Join us in celebrating saisons on April 3rd

Come (digitally) join us for a celebration of Saisons. On Friday (4/3) at 5:00pm EST, our very own Brewmaster, Jason Perkins, will be hosting Digital Saison Day 2020. Part happy hour, part roundtable with talented brewers, we’re inviting all saison fans join us from home.

You’ll be able post questions or comments to the meeting message board while our panel of brewers drinks saisons, shares a few laughs, and probably ends up waxing a bit too poetic about one of our favorite styles of beer.

Friends who will be joining us

Need beer?

Obviously, Saison Day is now digital for a reason. Given the difficult circumstances every single one of us is dealing with, we’re trying to make the best of it.

The link below will help you get your saison of choice delivered to your door, or help you find a local store to pick it up from.

Saisons are known as farmhouse-style ales for a reason: they were originally brewed on actual farms. Long before refrigeration, Belgian farmers of the French-speaking Wallonia region used the labor-light winter months to brew beer. Saison actually means “season” in French, a reference to the fact that the beer was brewed seasonally. Using ingredients they had on hand—barley, rye, spelt, or anything else, really—farmers brewed their beer to be stored and drank in the hot summer months. Not coincidentally, the french cousin to the saison, known as bière de garde (translation: beer for keeping), originated just a few miles south, over the French border.

Because of its loose origin, saisons are almost more of a tradition than a particular style. Saisons can be light or dark. Malty or hoppy. Tart or dry. Or many of those things (or few). Put simply, the style is wide enough to contain pretty much any ingredient the brewer desires. So what is a saison? Only in recent years has the style become even slightly pinned down to this formal-ish description, “exceptionally dry, highly carbonated, fruity and of moderate strength: 6-8% ABV.”