bomber of Pepe Nero on their menu. No such luck, anymore. I think they were too far ahead of the curve, back then. I'll bet if they had waited until now, it would have taken off.

 

[QuadConPana]

I was more trying to point out the trendy nature of the craft industry that I was seeing all weekend.

I've only been to a couple of festivals, but, for me at least, that's kind of the point. What's the next trend? I would be disappointed if it were merely World of Beer in tents. I remember watching the old show Brewmasters when Sam Calagione brought his first batch of ******* Brew to the GABF before anybody had tried it. If I were a brewer going to a festival, I would bring one or two of my big sellers that everybody knows, one that is my take on an up and coming style I know is going to be heavily represented, something I think is underrepresented, and something ridiculously experimental.

As for everybody riding the same wave, you're probably right. But, what better way to explore a style than trying many different takes on it.

 

[beerkench]

Maybe you should rephrase the post to 'Isn't the craft beer craze out of hand?'


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[Spartan300man]

When in doubt, follow the money. It seems some of these breweries try to make a splash, try to introduce something different in order to get some shelf space. And it seems there is a certain number of the Hipster or Wanna-Be craft brew crowd that grabs anything new on the shelf to somehow show they are progressive or a fashionista. I could not believe the number of pumpkin ales on the local store shelf recently. And during summer, the number of Shandies. And the Hell or High Watermelon ale. I recently heard a radio interview in Minneapolis about a brewery using Sweet Potatoes, because they didn't want to be on the Pumpkin bandwagon. I toured Lagunitas recently and they un-ashamedly said they do primarily hoppy beers, and that is basically their style, and as I think about it, I am coming to respect that philosophy.

 

[Clonefan94]

Maybe my wording is inappropriate "craze" seems to have struck a nerve. I was more trying to point out the trendy nature of the craft industry that I was seeing all weekend. One Brewer has some pretty good success reviving the saison, then 10 others breed from that. It was the mediocrity that has me asking the question. It's weird that now most new breweries are now carrying the logo of "artisan ales" or something similar and most of the people representing these are skinny jean, suspender, tight ironic tee, beard to the nipple wearing individuals. Is this a mere coincidence? Or has beer become another hipster fad like typewriters and vinyl records.

It's probably not all the breweries fault though. There was a brewpub in the area that basically got me into craft beer in the mid 90s. In this area, they were the innovator, just brewing craft beer was the new thing. They always had a solid line-up of beers, with about 6 being their regulars they always brewed, then one or two a month that were specialty.

I actually moved a few towns over and hadn't been there for a while. Then I stopped in while passing by one day, this was about the time the IPA movement was really hitting. I made a comment to the bartender, something along the lines of, "Oh, you added an IPA to the regular line-up huh?" He said, "Well, when 1 out of 2 people come in asking to try the IPA, you better brew one."

I guess it's a long winded way of saying, it is a business. You don't really want to be a copycat, but you have to follow the popular trends to some extent or go out of business. If a lot of people are asking for a saison, well, you should brew a saison.

 

[soccerdad]

I whole heartedly endorse the craft beer industry reaching back to the old world crafts that we were in danger if losing to the plethora of fizzy yellow beers threatening to overtake the world. Nothing (to me) says old world craft more than stout, porter and farmhouse ale. True, many of today's craft beer makers offer a tutti fruity, hot pepper, spiced (stout / porter / saison), but before they can experiment with unique presentations, they must first know and understand the beer's place in history. Long live the saison !!

 

[TxBrew]

Drinking wise I've jumped on the saison bandwagon in the last six months. I def. think the buzz brought me to saisons but after seeking them out through bottle trades, I've become a big fan, drank one at lunch today. Plus the forgiving nature and broadness in brewing prospects made them a fun brew style.

 

[specharka]

To each his own. Maybe New England has a more balanced approach but most festivals/bars/stores I go to have a fantastic line up that varies quite a bit. We also have some top notch breweries. In other words, no one complains how many Hill Farmstead saisons are out there, and no one complains how many Trillium or Tree House IPAs there are out there. In fact, I don't see much complaining at all.

Final note: That is what some festivals are about...simply finding out which brewers never to buy and which new ones to seek out.

If you can afford to complain about them, get one for me while you're out there.

They don't even distribute to VT, let alone the rest of New England.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Drinking wise I've jumped on the saison bandwagon in the last six months. I def. think the buzz brought me to saisons but after seeking them out through bottle trades, I've become a big fan, drank one at lunch today. Plus the forgiving nature and broadness in brewing prospects made them a fun brew style.

There's a lot of really good ones out there. I have a few recipes of my own for saison and one that I consider outstanding.

 

[beergolf]

Drinking wise I've jumped on the saison bandwagon in the last six months. I def. think the buzz brought me to saisons but after seeking them out through bottle trades, I've become a big fan, drank one at lunch today. Plus the forgiving nature and broadness in brewing prospects made them a fun brew style.

hahaha Good to see someone one the band wagon. Saisons are one of my favorite styles to brew. I ahve brewed over 50 saisons. A lot of leeway with recipes. Great taste, good easy drinking brews. Goes good with food.

Be careful... they will open you up to adding brett to them and it will change your brewing forever. I always have several saions with brett aging at any given time. Adding oats, wheat, rye or spelt can really make them more interesting.

 

[Sailingeric]

It is so out of control.

Actually I love a saison, one of my favorite styles.

 

[Owly055]

Don't have much of a temperature control system and Korea gets plenty hot in the summer so I brewed five saisons in a row before it got cool enough to switch to US-05. And damn am I sick of that signature dry ester flavor you get from saisons. Will give away my last bit of my more traditional saison and only keep the black one that has enough roast to drown out the saison taste a bit. I don't think I could stand to even look at one in a bar now.

As for as craft brewery saisons, I think a lot of it is down to how interconnected craft brewing and homebrewing are. Saison being the best high-temp yeast by a mile ensures them a nice big niche among homebrewers and anything that's popular among homebrewers will bleed over into craft brewing. As I don't see homebrewers giving up the yeast that works best in high temps, I don't see saisons going anywhere on the craft brewing side.

Like you, my temp control is minimal...... ferment at ambient indoor temps with no AC, or pack the fermenter to the pumphouse where the temp is lower and doesn't fluctuate as much. Saisons work well at high temps...... I run them up into the 90's in summer. In spring and fall, I work with ale yeasts, and when it gets colder I use lager yeast. Saison is a "saisonal" style for me.

H.W.

 

[Owly055]

Saison's being a Belgian or French farmhouse brew should by definition be an extremely loose category of beer, defined by their diversity more than anything else other than the type of yeast used......and that probably varied also with the thousands of brewers making their own farmhouse brew. I visualize the farmers using whatever they had available, and brewing to their own personal taste, perhaps even competing some for labor based on who had the best brew. I would expect virtually any grains to be included, and quite possibly other available sources of fermentables like fruits and berries. The only parameter that really was important was good taste.... and of course the hops that grew in their back yard. They were probably most generally fresh hop beers.

To my way of thinking, Saison is virtually an anything goes brew

H.W.

 

[Redhawk96]

Why would anyone complain about the nearly unlimited amount of new and great beer hitting the market across the country these days? Think back to 25 years ago, when Guiness was your only option for someithng other than yellow fizz in most of the country. Now we have access to great beer almost everywhere, I find a new great beer on the shelf and at the local brew pubs nearly all the time.

I don't get these posts complainign about a style or trend. We are living in the greatest beer era of all time! If you don't like something just don't drink it. There are dozens, or even hundreds of every style avaialble, just drink what you like!

And by the way saisons are great for homebrewing, for all of the previously mentioned reasons, forgiving, wide-open to interpretation, and relatively cheap to make.

 

[soccerdad]

As in Miami Redhawk? Saw a bit on NHL.com where one of your guys is making a splash in the early season .. cool!

Why would anyone complain about the nearly unlimited amount of new and great beer hitting the market across the country these days? Think back to 25 years ago, when Guiness was your only option for someithng other than yellow fizz in most of the country. Now we have access to great beer almost everywhere, I find a new great beer on the shelf and at the local brew pubs nearly all the time.

I don't get these posts complainign about a style or trend. We are living in the greatest beer era of all time! If you don't like something just don't drink it. There are dozens, or even hundreds of every style avaialble, just drink what you like!

And by the way saisons are great for homebrewing, for all of the previously mentioned reasons, forgiving, wide-open to interpretation, and relatively cheap to make.

 

[didinho]

It doesn't ring a bell, but I'll be on the look-out! What's your take on it?

esters are more various, with different fruity notes, clove is more subtle and the aroma profile is more elegant. also in the flavour you get more variety and all the fruity notes give a sensation of freshness and sweetness that seem impossible for such a dry beer.
hope you can find a well stocked bottle, here in Europe is easy to have it!

 

[socounty]

Why would anyone complain about the nearly unlimited amount of new and great beer hitting the market across the country these days? Think back to 25 years ago, when Guiness was your only option for someithng other than yellow fizz in most of the country. Now we have access to great beer almost everywhere, I find a new great beer on the shelf and at the local brew pubs nearly all the time.

I don't get these posts complainign about a style or trend. We are living in the greatest beer era of all time! If you don't like something just don't drink it. There are dozens, or even hundreds of every style avaialble, just drink what you like!

And by the way saisons are great for homebrewing, for all of the previously mentioned reasons, forgiving, wide-open to interpretation, and relatively cheap to make.

I wasn't complaining about the style of beer. That being sours in general. I definitely was complaining about the trend. I didn't actually say I disliked
sours at all. That being said, I took a couple friends that are just getting into beer and from there observation it was definitely sour heavy. When I took a step back and looked I most definitely saw the same thing. It wasn't that sours or saisons or whatever are bad beers. That's the exact opposite of what I'm trying to
point out.
It's like when the movie sideways
came out and every novice wine drinker that saw the movie went on a freaking pinot rampage and Merlot was looked down upon as sub par wine.
Sour fanatics are coming people! Hide your wife, hide your kids, and hide your husband cause they about to sour everything up in here.

 

[Johow]

I suppose unless the HB police intervene, that we are free to brew anything we like....

 

[Owly055]

I remember the Coors craze.................. I'd say we've come a long way...............

 

[divrguy]

I can't wait for the Kolsch kraze

Me too! Too hard to find a Kolsh on the shelves here. But I have a great recipe for one that everybody loves...dang it, my keg just kicked lol

 

[socounty]

I remember the Coors craze.................. I'd say we've come a long way...............

I remember when it was one of the few things on the shelf. I don't think we should make the comparison of a bewery founded in 1873 that turned its self into a billion dollar business to the trends of the craft beer scene.
A long way from what? The lack of selection years ago? Beer is no better because of selection if that's what you mean. There are many mediocre beers on the shelf these days that are surviving because of the craft is better mentality. When you can start home brewing and six months later your looking at financing for a "Artisanal ales" brewery that should say something about the state of the
Industry.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Is the Saison craze out of hand?

I think not, I routinely look past them in search of something else. Barely notice them anymore. But then, I am not a fan. Not even of the Dupont version.

 

[Psylocide]

I just dumped the remaining 3 gal of my whiskey oaked rye saison after reading this thread.

Wasn't aware that I was being so trendy, albeit inadvertently.

Won't happen again. Guess I'll go brew an IPA.

 

[beerkench]

With nothing else to drink, I can imagine the Flemish field workers were thinking exactly the same thing 2 hundred years ago.


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[socounty]

Is the Saison craze out of hand?

I think not, I routinely look past them in search of something else. Barely notice them anymore. But then, I am not a fan. Not even of the Dupont version.

I just dumped the remaining 3 gal of my whiskey oaked rye saison after reading this thread.

Wasn't aware that I was being so trendy, albeit inadvertently.

Won't happen again. Guess I'll go brew an IPA.

Maybe a hard root beer. I heard there really popular right now.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Maybe a hard root beer. I heard there really popular right now.

We've had those on the shelves for years.

If I want a hard soda anything, I have spirits for that.

 

[socounty]

What about a whiskey barrel aged root beer?

 

[socounty]

Dear god I found one.

https://untappd.com/b/great-lakes-brewery-root-beer-of-all-evil-stout/264883