La Calavera made their name on funky, Bretty, barrel aged beers. But it stands to reason that they would need a couple of more traditional, less-confronting beers in their portfolio. After all, you’d need at least one warm up beer before tackling something like their rum barrel-aged dark sour!
So that is what we have here – a pretty traditional Belgian saison.
As you might expect, the beer pours a golden straw colour, slightly hazy and with a good, rocky foam. The aroma is a gentle mix of cereal, floral hops and of course a little of the saison farmhouse funk.
To taste, the beer is crisp and light with good carbonation. Citrus and a grassy note present early and there is an earthy bitterness that lies in behind. The finish is dry with a lingering spicy bitterness.
It is pretty much exactly what you’d want for this style of beer. Light and easy drinking, with more than enough flavour to keep things interesting, and ultimately thirst quenching.
The perfect beer for warm summer afternoons. Luckily for us we can enjoy it without need to harvest a row of crops first!
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
A saison with winter-type spices added including timut and szechuan peppers, mustard seeds and juniper
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)
An imperial pastry stout with vanilla, toffee and dry dates
