I think I just had the greatest saison in the world – and it wasn’t called SAISON DUPONT. No, get this, I tried SAISON RUE from Orange County, CA’s THE BRUERY the other night – and for good measure, followed it up with a bottle of Saison Dupont just to see what would happen. Would ya believe that I’m proclaiming, with trumpets and all manner of fanfare, SAISON RUE to be the greatest saison-style beer in the entire world? At least among those I’ve tasted. Wow, this beer is a musky, earthy, sweet/sour yeast bomb that has subtle surprises galore. It has a creamy, hazy, dry-tasting head of foam to get things started, and once that settles down (it takes a while), SAISON RUE also has a dry but really fruity and peppery taste. It’s not that “barnyard” thing that gets bacteria fans all excited, though that’s certainly present – this is just delicious through and through. Every sip brings another sort of subtlety out. I shared it with a pal, and he was pretty much in the same camp. We followed it with the aforementioned SAISON DUPONT, pretty much the saison gold standard, and while excellent itself, I gotta say this one was its superior.THE BRUERY have very quickly become one of the go-to, first-class brewers in the USA. They know it, too – their beers are priced and packaged accordingly. I’m still buying for sure, as they’ve produced three winners since I started paying attention, two of which are knockouts. I’m giving this one a 9.5/10.
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6 comments:
NYC just got Bruery stuff. Had my first ever last night--the Orchard White. Very interesting.
My favorite saison is Hennepin from Ommegang. Do you get that in CA?
We do have Hennepin out here, but so far I haven't found an Ommegang beer that I enjoy. I swore I'd not try their stuff again, but a man with refined taste such as you may convince me otherwise.
I'd say Hennepin is the best thing Ommegang makes though I do have a bit of a soft spot for their Chocolate Indulgence.
I hardly consider myself a saison expert though.
Just had the "Saison Senne" from La Senne in Belgium, which has an excellent, Dupont styled Saison mixed with some Cantillon Young Lambic for Secondary fermentation. Very, very good. But I do love the Saison Rue -- haven't had a stinker yet from The Bruery and they make some excellent draft only brews you should definitely track down.
I have not had Saison Rue, but with The Bruery beers I've had, I agree with your statement that The Bruery has become one of the go-to, first-class brewers in the USA. After reading your post I need to track down a Saison Rue. Its tripel is outstanding.
The Saison de Lente and Black Orchard are really good, too.
The Orchard White was "interesting" to me but too floral-tasting for me to love.
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