Summertime Saisons

[erikka]

I'm a big fan of the Dupont Farmhouse Saison and would like to try saisons from other breweries. Had Smuttynose's last night, it was sort of blah. Any other recommendations - I tend to like these a little on the tart side, and not super hoppy. Just a quick browse through a local distributor yielded few results--I guess saisons aren't terribly popular.

P.S. when I finished my pint there was sediment at the bottom of the glass--what on earth was that?

[warrenr]

Saison d'Erpe-Mere and La Choulette are both outstanding examples in that style. I think Fantome is great too. But Dupont is the best to me!

[LStaff]

I beleive Brooklyn makes a Saison each year but is a limited release. Sly Fox Saison might be available in the NY area and is very good.

Then there's the guy that literally wrote the book on Saison's - Phil Markowski - brewer for Southampton. They make some of the best saisons in the US, but I don't know how easy they are to find.
http://www.beerbooks.com/cgi/ps4.cgi?...

[erikka]

I saw a few bottles of Southampton at Bierkraft this weekend--I'll pick it up next time. And there was one saison that I bought that came in a can--can't remember the name off the top of my head. It was decent.

[Jim Dorsch]

If it's available in your area, Red Sky at Night from Baltimore's Clipper City is a nice one.

The sediment in your glass was likely yeast, as many saisons are refermented in the bottle.

[brentk]

I'll second that recommendation on Fantome. It is by far my favorite.

[Josh]

Fantome is the best. It has a ghost on the label. Most domestic saisons aren't that great in my experience, though Ommegang's Hennepin is pretty decent.

[mrnyc]

i like this style and this is my take as well. fantome and the hennepin are about best in the area. i also agree the smuttynose version is eh. the dupont is in the middle for me.

[Josh]

I had an OK one from Rogue, Festival Ale. They brewed it as a Christmas release. It seems that domestic producers can't quite produce the light-bodied quality that the Belgian's get. The domestic attempts typically seem kind of heavy-handed and clumsy compared to something like Fantome.

However, here in San Diego, there is a guy who makes some very good Saisons. His name is Tomme Arthur, and he brews for Port Brewing Company. Unfortunately they're only sold here and aren't distributed anywhere. He's made some really interesting ones - he had a dark one with raisins added that was delicious, and a light one that incorporated ginger and lemongrass, also outstanding.