Saison and Tripel

Tasting session 13

Beer 1 Choices: Saison, Belgian Tripel, Witbier, Weissbier

Beer 2 Choices: International Amber Lager, Scottish Export, British Brown Ale, Strong Bitter

Beer 3 Choices: Belgian Blond Ale, Saison, Belgian Tripel, Weizenbock

Beer 4 Choices: Munich Helles, American Light Lager, Cream Ale, Kölsch

Score: 3/4

Beer 1 things to look for:

Saison: fruity esters and spicy phenols

Belgian Tripel: booze/heavyier body

Witbier: orange/coriander

Weissbier: Weizen yeast (banana/clove), low bitterness, lacking Belgian attenuation/carbonation

Notes:

I smelled the beer and got some pepper and graininess, so my gut instinct was Saison. A taste test confirmed this, and after swallowing, I experienced a lingering bitterness. Bitterness eliminated Witbier and Weissbier as neither are usually hoppy/bitter. 

Saison and Tripel can present similarly. Tripels are usually higher in ABV, but Belgian beers are so well attenuated (little residual sugar left post-fermentation) that even the strong ones go down like light beers- so that wasn’t a very reliable distinction. The fruity ester to spicy phenol ratio can differ between different producers of Saison and Tripel, but in my experience, Tripels are a little more ester focused and Saisons are usually a little more phenol focused and have a higher perceived bitterness. It was the bitterness and black pepper notes that really sealed the deal for me on this one. In addition, the Saison Du Ponts I’ve had in the past year have tasted pretty off- almost like old wheat. This one tasted like that, so I could even blindly guess “Saison Du Pont”.

Beer 2 things to look for:

International Amber Lager: light body/overall character

Scottish Export: esters?

British Brown Ale: fruity esters, UK malt or hop character

Strong Bitter: UK malt, hop presence, less carmely than Brown

Notes:

This tasting went down differently because I’ve tried very few Scottish beers, and zero Scottish Exports. Since the sample tasted unlike anything I’ve tried before, I knew it had to be Scottish Export. My first impression was that it was smokey, but not at all peat smokey- more like Rauchbier smokey. However, after more tasting, I think the flavor I was picking up was actually a toasty roasty dryness and not smoke.

This beer was crazy interesting. It’s a lighter beer (5.2% ABV) and has flavors of deeply toasted brown bread, caramel, and toffee, but without the sweetness that usually comes with those things. That was a strange and intriguing sensation- flavors that I only associate with indulgently sweet things, but made not-too-sweet. Super delicious! It reminds me of the Millard richness that you’d find in Munich Dunkel, another lighter and drinkable beer.

Beer 3 things to look for:

Belgian Blond Ale: malt forward, fruity esters/spicy phenols

Saison: phenols and esters

Belgian Tripel: booze/body

Weizenbock: not Belgian

Notes:

This was a hard one! I’d expect all these beers to have some amount of fruity esters and spicy phenols coming from the yeast- banana/clove in Weizenbock and Tripel, pepper/clove/banana/citrus/pear in Blond and Saison (and Tripel). I’d expect Weizenbock and Tripel to be bigger beers (higher ABV), so there could be a heavier body and some boozy/perfumy character from those; Saison and Belgian Blond usually present a bit drier.

After my first sip, I knew this thing was Belgian: dry, highly carbonated, and with a complex yeast character. There was ripe banana, orange, melon, clove, white pepper, and subtle flowery perfume. This combination of flavors is common for Tripel. The mouthfeel and carbonation eliminated Weizenbock, the lack of perceived bitterness and hop character eliminated Saison, and the high level of fruity esters and less focus on malt eliminated Blond. It also helped that I really love St. Bernardus and am familiar with their beers.

Beer 4 things to look for:

Munich Helles: German malt/hops

American Light Lager: little body/hops, neutral

Cream Ale: lager-like

Kölsch: fruity esters

Notes:

At first sip, I got notes of old newspaper and cardboard (the off-flavor T2N usually found in beers as they age and degrade). There was some residual bitterness that lingered on the palate, and that should have led me to the correct answer. Helles, Light Lager, and Cream Ale aren’t usually hop-forward or very bitter. I’d expect malt to be more prominent than hops in these beers. 

I picked Helles because the imported versions of Kölsch that I’m used to having usually lack hop character because of poor handling, storage, and flavor degradation. This is not true for fresh Kölsch- some (like Sünner Kölsch) are very hoppy. Helles contains hops for flavor and balance, and since I perceived some hops, I picked Helles. However, the amount of lingering bitterness went beyond the normal restrained level of a Helles. In the future, when Kölsch is paired up against beers that usually exhibit little hop bitterness, this could be a very helpful distinction.