The Beer Thread

opiate82_sl said:

No it is a very old Belgian/French style. But yeah, it is a style that seems to be taking off. Anything labeled "Farmhouse" is also usually a saison as well. The style was originally brewed for farm workers in those regions.

When an ale is fermented too warm the yeast will put out a lot of esters which add a lot of fruity flavors (I think they are usually closer to rotten fruit) to a beer that are generally undesirable. Saison yeast strains, however, have been specifically cultivated over generations to produce delicious tasting esters along with some other characteristics. So basically what IPA's are to hop flavors, saisons are to yeast-driven flavors.

I think the style is doing well as an IPA alternative because they are still big flavor character beers but are lighter-bodied than your typical malty beer making them more drinkable year round.

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Yeah I knew they weren't a new style but I was wondering if that is what all the beer people are gravitating towards. Sort of like how IPA took off a few years ago. I went to a local bar known to have a ton of crafts last weekend and I saw saison after saison on the menu. Possibly even more than IPA. But that may just be a product of them being a good summer beer.

Yes, I think in trying to find the "next style" after IPA's, saisons are definitely gaining a lot of traction. Sours have also carved out a nice little niche but I don't think they will ever be as big as IPA just because the expense of them prices a lot of people out of the market. Maybe something like a Berliner Weisse will gain in popularity as breweries try to get drinkers more into sour-styles. Session-beers also seem to be gaining steam but I'm just sure if that is driven by consumer demand or if craft-brewers just like the idea of being able to put out a low ABV beer and still charge a premium price for them, and thus have been trying to force them onto the market.

Obviously IPA's are still king. A local brewery up here opened up a couple of months ago who I am pretty tight with. While he knew he needed to have an IPA, he really didn't want to brew any hoppy beers other than a token IPA, instead he wanted to focus on Belgian styles. Well a couple months in now and he is planning not one, but two new IPA lines due to consumer demands. Anecdotal obviously, but if you'd ask around you'd find that the demand for hop-forward styles is still as high as ever.

Which is why I had to force myself through brute force into enjoying IPA and other hop forward styles. Because wherever you go chances are you'll find a good, drinkable IPA on tap. Not so much for any other style and especially not for stouts/porters which were two of my favorites prior.

I kind of started beer on IPA. I never really cared for the big name light beers even in college. I usually just got hammered off vodka. I found non-IPA tasted too watery for me. Then I tried IPA for the first time and found that to be the only real drinkable IPA.

Then again I like my coffee black as the night and my wiskey/scotch to taste like barrels so maybe I just have a harsh pallete in general

Forgot to mention, I picked up a six pack of Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA last night, and had one. It was pretty fucking delicious. Deschutes might be my favorite brewery right now, man they have some good stuff. $21.90 for 6 was a wee bit steep though!

If you can get it near you, this the best saison I've ever had.

Worker's Comp Saison | Two Roads Brewing Company | Stratford, CT | BeerAdvocate

I just drank an entire growler full of 7/04/14 Enjoy By that I bought for $9 by abusing the fuck out of my business owner privileges. Still the best widely available IPA (well technically DIPA) on the market right now imo. Will probably abuse my privileges again tomorrow...

Lleauaric_sl said:

If you can get it near you, this the best saison I've ever had.

Worker's Comp Saison | Two Roads Brewing Company | Stratford, CT | BeerAdvocate

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Interesting. Their beers are generally boring and middle of the road. I'll have to try that one.

The Firestone Walker Invitational was a little over a month ago here and they had some leftover guest beers on tap; Surly's Darkness (Russian Imperial Stout -Darkness | Surly Brewing Company | Brooklyn Center, MN | BeerAdvocate) and Pentagram (Sour Dark Ale -Pentagram | Surly Brewing Company | Brooklyn Center, MN | BeerAdvocate). Both were ridiculously delicious - I may have to take a road trip to Minnesota at some point in the nearish future, they were that good.

Also, Firestone Walker's releasing their DDBA (Double Double Barrel Ale | Firestone Walker Brewing Co. | Paso Robles, CA | BeerAdvocate) in 9 days. If anyone's a fan of it, I suggest you stock up when/if possible. They're saying it's the last year for it so they can make room for other barrel-aged beers.

Ao-_sl said:

Wait for a year. Surly is opening a brand new GIANT brewery (for MN standards) "soon". The current one is great but tiny. If you can swing it, come in October FOR darkness day. Though it's almost a shitshow to get the beer.

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Thanks for the heads up, I'll see what I can do to come out October next year then! Maybe I'll stock up on some Firestone beer to bring for trades when I do come out that way

Eomer_sl said:

Forgot to mention, I picked up a six pack of Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA last night, and had one. It was pretty fucking delicious. Deschutes might be my favorite brewery right now, man they have some good stuff. $21.90 for 6 was a wee bit steep though!

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Deschutes is very good. Pretty consistent brewery with their beers across the board. Fresh Squeezed is pretty good, but I think we have quite a few other better IPAs here in NorCal.

Tenks_sl said:

Then again I like my coffee black as the night and my wiskey/scotch to taste like barrels so maybe I just have a harsh pallete in general

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same

looks good too

So I will be in the Bay Area next week. Other than Russian River, any recommendations for beer hot-spots to check out? I'll probably be staying in Petaluma but will have a car and will spend at least one day in the city.

Already did Moylan's and Lagunitas last time I was in the area so I don't need to hit up either of those again...

Ao-_sl said:

Anchor for sure. Bear Republic maybe? I don't know of the good small-name. Firestone Walker might be worth the trip... but that's fucking far away.

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Would love to hit up FSW sometime, but won't be enough time in this trip. Hopefully someday when I do my 2-week West Coast Beer road trip! Anchor and Bear Republic are both good calls.

Also I will have a very pregnant wife with me, so any brewpubs with great food would also be helpful