Aside from sours and barrel aged beers, Saison’s are one of my favorite styles of beer.  I love the crisp ale, big head, and lots of spice.  So when I heard about Boulevard’s Saison Brett, I was on the hunt.  I eventually received one in a beer trade from a great trader in CO.  Tonight I will be trying bottle 548 of a production run of 13400, just over 1100 cases.  Not sure what to expect from this beer, I don’t know anything about the brewery except for an interview from Thank Heaven for Beer, and I haven’t searched out any reviews yet.  What I’m expecting is a crisp, peppery, funky, maybe a bit tart beer.

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Typically we think of Saisons as a summer / late fall beer with its light, crisp, refreshing, and some times citrusy flavors.   However, KleinBrouwerij De Glazen Toren’s  ”eindejaar” (New Year) edition is special, with the strength ratcheted up from 6.9% to 9% ABV making it more of a winter warmer then a summer time refresher.

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Officially my first Lost Abbey beer.  The unfortunate reality of living on the east coast, we don’t get many breweries from the west coast.  I suppose the same could be said the other way round or I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to trade beer to get this Lost Abbey Carnevale Ale.  This, like last night’s New Glarus Imperial Saison, the Carnevale Ale is also Saison style beer.

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Thanks to Jason at Barleypopmaker I’m sampling my fifth New Glarus beer over the last couple of weeks.  I’ve had the Fat Squirrel, Stone Soup, Dancing Man Wheat, and a big Belgium Red.  The next selection will be the Unplugged Imperial Saison.  I love this style of beer, I can’t wait to taste what unique twist New Glarus has made to this style.

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Another beer in Brooklyn’s ever increasing Brewmaster’s Series, this time the Sorachi Ace.  The Brewmaster Series are a seasonal or limited release styles which are only available on draft.  The last one I had was the Cuvee de Cardoz, an absolutely amazing beer which I can’t wait to have again. The Sorachi Ace is a farmhouse ale featuring the rare Japanese-developed hop Sorachi Ace.

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The last month of the summer has been pretty hot and humid, farmhouse ales are an excellent selection for these types of late summer days.  The Jolly Pumpkin beers I’ve had previously have pushed the limits of the style with their takes on styles of beer and I’m expecting no less from the Bam Bière Farmhouse Ale.

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