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Originally Posted by Reaper16
That is actually a question so complex that it has taken me well over 100 pages in my book project to answer. I've been to Belgium to figure out the answer to this. I've pored over 130 year old brewing documents in French with Yvan de Baets from Brasserie de la Senne to figure out the answer to this. The answers I'm about to give are the shortest, cleanest ones that I can give, but know that there's more to it than this...
1.) Saison is an example of a Farmhouse Ale, but not all Farmhouse Ales are Saisons. Saison refers to a style brewed in the Hainut province of Wallonia (the French-speaking Southern region of Belgium). The other Farmhouse Ale styles are Biere de Garde (brewed in France; it is maltier, less hoppy, less bright: think apples, nuts, & must rather than Saison's stonefruit, hay, and funk) and Grisette (think beer brewed for miners rather than beer brewed for farm laborers; these are light & very hoppy, lacking Saison's historic funk & acidic aspects).
2.) You essentially have the basic story down: indeed Saisons were brewed in the winter to keep for the summer & harvest seasons so that saisoniers (seasonal farm workers) could drink something out in the fields. Most American brewers have taken Saison to be a wide-open style that they can experiment wildly with. This is because there isn't really a stylistic definition. We tend to think of Saison Dupont as the prototypical Saison: golden, hoppy, very fruity, earthy also, a bit phenolic too. So up until maybe 3 years ago I'd say 90% of American saisons were direct takes on Dupont, using the unique Dupont yeast strain. But Dupont isn't actually the prototype in Belgium; it was just the first saison to be imported to the U.S.
The majority of saisons throughout Belgian brewing history have essentially been amber ales. Farms tended to use whatever grain and whatever ingredients they had on hand, so a glass of Saison could vary dramatically from village to village, depending on what was growing in the area. Even more historically, Saisons were fermented with wild yeasts, so they were at least partly sour. American saison brewing is only recently (with Hill Farmstead & its followers, like Prairie, Crooked Stave, Sante Adarius, etc.) re-discovering that lactic sour edge that old saisons used to have. That edge kind of went away when Belgian brewing became more of a commercial thing than a necessary-for-sustenance-and-hydration thing, as unless you have expensive quality control...once you introduce wild yeasts & bacteria into your brewhouse basically every beer you brew is going to be sour.
If you want to taste THE most authentic Saisons then you should seek out Brasserie de Blaugies, imported by Shelton Bros. They are a small, small brewery a stone's throw from the French border, ran by a couple of school teachers, who only make farmhouse ales. Their La Moneuse is the archetypal amber saison, and their spelt saison (Saison d'Epeautre) is as stone-cold classic as anything Dupont makes.
There are no rules anymore. We're so far removed from the original cultural contexts in which the saison style arose. That word is slapped on anything that is dry & hoppy & fruity & funky (or at least tries to be) and there's nothing we can do about it. I would personally like to see a recognized difference between Saison and "American Farmhouse Ale," but I'm also a big proponent of label protections for all sorts of historic beers styles.
Hope all of this helps a bit.
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Wonderful. You did not disappoint. The part about the sour edges being re-introduced into American brewing was definitely interesting. I have a Prairie Artisan Prairie Somewhere in the fridge right now that's labeled as a sour farmhouse ale. I've been hesitant to try it because sour isn't really my thing as far as beers. I'll break it open tomorrow to get a sense of the older farmhouse ales.
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The majority of saisons throughout Belgian brewing history have essentially been amber ales. Farms tended to use whatever grain and whatever ingredients they had on hand, so a glass of Saison could vary dramatically from village to village, depending on what was growing in the area.
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This part right here, I assume, would be why there has been such a broad definition, and why American brewers figured they could get wild with the experimentation.
I don't think the distinction of an American Farmhouse Ale is a bad idea at all.
Anyways, thanks for taking the time to lay that out. I knew you were writing something on the subject, and I'd love to read it when it's complete.
I'll also look into Brasserie de Blaugies.
One last question. I have not been much of a fan of the darker farmhouse ales. Is there one you would recommend?