Fair seasons of Southern saison

It's always saison season in our house. What started with drinking $5 bottles of Ommegange Hennepin in Columbus evolved into a love of the style and how brewers diverge from Belgian classics. More importantly, saison can satisfy in any month of the year. In keeping with the farmhouse tradition, the hops, malts and spices in saisons can come from whatever the brewer has on hand.

Tennessee is coming into its own with saisons, led by an Eastern Tennessee farmhouse brewery and the new dean of the Memphis brewing scene.

Easily the most unique was Unicornucopia from Memphis’ Wiseacre Brewing. This beer is a marvel, a saison aged in red wine barrels with brettanomyces and raspberries. It possesses a nose rich in bramble fruit led by the raspberry, as well as notes of the yeast profile. The initial mouth feel displays red fruits with a dash of sourness. Before the sour can take off, the wild yeast influence takes over. Combined with the strong berry notes, the wild yeast influence diverts Unicornucopia down a far different and far funkier path. Wiseacre already serves a solid canned saison, Tarasque; this limited release pushes the style to a stunning level of complexity. Tarasque is the saison you take to summer barbecues and on canoe trips - easy yet complex, it's designed for outdoor enjoyment.

With greater frequency, brewers boost saison complexity with local fruits and spices. One recent example from Decatur, Ga. Makes ample use of a local ingredient. Three Taverns' Le Peche Mode At 6 percent ABV and priced at a reasonable $6.99 per bomber bottle, this saison is a beauty, dry and effervescent with plenty of peach notes complementing the standard dry citrus.

The Southern brewery taking the biggest strides with saisons lies just outside Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Nancy and I cannot afford a trip to Blackberry Farm. The high-priced retreat in Walland, Tenn. lies far above our station in life. With the inn already a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement, Blackberry Farm Brewery has emerged as a pioneer in American farmhouse ale.

The brewery produces fascinating saisons at a clip that should make even Belgian brewers envious. In the past year, Blackberry Farm has hit Nashville with its Classic Saison and a new seasonal offering each season. After spring saison completed the set, I felt the time right to weigh in. In short, they’re all wonderful, albeit suited to different tastes. The Classic Saison appeals to lovers of Belgian originals like Saison DuPont and longer-running American takes like Ommegang Hennepin (for the record, my all-time favorite beer). The Classic veers close to Hennepin, and I won’t fault the ale for that comparison.

Just a month after finally gaining easy access to Blackberry Farm’s wonderful Classic saison, the East Tennessee farmhouse brewery surprised us with its second saison, Summer Saison. The introduction of Australian Summer and Citra hops to the saison recipe adds stunning new dimensions. The Belgian yeasts and pale malts still have a starring role early on the palate. But the nose and mouth feel are owned by the hops. The finish has a strong current of Mandarin orange pulp, tangerine and other citrus fruits. There’s an immense dry streak that hits late palate, but with these hops, who’s keeping track?

For fall the ingredients shifted to an amber, barrel-aged saison. Notes of vanilla, toffee and caramel blend effortlessly with Belgian yeast, rye dryness and hints of root vegetables. Winter went the route of a dubbel, which was tasty, but more suited to cold nights in the Smoky Mountain foothills than the balmy winters of Nashville.

In spring 2016, BFB struck with a big bouquet of apricots and lemon zest. Lighter bodies than the saisons of fall winter, Spring Saison hits the right notes for warmer temperatures. The tropical fruit notes – think mango and even a thin remnant of papaya – drive in new directions from the Classic Saison. Spring Saison retains the creaminess of the base beer while letting some new hops run in interesting directions, using Styrian Aurora and German Mandarin Bavaria, two hops strains not typical in the states.

They are not done branching out --- a collaboration with Evil Twin led to From Tennessee With Smoke, a saison with immense rauchbier characteristics. The nose is equal part Belgian creaminess and smoked pork.

Every time I came close to completing this post, BFB releases a new concoction. In summer 2016, it debuted its Native Series.

Tennessee Cream Ale might not qualify as saison, but thanks to BFB brewing with wild local yeasts, I’ll lump it in. The wild yeasts impart the hopsack and horse blanket character of brett beers while a delicate sweetness appears among the big bitter citrus notes (orange, tangerine and lemon). The sweet profile produced by flaked corn and grits cannot conquer the brett character, but it does not back down. The creamy bouquet amplifies those native grains.

BFB has a series of barrel-aged beers I haven’t touched yet, but these five saisons push Tennessee brewing to rare heights. Blackberry Farm’s commitment to fresh ingredients and new spins on a classic saisons gives Tennessee a masterful series of saisons to tout.