Robin Shepard
Saisons are all the rage right now. Beer enthusiasts all seem focused on finding a good one. One that’s been creating some local buzz is the recently released Houblonnage from Next Door Brewing. It offers unique hop character.
What is it? Houblonnage from Next Door Brewing.
Style: “Saison” is the French word for season. This style of farmhouse ale was created before mechanical refrigeration was used in brewing. Saisons were intended to provide refreshment to thirsty farm workers on hot days, thus the farmhouse connection. Because the style emerged as a seasonal beer, often brewed in the winter and made without temperature controls, the original characteristics of the style were all over the board. Today’s brewers strive for a yeastiness that imparts spicy, fruity character, with a balanced amount of sour or acidic flavors. Good saisons are often distinguished by their very dry finish. They come in a wide range of strengths from 4.5 to 8.5 percent ABV.
Background: The term houblonnage (oo-blah-naghe) is a French word associated with hops and dry hopping beer. Next Door’s brewmaster Bryan Kreiter says he’s been wanting to follow the French brewing traditions in making a saison for some time. “We’ve done a few saisons and they all had something special like chamomile, white tea or lavender added. With Houblonnage, I wanted to do one with more French tradition,” he says.
Kreiter’s take on the style has lots of French charisma. Beyond being fermented with a French saison yeast, it’s made with two French varieties of hops, Aramis and Triskel. Aramis tends to lend sweet, herbal, spicy flavors, and Triskel is known for floral notes and citrus. The beer is double-dry hopped to give the beer a little extra aroma. It ends up around an estimated 22 IBUs and 6.8 percent ABV.
Houblonnage is offered at Next Door on tap, and it’s sold over the bar in 22-ounce bottles. Over the next few weeks you may see a few bombers turn up in area liquor stores; however, this beer is primarily offered at the brewpub where it sells for $6/glass and $10/bomber-bottle.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Yeasty-floral with a light hint of herbal and citrus.
- Appearance: Hazy, golden copper with a medium bubbly, light tan head.
- Texture: Medium-bodied and bubbly. A latent dryness comes in the finish.
- Taste: Begins with fruity, herbal and citrus flavors. There’s a hint of melon and lemon in the background.
- Finish/Aftertaste: Yeasty, herbal and dry.
Glassware: At Next Door it’s served in a goblet, a nice way to encourage sipping and the appreciation of the fruity and dry qualities. When taking it home, I prefer the stemmed tulip as the go-to glass for the saison with its shapely body and an outward lip to allow the yeasty and light herbal hoppy notes to emerge.
Pairs well with: grilled fish and pork. It also goes well with mild musty cheeses. Overall, however, saisons are a very versatile beer with all kinds of foods.
The Verdict: This beer is spot-on for early summer. The fruity yeastiness and hints of lemon are crisp and inviting. The light, yet firm, dry finish cleans up the profile so it ends with very little aftertaste. Its name would suggest this is a hop-forward saison, but it really isn’t hoppy when compared to pale ales and IPA standards. In Houblonnage the hops are a more sophisticated accent of herbal and citrus, which blend nicely with the floral, dry-spicy notes created by the yeast. This is a very welcome saison.
