Farmhouse ales.

[ScottKingofBeer]

I love Saison Dupont, drink it every single week and decided I wanted to try something else in the Farmhouse Catergory. I Sampled Hennepin and Sans Coulotte at a local Pub.

Hennepin:

This was imported by Ommengang and has its lable on the bottle, but the brew is apparently made by Duvel. I was struck at first at how different this was from Saison Dupont. The abv was high, too high for the style, at 7.7% The beer was fairly sweet, not suprisingly given the level of alcohol, but had a pretty good balance with a fair amount of hops. Much sweeter then Saison Dupont and not as forward with the hop charater. Slight barnyard aroma and suprisingly little carbonation even after a very vigourous pour. I was expecting the big, Mountain High froth that Saison Dupont gets after it warms up a little, but it didn't even come close. Slight spicy notes in the finish, but much more subtle then Saison Dupont. I was a little disappointed at first because this didn't have as much earlty character as I was expecting from the style, but once I overlooked the beers stylistic faults and just enjoyed it for what it was, I could appreciate it more and it really is a very fine beer. This is much less esoteric then Saison Dupont and likely more palatable to someone with more traditional beer tastes.

Sans Coulottes:

This was kind of inbetween Saison Dupont and Hennepin Flavor wise. ABV at 7.0% which muted the sweetness considerably and had more or a barnyard aroma. Fairly hoppy and more earthy then Hennepin, but not as intense as Saison Dupont. Crisp and dryish on the finish. Spice was present but again very subtle. Tasted Fantastic with the Gyro I ate with it. Head was also subdued with this and I was trying real hard to duplicate the Saison Dupont head. Another fantastic beer, but just doesn't match the experience that is Saison Dupont. I did like it better then the Hennepin. Though, I prefer Saison Dupont, I would not hesitate to drink these again. I may have one of each this weekend.

[MeridianFC]

Originally posted by ScottKingofBeer
I love Saison Dupont, drink it every single week and decided I wanted to try something else in the Farmhouse Catergory. I Sampled Hennepin and Sans Coulotte at a local Pub.

Hennepin:

This was imported by Ommengang and has its lable on the bottle, but the brew is apparently made by Duvel. I was struck at first at how different this was from Saison Dupont. The abv was high, too high for the style, at 7.7%

Sans Coulottes:

This was kind of inbetween Saison Dupont and Hennepin Flavor wise.

I agree with most of the, certainly how good Saison Dupont is.

[studentofbeer]

Originally posted by ScottKingofBeer
I love Saison Dupont, drink it every single week and decided I wanted to try something else in the Farmhouse Catergory. I Sampled Hennepin and Sans Coulotte at a local Pub.

Hennepin:

This was imported by Ommengang and has its lable on the bottle, but the brew is apparently made by Duvel. I was struck at first at how different this was from Saison Dupont. The abv was high, too high for the style, at 7.7% The beer was fairly sweet, not suprisingly given the level of alcohol, but had a pretty good balance with a fair amount of hops. Much sweeter then Saison Dupont and not as forward with the hop charater. Slight barnyard aroma and suprisingly little carbonation even after a very vigourous pour. I was expecting the big, Mountain High froth that Saison Dupont gets after it warms up a little, but it didn't even come close. Slight spicy notes in the finish, but much more subtle then Saison Dupont. I was a little disappointed at first because this didn't have as much earlty character as I was expecting from the style, but once I overlooked the beers stylistic faults and just enjoyed it for what it was, I could appreciate it more and it really is a very fine beer. This is much less esoteric then Saison Dupont and likely more palatable to someone with more traditional beer tastes.


note that hennepin is actually a belgian-style brew made in cooperstown, new york. i believe duvel has some interest in ommegang, but it's an american beer brewed in a saison style. that might explain it's slightly different palette.

i agree hennepin lacks some of the more interesting characteristics of some belgain saisons--i find it creamier, a bit more yeasty and soft. i really like the beer, but have also felt it's a bit inconsistent--sometimes amazing, sometimes not so much (or maybe it's just me).

i wish i drank saison dupont (or maybe fantome) every week--i love saisons!

[steveh]

Originally posted by studentofbeer
note that hennepin is actually a belgian-style brew made in cooperstown, new york. i believe duvel has some interest in ommegang, but it's an american beer brewed in a saison style. that might explain it's slightly different palette.


Due to demand and production capabilities, I believe some of the Ommegang beers are being brewed by partner company Duvel in Belgium -- check the labels as you purchase.

S.

[newportstorm]

I thought it was just the Ommegang Abbey Ale that was being brewed by Duvel, who owns the Ommegang Brewery. Guess if demand for their other brews, which are all nice renditions of Belgian styles, have grown they need to keep up somehow.

And 7.7% abv is well within the typical range of strength for Saisons. Dupont, Fantome, Blaugies and others have several that exceed Hennepin's potency.

[steveh]

Originally posted by newportstorm
I thought it was just the Ommegang Abbey Ale that was being brewed by Duvel, who owns the Ommegang Brewery.

Not sure, thought I'd read something over at BA a couple months back. Maybe they were even renovating Cooperstown? Can't recall exactly, but I thought more than one style was being brewed in Belgium.

S.

[studentofbeer]

wow didn't know some of the production has moved off-shore. just goes to show how out-of-the-loop i am. interesting stuff.

[ScottKingofBeer]

It says right on the bottle that Hennepin was brewed by duvel and imported by ommegang. I have no idea how much of ommegangs lineup is imported but this one definately is.

[markaberrant]

If you like Saison Dupont, I strongly recommend Moinette Blond. It's made by the same brewery, it's 8.5% abv and is somewhere in between a Strong Golden/Trippel and a Saison.

[ScottKingofBeer]

Thanks for the tip. I will look for it tonight.

[ScottKingofBeer]

have tried a whole bnch of Saison/Farmhouse ales since I last posted this. Didn't take detailed notes so here are the readers digest version, there will be spelling errors here feel free to correct them. Take these notes with a grain of salt, I sampled these over about two months so memory may be faulty.

Saison D'epeature-- Brasserie De Blaugies. Brewed with spelt. Very light straw color with huge carbonation. Very dry, slightly hoppy nose with slight barnyard aroma. Tasty and very refreshing but a little subtle for my tastes. Not the assualt on your senses that Saison Dupont is.

La Moneuse -- Brasserie De Blaguies. My memory is shaky on the flavor of this beer. I remember liking it a lot but much of it was visual appeal. It looked beautiful with its light amber color and rocky head in the La Chouffe glass in which it was served. Every single person who walked by me at the bar commented on how good that beer looked. It had a fuller body then the D'epeature and was aslo quite dry but thats all I can really remember.

Darbyste -- Brasserie De Blaguies. This was my favorite from this brewery. It s a saison brewed with fig juice. I was frightenes of this beer especially at a cost of 12 dollars for a 750 ML bottle. I had nothing to worry about it. This beer was kissed by figs, not the cloying overpowering experience I was expecting. The flavor wasn't sweet at all, it was very, very dry and quite tart. Slight peppery undertones in the body and a huge head with a lovely tart aroma. More sessionable then most of this style at 5.8%

Fantome Saison: Had this on draft, (god I love living in Portland). Very unique beer but tasted more like a lambic to me then a saison. Very sour, but also much hoppier and not as over the top sour as the lambics I have had. 8% ABV

La Foret -- Brasserie Dupont. This is the Organic version of Saison Dupont. I have not tried these back to back, I need to do just that. This is a little more alcoholic then Siason Dupont at 7.5% but flavor profile is very similar. I thought this beer tasted like Saison Dupont on steroids. The aroma was overwhelmingly barnyard. I could almost envison a 10 gallon brew bucket fermenting in the corner of a horse stable very time I took a sip. Not a bad thing, quite to the contrary thats a quality I am looking for in a saison, but if it had just a little more of that smell I would be on the verge of gagging. However, I tried this beer agan and found that the aroma was very subtle. Perhaps this mellows wth age? I found this beer to be hoppier then Saison Dupont but didnt think the peppery character was quite as strong, though not a huge dfference. Many disagree with me and think I have it backwards in regards to this brew. I haven't had a Saison Dupont in a while while I have been searching for other examples of the style so maybe I have just forgotten somewhat what the original tastes like. I will try and sample these two back to back in the next couple of weeks and more accurately comapre them. Bottom line though: I worship La Foret.

La Moinette -- Brasseie Dupont. Delicious, but a little different then the ther offerings. Darker in color, still fairly golden, but not the light straw color of La Foret and Saison Dupont. This was a much "wetter" beer. it didn't finish dry at all and has a touch of sweetness. Carbonation was heavy, but not as explosive as their other offerings. Tasted more alcoholic as well, though I didn't take note of the abv. Some hop character, some funky barnyard aroma and earthiness in the flavor, but more subdued and I don't recall any peppery spice flavors.

Bison Farmhouse Ale: Bison is not one of my favorite breweries and in general I think Amrican Brewers do a poor job with this style. They tend to be much to "clean.' As such I had low expectations for this brew. I was very pleasantly surprised. This was a very spicy Saison with lots of hops and moderate strength at 5.5% abv. I would say Bison was emulating Saison Dupont here and did a fine job. I am not gonna say this beer is any where near it's level, but it has the basic flavor profile down pat. I would reach for this beer before the better known and respected Hennepin.

Jolly Pumpkin Farmouse Ale : I can describe this beer with one word: Sour. If there are more complex flavors in this brew my palate isn't able to pick them up. That's not to say I didn't like it. Straw color, unflitered with a huge head. 4.5% ABV. This is probably closer to what the original farmhouse ales tasted like then any of the fancier and more expensive beers I tasted, but it's just not in their class. It also cost much less. At 2 dollars a 12 ounce bottle, I will drink again.

Overall, I just love this style. It is inherently complex with a good balance of diffent flavors. Generally speaking They are Spicy, hoppy, and earthy, with no one flavor dominating another. They tend to be very dry as well whch make them very thirst quenching. A much more interesting lawnmower beer than a bud light, thats for sure. Additionally, they pair extremely well with food. They will pretty much go with anything except Dessert. The earthy Flavors go really well with salads, pita and hummus, The spicy peppery flavors make it a great mix for spicy foods. The barnyard characterstics make it a great match for anyting you would find on a farm. Turkey and lamb were fabulous matches. I didn't try any of these with cheese but could easily see it. The Darbyste in partcular screamed out for a good strong cheese. I can't think of any other beer style that is anywhere near as versatile. I think this is my new favorite style. My wallet stll prefers IPA however.

[markaberrant]

Scott, you are a lucky man to have tried all those wonderful Saisons. I've only tried Saison Dupont and New Belgium Saison, but I love the style.

At least I can make homebrew Saisons! As for something sessionable, I recently took a witbier recipe and used the Saison Dupont yeast. It finished at 5% abv, and it tasted just wonderful at bottling (despite being flat and warm with tons of yeast in suspension). Up next are approximations of Saison Dupont and Fantome Saison, and then over the winter I'll be doing a hoppy Saison and a massive dark Saison.

[chazwicke]

Thanks for those reviews. I'd enjoy hearing of your back to back comparisons of the Saison Dupont and the La Foret.

[ratman03]

Originally posted by steveh
Not sure, thought I'd read something over at BA a couple months back. Maybe they were even renovating Cooperstown? Can't recall exactly, but I thought more than one style was being brewed in Belgium.

S.

Ommegang said they were shifting production of the Dubbel temporarily to Duvel in Belgium, who I believe now wholly owns, or is at least a partial owner, of Ommegang. Personally, I think the Cooperstown-brewed dubbels taste better.

Speaking of Ommegang, don't overlook the Rare Vos -- it doesn't get the pub that their other brews get, but it's very good nonetheless.

[steveh]

Originally posted by ratman03
Duvel in Belgium, who I believe now wholly owns, or is at least a partial owner, of Ommegang.

I'm pretty sure Duvel has owned Ommegang since its inception. And yeah, I'd also heard the switch to importing the few brands was only temporary, sure hope so.

The beer brewed in NY probably tastes better because it's more fresh.

S.

[TrojanAnteater]

I love the Lost Abbey Red Barn... I have not had Saison Dupont and this seems to be the most popular Saison out there, so I'm looking forward to trying that to compare.