De La Senne Saison de la Senne 11.2oz

Full of enthusiasm we launch the second edition of our Saison de la Senne – the first of which dates back to …2008! It is a Saison inspired by the Saisons brewed in Wallonia (mainly Hainaut) and in part of Flanders in the 19th century. Yvan has been studying this matter since 2004, since the publication of the book “Farmhouse Ales”. For this book he wrote the chapter on the history of the Saison, a style that is so difficult to grasp. The Saison de la Senne can almost be seen as the liquid result of his continuous research.

The Saisons were part of the large family of the “Bières de Garde” (storage beers): wood-aged beers with a long shelf life. They were often mixed with an old sour beer with a vinous character, which gave the beer a typical taste. A taste that was popular with the beer lovers of the time. Sometimes the sour beer was produced by the brewery itself, but sometimes – as shown by old documents – the Saison brewers bought the sour beer from the typical brewers of sour beer of that time: the Lambiek brewers. We chose this method and bought Lambic from one of the most famous Lambic breweries in the world: our friends from Cantillon – whom we thank wholeheartedly!

The result is an extremely complex beer, which is also very refreshing (one of the characteristics of this style). It resembles a hopped gueuze with a pronounced bitterness. Indeed, Saisons were traditionally richly hopped because of the storage properties of hops. They were even often dry hopped, like the Saison de la Senne. Ultimately, this Saison spent three years in wooden barrels before being bottled.

She is amber colored, and her nose reminds us of Lambic, with fallen apples, wood, leather and the typical “funkiness” of the Brettanomyces. In the mouth it is sharp and sour, but quickly becomes dry. The aromas on the nose are completed with those of rustic grains (spelt and rye), quince, green gooseberries and a complex vinous character. Her final is bitter, but perfectly balanced.