'Tis the Saison

As the earth tilts once more, a nod toward the sun, I bask in the luxuriant glare of said starlight and know spring has arrived!

In celebration of the renewed life of the season and throwing caution to the lionesque wind, I decided to try a style of beer I've avoided for years: Saison.

Brewed at Brasserir Dupont in the French-speaking region of Belgium known as Wallonia, this brew combines the best of its bloodlines. It has a dry almost champagne-like finish and bubbling, but also has the big body and complexity that one would expect from a Belgian-beer. Saison (literally translating from French to “season”) is brewed in the cool month and lagered until the wamer months. The low-alcohol taste and carbonation make this refreshing but not weak or watery. Much like wine, the alcohol sneaks up on you. The name Saison is interchangeable with “farmhouse ale,” as a nod to the way it was once, and still is brewed (Brasserie Dupont is still a working farm) and the graininess and balanced note of citrus fruits reminds one of an al fresco dinner on the family farm and hours spent wasting time with loved ones on the veranda as the sun fades into a blissfully cool evening (if you happen to have such memories).

I chose the saison from Brasserie Dupont with no prior knowledge of the brewery or beer. I simply liked the yellow-checkered label, the slim neck, and the name (I live a stone’s throw from Dupont Circle in DC). Everything about the Dupont seemed to mesh with the beauteous weather. Little did I know that I had fortuitously chosen the best beer in the world (according to Men’s Journal in 2005).

Cozied up on my couch with the long-awaited tweets (birds not twitter) of various ornithological characters I let fly the cap. “Ah, oiu mon amour Brasserie Dupont, you have not let me down,” I thought to myself with a slight case of xenoglossy. The scent of citrus and yeast—something like lemon grass was pleasantly apparent. At first sip, the brew was sour, citrus, hops, carbonation. Not pleasant at first, but not distasteful. By the third sip it is not the lust of first scent I thought it would be, it is fully blossoming love: enduring and passionate love. This is most definitely the beginning of a beautifully long relationship.

Oh, Saison Dupont, I could stare into your sediment-clouded yellowness for all eternity.

I decline to comment any further on this marvelous drink. I advise you to go out find a pack for yourself, grab a friend or a good book and sit outside in the sun while you experience what is sure to become one of your new favorites.

More on Saison and Brasserie Dupont to follow.

A VOTRE SANTE!