Allagash Saison

Allagash's newest addition to their year-round lineup is a saison, a type of beer known for being a varied but usually dry, light-bodied and otherwise excellent summer drink.  It's been a while since Allagash came out with a four-pack, they have mostly been bumping out small-batch experiments for their new releases the last few years.  I've bought this new beer quite a few times since it came out; as long as I'm out here on the East Coast this will probably be my go-to saison.


Allagash Saison pours a very typical but gorgeous bright gold, topped by about a finger and a half's worth of bright white foam.  The head gradually settles to less than a finger's worth.  The beer remains hazy throughout the tasting.

The aroma features a blend of lemons, pepper, fresh-cut grass, and a bit of flowers---par for the style in every way.  It's a pretty classic and classy mix of tang and fruit.


The flavor follows the nose almost to a T.  The brewery makes special note of using a bit of Cascade hops but their touch here is so light you really have to search for it.  The beer leans a bit more towards the peppery-herbal side of the spectrum rather than the fruity side, this beer's only deviation from the style (a minor one at that).  The texture is pitch-perfect saison: dry, quenching, just as easy to quaff as it is enjoyable to sip.


When its readily-available competition includes saisons aged in wine barrels with fruit and saisons brewed with wild yeast it would be easy to dismiss Allagash Saison as generic.  It isn't; Allagash's restraint here is better described as elegant.  Saison as a style might be Belgian in origin but in modern practice it perfectly embodies the kitchen-sink approach to brewing which has taken hold in America.  An America-made no-frills saison that doesn't cost $1 per ounce is badly needed and Allagash Saison fills that space quite well.