La saison du tracteur translated in English means the season of the tractor. The saison was a very popular brew among the farmers and farm hands in France and Belgium way back as far as the 1600’s. Traditionally they were much lower in ABV (around 3%) these days the new world saisons can reach as high as 8% ABV. This brew we have here, which is our very first from this brewery, is weighing in at 6%. Let’s roll on.
Served in a beer tulip. Our careful pour still managed to prop up a mountainous 4 finger crown that steadily deconstructs and holds at about 1cm. Laced well. Underneath is a straw-golden body with highly active carbonation levels that really contribute to this persistent head. Decent overall appearance. Our initial thoughts of the aroma were quite dry, earthy and fruity although it’s still very heady. Once the foam had settled a vigorous twirl of the glass awakens deeper scents of banana, pear, bubblegum, clove, wheat and vanilla. Smells like a good saison should. Very nice. In the mouth it has an oily texture with medium carbonation. Nice weight on the tongue, drinks smoothly with a slight grip on its way down. What we really like about the flavour profile is it’s balance. Upfront we taste a creamy hint of vanilla with a splash of passion fruit and a mildly assertive bitterness flowing through. A touch of spicy pepper comes through as the yeast comes alive through the mid. Bubblegum and banana lollies develop and lead to a spicy, yeasty finish with good length. The 6% ABV is very well behaved here, there is a restrained presence of it early on but it’s smoothed out and eventually fades out amicably. Really nice drop from these French Canadian brewers. It’s good to see some competition arise, Dieu du Ciel may have met their match. Great way to get things started with this brewery, we really liked this.