Saison has come to be defined by just the handful of commercial brewers who make it. But historically, “saison” was an umbrella term covering a broad spectrum of flavors. Modern brewers are now discovering ways to drive different aspects of the yeast that is the hallmark of saison.
Ironically, its thinking about water, grains and hops driving these yeast flavors. But speaking of yeast, while “a Belgian saison strain” is a common phrase, in fact, Brettanomyces is often key in making the style.
Far from being a singular style, saison offers both drinkers and brewers a menagerie of possibilities.
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Don Tse
Living near seven malthouses, Don Tse is a freelance beer and malt writer and consultant known globally as The Don of Beer. He has been active in craft beer for over 25 years and has famously sampled and written tasting notes on almost 27,000 different beers. He is the co-host of the All About Beer podcast. Don has also written for magazines and presented on beer in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ukraine and Singapore. Nobody in those countries thinks his jokes are funny.
Em Sauter
Em Sauter is an Advanced Cicerone®, cartoonist, author, beer reviewer, international beer judge and public speaker who runs the award winning website Pints and Panels, which focuses on visual beer education. Her first book "Beer is for Everyone! (of Drinking Age)" was published in 2017 by One Peace Books. Her second book "Hooray for Craft Beer!" was released in April 2022 with Brewers Publications. Em is also co-host of the All About Beer Podcast. She lives in New England with her husband Matt and two cats- Milbo and The Geen.
