Glad you gave it a shot. The only thing that surprises me a little bit is that you felt it was a light mouthfeel. It really hits solidly in medium category for me, but it sounds like we're working from different baselines.MWB wrote:I took your advice and tried the Saison Dupont. It was, as I often find with saisons, ok. I think part of it is that I don't pick up on the nuances of saisons since I haven't had that much experience with them. I understand what slappy says about it being lite beer with flavorings. It definitely has the light mouth feel to it. I also don't like the dry finish. I really like a good IPA, in part because of the strong, full finish. I have a hard time clearly explaining it, but I like the full mouth feel I get with stouts and IPA's, a feeling that I don't get with a saison. I want to keep trying them, but I would probably be better off waiting for warm weather again when I like a lighter finish.Kraftster wrote:If the three of you haven't already, I think you have to start at the source: Saison Dupont Vieille Provision. Shaf, you should not be having carbonation issues with saisons, or, at the very least, you should not stereotype saisons as being overly carbonated. There may be some out there--Jolly Pumpkin Bam comes to mind--but many saisons are very soft on the palate. I would say that at the correct temperature, the saison dupont should have what I would consider a medium body with a very soft mouthfeel. Some saisons are more prickly, but one of the things I like most about the more classic saisons is the ability to have a nicely bodied beer that finishes extremely dryly.MWB wrote:Third. I still want to try them every now and then to see if it changes.shafnutz05 wrote:I have to second slappy. I've tried several good saisons, just can't get into them. The carbonation is off putting
I would encourage you to keep trying them only because it took me a long time to come around on IPAs, but with that said, I agree with Columbia that it will be tough to find one in the style you like.
I will also suggest that perhaps it's a style that fills a different role than the beers you're used to drinking. I often refer to sours, porters/stouts and some heavier DIPAs as "Sunday beers" for me. Sunday nights I want a beer like that to drink on the couch watching some Sunday night HBO/Showtime shows. I'll drink a saison then because I love them, but that's not ideal for me. One reason is it makes me want to eat. The dry finish you mention makes saisons excellent for drinking with a ton of foods. I especially like them with spicy food, like Thai food or greasy foods like lobster Mac n cheese or something. They're quenching with the heat and cut through the grease. But yeah, that dry finish makes me want to eat or snack on something, so I usually drink saisons with good. It typically works out to half the bottle with my meal then the other half to try to pick up all of the nuances, warmed and ready to be analyzed.
I know how you feel on the nuances and being able to pick them up. That's how I still feel about IPAs. I feel like I could do a respectable job of reviewing a saison in geeky fashion but not an IPA.
