brew dog blog

I’ve written a bit about the Saison style on this blog, and it should be pretty obvious how fond I am of it — it’s also the first beer I chose to brew.  It’s a flexible style, meant to be at the mercy of the seasons and the necessities of the place where it is produced.  This version, called Cuvee des Fleurs, comes directly from Southampton Publick House, unlike most of the contract brewerd beer labeled with the Southampton name.  By most accounts their best beers are brewed at the brewpub, and it is rare to gain access to these bottles outside of the brewery out on Long Island.  Phil Markowski, the head brewer at Southampton since it opened in 1996, is a renowned expert on Farmhouse Beers, and his book on Farmhouse Ales is highly recommended.  It offers a wealth of information on the social and historical instances which led to the creation and the changing nature of the style.

Cuvee des Fleurs comes in a 750ml corked and caged green bottle like many “authentic” Saisons, but this beer reaches much more toward a historical approximation than an attempt to make a commercialized version.  Four different flowers, including hops (cheekily referred to as “H. lupulus” on the label which lists the flowers used) are added to this amber, ruddy colored ale, and they create a bouquet that is unlike any other beer I have ever smelled.  I actually am usually quite offended by any perfumey floral smells, and this beer amazingly smells like a good version of 200 year old potpourri, in a good way, or the muted smell of a huge field of wild flowers in the summertime.  Man, this beer is making me poetic.  It’s malty, somewhat bitter, and overall it is complex and interesting the entire way through.  A truly handcrafted masterpiece of a beer, and I am insanely proud that this was produced not only in America, not only in New York, but out on Long Island, only 70 miles from where I was born.  It reminds me that I need to get out there ASAP — brew dog road trip is definitely in order.