Last week I promised both a bottle of Saison Dupont and the collaboration between Stone, Green Flash, and another brewery (the name escapes me at the moment). I am a huge fan of Saison, a style of Belgian Ale, which is almost champagne-like in the sense that it’s very bubbly and semi-sweet with a yeasty taste. Saison is also called “Farm house ale”, which one website informed me it was called that because they originated on farms by French speaking Wallonia in Belgian. Saison being French for "season", they were brewed on the farm to refresh the workers, being low on alcohol so that no one would pass out/vomit/be drunk while on the job.
The Saison Dupont is sweet, very light and has a spicy punch at the end that wakes up your tongue. It’s highly carbonated and comes in a green champagne looking bottle, including the cork. For around three bucks, it’s a great choice for someone just starting out in the beer world, girls mostly, who thinks all beer is just “liquid bread”. Saison brings a classy elegance to beer, like Audrey Hepburn did for the LBD (little black dress for you non-females/fashion minded people) in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. On Beer Advocate they rated this one an A, a very worthy grade for such a cheap and sophisticated brew. Saison is fantastic for a romantic get together when champagne is not on sale or you’re too broke to afford it. Like most Belgian Ales, it’s got a bit of a fruity taste (Blue Moon is the only thing I can think of that would be a worthy comparison) but it’s toned down and comes off as more refined than anything else. Saison Dupont is certainly a very refined and classy little brew, and I’d buy up as many cases as possible should I ever win the lottery. Another Belgian that’s extraordinary is one that a friend of mine introduced me to a couple weeks back called “Delirium”, I’m not certain if it’s actually an Ale or a Saison, either way, it’s ridiculously good. Girly beer drinkers, Saison and Belgians are for you. Delirium also comes in “Nocturne” or something of that nature, I don’t quite remember, what the difference is, I wouldn’t know—I’ve never had it.
Now the Scotch Ale that Stone collaborated with on, really very shocking. Most of the time I try to avoid the beer that my Scottish ancestors probably found amazing. It’s extremely strong 90% of the time, to the point where I’d rather be drinking Scotch than a beer with the same country involved. Scotch Ales are just not my cup of tea, reason being is that most will tear my tongue off and submit it to what lies beneath its kilt. But the Scotch Ale made by these guys really opened my eyes to what it could potentially be. Yes it’s on the dark side, but the dark side has cookies to tempt you with. It’s a rich body, but very straightforward with it’s distinctive taste. Yet, rather than being so rich that you feel like you’re drinking beer mixed with scotch, it’s very creamy. I didn’t know that a Scotch ale could be so smooth and creamy without compromising the strong nature of it. Granted, it was warm, but still, I think even cold the creamy consistency would have remained with it. As far as Scotch Ales go, I have no idea what the process was in order to perfect it, but Stone and Green Flash managed to do so without making it so strong that someone like me couldn’t tolerate it. And for around three dollars, I’d totally buy this again.
St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, well, it’s tomorrow. I’ll be wearing green of course, even if I’m nothing more than Ireland’s “skirt wearing” neighbor. Hey, they assault you on St. Patrick’s day for not wearing green, I don’t feel like getting shalalied either (if you have no clue what that is, look it up) for not supporting Ireland. But alas, I will be at a local pub during the day, wearing my green and drinking Guinness. What pub you ask? Why either at Joe's Bar and Grill, or his other place, Champs. So if you're out and about in Burbank, come find me.
Not that exciting I know.
In Honor of St. Patrick's day I'll be doing a review on Sam Adam's Irish Red next week as well as another surprise beer. I won't say yet, because I'm not entirely sure what it's going to be myself.
However, if YOU have suggestions on what kind of beer or your favorite that should be reviewed...just leave me a little comment. If I can find it, it will be drank (drunk?) and reviewed.
See ya'll next week!
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