Left to right: St. George, Fromage de Meaux, Fontina Val d’Aosta

Saison and Bière de Garde

STYLE NOTES: In the days before refrigeration, Belgian farmers in the country’s French-speaking southern region would brew saison (“season”) ales in the spring for consumption through the summer, or until cold weather made it possible to brew again. Today, brewers make saisons year-round, but the image persists of these beers as so-called “farmhouse ales,” everyday nourishment for Belgian farm families and their crews, a welcome part of the daily provisions, probably savored with sturdy bread and strong cheese.

Saison brewing almost died out in Belgium, but the style is resurgent, with the esteemed Brasserie Dupont leading the way. American craft brewers are fleshing out the category with their own interpretations, which tend to be more highly hopped than their Belgian counterparts.

In keeping with their origins as summer beers, saisons promise refreshment. They are typically moderate in alcohol (although American renditions often top 8 percent), with fine and vigorous effervescence; a thick, fluffy head; a mid-range level of bitterness; and a dry, snappy finish. They range from pale gold to amber, and many are cloudy from bottle conditioning, the practice of naturally carbonating beer by adding a little fresh yeast and sugar to each bottle.

Belgian saisons are brewed largely with pilsner malts and rarely have more than a light malt aroma. American brewers sometimes include darker malts and other grains such as rye or oats. You can expect some hops aroma, but it won’t be aggressive; more common are fruity scents such as green apple, pear cider, banana, and orange peel. American brewers sometimes add seasonings such as coriander, dried orange peel, or black pepper to the brew, but any spicy notes in the beer should be subtle. Saisons tend to start sweet on the palate and finish dry, although a few have an intentionally sour finish. Overall, saisons are balanced, lightly spicy, easy-drinking beers that can handle a wide range of cheeses.

The French counterpart to Belgian saison is bière de garde (“beer for keeping”), a style that originated from the same need: to produce a beer in late spring capable of lasting through the summer, when hot weather made brewing a challenge. Alcohol and hops both act as preservatives, so bières de garde were typically stronger and hoppier than the usual brew.

Although more alike than different, these two styles diverge in a few ways worth noting. Saison recipes typically call for saison strains of yeast, responsible for the spicy and fruity scents. Bières de garde, in contrast, often rely on wild yeasts and may show more earthy, funky, wooden-barn smells. Saisons tend to be dryer, while bières de garde are typically maltier and sweeter. Both encompass a wide style spectrum, ranging in color from blonde to amber to brown. Expect the darker saisons and bières de garde to be maltier and higher in alcohol than brews identified as blonde.

BEERS TO TRY: The Bruery Saison Rue; Castelain Blond Bière de Garde; De Glazen Toren Saison D’Erpe-Mere; Gavroche French Red Ale; Jolly Pumpkin Bam Bière; Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale; North Coast Brewing Le Merle; Ommegang Hennepin; Pretty Things Brewery Jack D’Or; Saison Dupont Vieille Provision; Stillwater Stateside Saison; Upright Brewing Seven.

CHEESE AFFINITIES: In many respects, saisons and bières de garde are medium-intensity beers, with aromatic complexity and moderate alcoholic strength, but without high-volume bitterness, malty sweetness, or heat. These beers pair best with cheeses that have similar intensity—neither too little, nor too much. Saisons and bières de garde are a little too big and spicy for delicate, fresh cheeses like Crescenza or young chèvres. And the two beer styles lack the malty richness that complements highly concentrated cheeses like aged Comté and Gouda. But almost any cheese in that vast middle ground will be happy with saison or bière de garde. Silky soft-ripened wheels with mushroom aromas—cheeses in the Brie and Camembert family—are particularly well suited to these brews.

St. George from California’s Matos Cheese Factory is a three-month-old cow’s milk wheel with a natural rind; a sturdy, waxy, golden interior; and many tiny eyes. Created by Portuguese immigrants in imitation of a cheese from their homeland, the Azores, St. George has an aroma that mingles warm butter and grass and a pleasing acidity that stops short of Cheddar-like tang. Its flavor is mouth-filling and well developed, but not huge, comparable in palate impact to a saison or bière de garde.

Northern Italy’s Fontina Val d’Aosta is not only a treasured cooking cheese—stirred into risotto, sliced on top of polenta, or melted for fonduta, the region’s fondue—but a delightful table cheese that pairs perfectly with saison or bière de garde. Made from raw cow’s milk and matured for three to four months, wheels of Fontina Val d’Aosta are repeatedly turned and washed with brine during their aging. This step discourages some exterior molds and encourages the formation of a thin crust. Underneath the crust is a semifirm, supple, butter-colored interior with a few small eyes and the aroma of roasted peanuts and herbs. The flavor is nutty and mellow, becoming stronger with age.

France’s beloved Brie de Meaux can’t enter the United States because it doesn’t meet the FDA’s aging requirements for raw-milk cheese. To replace it, French creameries have devised Fromage de Meaux, similar but for the use of pasteurized milk. When ripe—tan striations on the rind and a slight give to gentle pressure are two clues—this thin bloomy-rind wheel will have a supple, spreadable texture and aromas of black truffle and butter. A blonde saison or bière de garde will match the cheese’s moderate intensity, and the beer’s high carbonation will cut through the buttery richness. Both a spicy saison and a more earthy bière de garde will find a complement in this mild, mushroomy cheese.

MORE CHEESES TO TRY: Abbaye de Belloc; Capriole Sofia; Castelbelbo; Jasper Hill Harbison; Nancy’s Hudson Valley Camembert; Parmigiano Reggiano; Pierre Robert; Point Reyes Toma; Rogue Creamery TouVelle; Seal Bay Triple Cream Brie; Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill; Tomme de Savoie; Vermont Butter & Cheese Cremont.