A great many brewers seem to have conspired to make a mystery of saison. Yes, of course, there is such a thing as a “traditional” saison—a beer and style that we’ve come to define in a certain way—but this is one of those beers that actually fails the quantification test for a very simple reason. Originally, saisons were made with…well, whatever was laying around at the time. Saison is the poster child of a “local” beer. Its origins give us a place to start (farmhouse beer, lowish in alcohol to keep the field hands from being hammered on the job, spicy-but-not-necessarily spiced), but we should be treating that much more as a jumping-off point than a destination. Even before saison came to the attention of (sometimes brand-new) professional brewing concerns, saison recipes varied substantially due to the hyper-local nature of their recipe formulations. Local ingredients made saison what it was, and while we tend to think of that in terms of yeast, grains, and spices, there’s no reason to exclude hops from that list.
And oh my, how you can do things with this beer by manipulating the hops! That’s probably true of any beer that isn’t malt-aggressive, really, but particularly this one because
- we’re not being held to any kind of “historical” standard (as we might be for, say, Czech Pils), and
- this is a Belgian and French beer style originally, so people are going to not only appreciate but expect an array of flavors, which really opens up the doors when it comes to playing with the hops selections.
Most brewers tend to obsess over the yeast strain selection and treatment (“I totally fermented this in my oven! You can’t get too hot for a saison yeast!” Side note: yes, you certainly can) and whether to add actual spices or just rely on other ingredients to give you that traditional spicy character (real quote from a competition beer I once judged: “I sourced the spices from a woman who lives on top of a hill near my house”). However, I think that hops are the neglected middle-child of saison brewing. Let’s not fall into that trap.
We’re going to start with a fairly typical grist (about 83 percent Pilsner malt, 10 percent Vienna malt, 5 percent wheat malt, and 1 percent Caramunich malt) and talk about how changing things up in terms of hops variety, timing, and quantity can give you beers that are significantly different and wonderfully varied. Beer in general is a flavor playground, but saison is that KaBOOM! playground edifice that’s three stories tall and has more gadgets than the Batcave. Take advantage of that and get creative!
Hops Varieties in Saison
In thinking about how hops are going to impact saison, we have three variables to consider: hops variety, addition timing, and addition quantity. It’s often a good idea to start with a decision about the overall flavor profile you’re hoping for, so we’ll start with the “what” before moving on to the “when” and the “how much!”
The Classic
Let’s not assume that just because this style originated in continental Europe we’re restricted to classic noble hops varieties. But let’s start there, just to get it out of the way. For my money, you don’t get better than Styrian Goldings for saison hops if your goal is a traditional “Continental” saison. You get all of that nice geraniol-fueled floral character and a hint of earthiness (maybe cut in a bit of Fuggle or East Kent Goldings to increase the earthy character), which sets up very well against the Pils-dominated grain bill. Since we’re talking about a beer that most associate with the outdoors, a floral note in the taste and aroma will do a great job of evoking that image in the mind. It’s also almost impossible to overdo it, since these tend to be subtler flavors than some we’re about to hit. So you certainly won’t go wrong with Styrian Goldings. (Check out the complete “Classic Saison Recipe” for both all-grain and extract brewers.)
The Continental
Drifting just a bit, you might also consider some of the Hallertau hops and/or their American cousins (think Liberty, Crystal). The flavor experience isn’t radically different from what you’ll get from Styrian, but the Hallertau family does add some interesting flavor elements. They’re still floral but add an element of woody and herbal character that will stand up to and complement more-assertive flavors. Particularly in the American variants, you might also add a touch of fruit to your profile, which is certainly in keeping with traditional saison’s heritage. (Check out the complete “Continental Saison Recipe” for both all-grain and extract brewers.)
The Colonial
Okay, now let’s have some real fun. Who says that you can’t Americanize this thing? After all, many of you reading this are American brewers who have an affinity for local ingredients—so why add imported European hops to your saison? There are dozens of varieties out there, but if we assume that you’re using a traditional yeast, then I’d shy away from the more “tropical” hops (sorry to all you Citra lovers out there—though feel free to give it a shot!). No, I prefer the orange and pineapple and white-fruit flavors that we get out of Amarillo and Nugget. These are hops with fruit-forward flavors and also a touch of that geraniol-derived floral component that we saw in the Styrian hops, making them a great fit for saison. Chinook is also a fun choice, adding a spicier note along with its citrus characters. And for those who worry that you’ll end up making a slightly Pilsnery version of American pale ale, you can emphasize the “saison” character with the other ingredients, since these are hops that can more than handle competition from spice additions and higher alcohols. For those with a love of lemony citrus, New Zealand-grown hops (even of classic varieties) seem to push those flavors to the fore. (Check out the complete “Colonial Saison Recipe” for both all-grain and extract brewers.)
The Craftsman
And last but not least, my personal favorite hops: Northern Brewer. In a beer that was traditionally an unpretentious and rustic beverage that “fueled” the farms of Wallonia, what could be a better choice than what is probably the most rustically flavored hops? Thanks to a healthy dose of myrcene and caryophyllene oils, Northern Brewer often presents an aroma comparable to walking through a cedar forest with herb bushes growing all around. Some might prefer the herbal/earthy flavor of Saaz, but I feel like that’s been done before and too often—Northern Brewer is like the character in the movies that you fall in love with but who has been there right in front of you all along. It’s a great fit for the complexity-is-good nature of saisons. (Check out the complete “Craftsman Saison Recipe” for both all-grain and extract brewers.)
Say When
Once you settle on a type (or types) of hops, you have to decide on how much to add and when in the process to add them for the flavor impact and bitterness level you want. Just like in type selection, timing and quantity can be adjusted to create a wide range of flavors. We’ll take these together, since your IBU budget may well dictate what you can add when (though don’t be afraid of bittering in saisons—just be aware of how your impression of bitterness is amplified or dulled by spice additions, alcohol level/sweetness, and yeast strain).
If you’re looking for a rule of thumb, I think this is a good guide: Add late and add big. Unless you’re explicitly making a saison that emphasizes a particular yeast character or spice addition, you can’t really go wrong with a substantial addition of hops flavor or aroma. And even in that case, I still say that the complexity adds something worth having. For those who are scared of overpowering their “preferred” flavor, though, there is a simple solution: use more hops, just earlier in the boil. So long as you aren’t going overboard on IBUs, adding hops to the boil earlier will result in a greater percentage of isomerized compounds that would otherwise present as flavor/aroma. You could always just use smaller amounts, but that requires a greater degree of predictive accuracy (in terms of how it will present) than the brewing process will generally allow us.
And that brings me to my principle exception to this rule: when working with American hops (or other high alpha-acid hops), you will likely have no choice but to limit your hops additions, both in terms of quantity and time, to avoid excessive bitterness. The good news is that those also tend to be the hops that have the more-assertive and less-traditional flavors, so a lighter touch is probably a good call.
Finally—dry hopping of saisons. Do it. Just don’t go crazy with it. Whatever protocol you usually use for dry hopping your IPAs and APAs, cut it in about half for your saisons. It’s easy to see why dry hopping would be attractive: hops aroma and some flavor contribution with no added IBUs. But at the same time, you’ll want to avoid overpowering other flavors. Complex flavor profiles depend on the ability to detect independent flavors within the beer, and going overboard on any one aspect risks muddling or muting one or more other flavors. So start with halving your dry hops amount and contact time and increase from there, to taste.
For a bit of fun, check out a fifth saison recipe, the “Question Mark Saison” (for both all-grain and extract brewers.) You’re encouraged to forget hops selection and timing and IBUs and just take all of your leftover, remainder, stray-pellet hops and dump them all (up to about 4 ounces/113 g) into an 8–10 minute whirlpool. If you don’t have a bunch of small bags of leftover bits of hops, then you can just pick 2 or 3 ounces (57 or 85 g) at random (go purely by how cool the name sounds) at your local homebrew shop. Ferment, condition, and get ready to find out what you made.