Brouwerij De Molen might elicit memories of big and bold dark beers with names that can be a little tricky for non-Dutch speakers to pronounce.
This time around we present a beer that is neither a strong and black nor sporting an unusual name. At first this may be cause for some concern but after delving into De Molen’s ‘Winter Saison’ all fears will be allayed.
While traditionally saisons were brewed in the winter and consumed in summer to quench the thirst of Wallonian farm workers, the style has progressed to include a wide variety of examples. Thus the ‘Winter Saison’ is a beer brewed with Timut and Szechuan peppers, mustard seeds and juniper.
The beer pours a light orange/amber with small amount of suspended sediment; the aroma is spicy barnyard French/Belgian yeast and a touch of caramel. It has a good amount of carbonation for the style with a little extra body for the cold winter months. There is a touch of tartness and the finish is nice and dry as to be expected.
The added spices give the pleasant herbal, woody quality of a traditional gruut, medicinal ale or witches brew. Additionally there is a slight, pleasant after burn from the addition of the peppers.
This is just another quality, boundary pushing beer from a brewery that refuses to play by the rules.
Alvinne's saison is light, crisp, quite funky with a hint of sour thanks to blending a little of the Omega blond sour beer
This classic Belgian Saison was the first beer produced commercially by Brasserie Atrium
The new beer from the good 'Dochter' is a dry-hopped saison with bitter orange
A spelt saison brewed in collaboration with Hill Farmstead
A simple but funky and interesting saison, with two old style hops for a fruity, dry and spicy character
A collaborative Saison featuring rye, spelt and wheat malts, dry-hopped with a Ukranian hop called Zachrava
An attempt at recreating a traditional 19th-Century saison, heavily hopped and mixed with lambic then barrel aged
An historical style spelt saison, dry-hopped and refermented with Brettanomyces
A classic Belgian style saison, with a twist - dry-hopped with Cascade & Amarillo
by Brouwerij Emelisse/Slot-Oostende
A hazy golden saison - crisp, citrusy, earthy and dry
A traditional Belgian saison, dry and funky, grainy malt and a solid bitterness
by Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille
A traditionally styled saison brewed with just the four ingredients as such beers were in the past
'Tess' is a White White Saison - a farmhouse ale fermented on Pinot Grigio white wine barrels and hopped with Hallertau Blanc hops
A very tasty little saison - or Grisette - from London's Partizan Brewing
A refreshingly crisp and dry farmhouse ale with addition rhubarb and ginger
A collaboration between De Molen and Beavertown (UK) sees a beery take on the traditional Gin & Tonic
A classic Belgian saison from Brouwerij De Ranke - hoppy and floral with a dry finish.
An earthy Wallonian saison from one of Europe's last remaining steam breweries
So good it was recently included in USA Draft's '25 Best Beers of the Year'.
The classic farmhouse ale, and benchmark that re-popularised the saison style of beer.
A special annual vintage version of Dupont's classic saison
A very traditional style saison, with a recipe dating back to 1884
A black India saison isn't something you see everyday from a Belgian brewer
A tasty, fairly traditional saison with lots of loverly earthy character and a little funk
A unique combination of Saison and White Beer produces a refreshing blonde ale with a nice bite.
White Pony have created what they call a Pacific Saison Ale, featuring hops from Australia (Summer) and NZ (Wakatu)
This smoked dopplebock is a collaboration between De Molen and Poch's Cervesa Artesana from Spain
21 grams of Cryo-hops per litre of beer for this wonderfully dank, resinous, fruity Imperial NEIPA
De Molen's 3,000th brew was this black barley wine with roasted wheat
A Berliner weisse with hibiscus flowers and fresh blueberries
A big, juicy American style double IPA, dry-hopped with Amarillo
An American-style Pale Ale-ish, featuring Columbus & Amarillo dry-hop
Another 2019 Boreft Festival Beer, this is an imperial stout with chocolate nibs and fresh mint
An American Strong Ale, a big malty body, lots of fruit flavours and a pleasant hop bitterness
A combination of English and German smoked malts combine in this rich, tasty dark treat
De Molen's annual spring time release is 'Day & Dew' - an IPA featuring a bevy of US hops and bergamot fruit
This Borefts Festival beer from 2018 is an imperial stout with amarene cherries, finished on cedar wood
A Boreft Festival beer from last year, this is a Belgian style quadruple with South American Tonka Beans
De Molen's first take on the currently trending north-east IPA
A Double IPA made for Boreft's, featuring hops from De Molen's own hop fields
De Molen's new core range Belgian Blond with Sorachi Ace hops
One of De Molen's Bereft Festival 2017 beers, this is a smoked Earl Grey IPA - heavy on the smoke and tea, light on the IPA!
A barley wine with smoked malt and three varieties of chillies. Different but delicious!
A simple, traditional style porter 'made they way porters used to be'
De Molen's take on a Belgian Tripel style - lots of sweet malt and generous hop bitterness
An English Strong Ale, like a smaller version of a Barley Wine
The flagship imperial stout from De Molen - 'Hell & Damnation'
De Molen's 'Hell & Damnation' Imperial Stout
De Molen's flagship imperial stout has been given a hazelnut twist
De Molen's 'Heaven & Earth' - s smoky, peaty Imperial Stout
This is a fun IPA from De Molen with extracts of vanilla, chocolate and orange
An imperial banana choco porter, this is one of the 2017 Borefts Festival beers from De Molen
Originally a one-off beer, this Imperial Hefeweizen has become an autumn seasonal regular
The spring seasonal offering from De Molen is technically an India Pale Lager
Essentially an American Pale Ale, with a decent caramel malt body
De Molen's 'Beautiful & Ruthless' is part quadruple part imperial stout
De Molen's 'Malt & Mocha' is their winter seasonal coffee imperial stout
De Molen's 2018 Boreft Festival '9+1' beer is an imperial stout with added aloe vera
An Imperil Stout with 5 different barley malts, flaked oats and hand roasted coconut flakes
This collaborative brew between De Molen and Omnipollo is an Imperial Pineapple IPA
A session bitter, nudging toward an IPA dry-hopped with Amarillo
A delicious bourbon barrel aged quadrupel, made for De Molens Boreft Festival
One of De Molen special 'Bereft Festival' beers from 2016, a Red Rye Ale
A slightly sour imperial stout with walnut extract, caramel and salt, aged in Bowmore Whiskey barrels
A beer sitting between a pale ale and an IPA, celebrating 50 years of Maris Otter malt
An old-school IPA, the gift of De Molen's brew team to John Brus for his recent marriage to partner Petra
A delicious smoked dopplebock is the result of a collaboration between De Molen and Sound Brewery of Washing State USA
A tasty little red ale from De Molen, it has a fruity aroma, a sweet malty body with a sustained level of hop bitterness
De Molen's farewell to their European summer is this hoppy wheat ale
A light and refreshing summer style Berliner Weisse, dry-hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra hops
De Molen's summer Berliner Weisse for 2019 is fruited with cranberries
'Explain in detail' is a cross between a pale ale and a farmhouse ale
De Molen's Imperial Porter - all the sweetness and complexity of an imperial stout, without the roasted bitterness
A blend of two of De Molen's imperial stouts, then aged in various barrels, blended again and spiked with a wild Brettanomyces yeast
A NEIPA by De Molen with Cryo Citra, Lemondrop, Simcoe and Mosaic hops
A classic Belgian style saison, with a twist - dry-hopped with Cascade & Amarillo
A bottom fermented India Pale Lager, dry-hopped with Simcoe & Citra hops
A refreshing India Pale Lager, dry-hopped with Cascade for a fruity, bitter bite
This weizenbock with passionfruit and Tango hops is a perfect spring beer
A massive Imperial Stout, with loads of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee
A collaboration between De Molen and Reketye (HUN), this dopple bock features smoked malts and smoked paprika powder
A collaboration between De Molen and Beavertown (UK) sees a beery take on the traditional Gin & Tonic
