The Farmhouse ale covers a broad range of flavor profiles and is often under looked by the casual beer community. For beer nerds, the Farmhouse or saison can be a welcome sight on any draft board. However, the causal craft beer drinker almost always gravitates towards juicy IPAs, fruity sours or ales, and sessionable lagers. Ask even a seasoned beer drinker what a "Farmhouse" is and you may get a few different answers. Some may say a farmhouse is a fruity/earthy Belgian saison or a dry, peppery French saison. Some Farmhouse ales can be funked up and tart and blended with similar style beers like sours.
What IS a Farmhouse Ale
Ask any annoying, hipster beer nerd in a brewery what a farmhouse ale is and they'll tell you it was traditionally brewed centuries ago on farms during the winter, then drank by field workers during the spring planting season. Most of this took place in Belgium and France hence the very popular yeast strains we see today. However, I'm sure the yeast strains back then were much different and most certainly on the wild side.
The definition of a farmhouse doesn't stop at saison. In fact, the line of what defines the style is very much blurred even among experts. Other styles include Biere de Garde, Biere de Mars, Grisette, and a few more obscure styles that may (or may not) be included under the realm of Farmhouse.
My personal definition of a farmhouse is something that is semi-sessionable, refreshing, tastes like something a brewer would make with ingredients taken from a local hay field, and simply something I could drink a lot of in the beating sun. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.
Why Should You Be Paying Attention to Farmhouses?
The beer world has three general flavor characteristics, or the Beer Flavor Pyramid as I have come to call it. These are the overwhelming beer flavors you will see on any given menu at a brewery or craft beer bar. Firstly and most popular flavors of the Beer Flavor Pyramid is hoppy. Obviously, this includes all IPAs and any beer with a predominantly hoppy or bitter flavor. Second, you have malty/sweet beers. This can range from sugared up stouts to German lagers which tend to have a subtle sweetness to them. Also fruit beers, pumpkin beers, malty doppelbock or anything that satisfies your sweet tooth. Finally on the Beer Flavor Pyramid is sour. We all know what type of beers are included in this category!
You may often see 2 of the 3 flavors grouped together like a fruited sour that relies on fresh fruit but also has that mouth puckering aspect. Or a sour IPA captures that same mouth puckering and adds a little dry hopped character. Either way those are the flavors you will have to choose from almost every craft brewery. Unless....
Unless you find some Farmhouses on the menu! In my opinion a Farmhouse is the only type of beer that lives outside the parameters of the Beer Flavor Pyramid. Often, the Beer Flavor Pyramid begins to fatigue even the most seasoned craft beer nut and sipping on a Farmhouse can be a great way to refresh the palate.
Belgian or French saisons have long been my preference when needing a changeup from hop heavy double and triple IPAs. The yeast strains used in saisons and farmhouses create such a different experience than most are used to. There's just something about them that breathes new life into my weekly beer journey. Maybe it's the fact they are so rare to see compared to IPAs and lagers.
But why isn't everyone drinking them?! It's my belief that farmhouses are simply too offensive to the uncultured palate. That's right. Put a Farmhouse to the lips of an "only IPA drinker" and they'll make a face like a youngster will when trying an IPA for the first time. Farmhouses are truly an acquired taste for most and that is a tremendous shame. Farmhouses offer so much to the palate and can really be used to treat hop exhaustion and other flavor exhaustion brought on by the Beer Flavor Pyramid. "Horse blanket" is often a descriptor when it comes to funky saisons and other Farmhouse beers. Not many people would see that as a positive, but Farmhouse nerds love it and it's a perfect term for such a beer. You won't know until you taste it!
So What are THEbreweryauthority's Picks?
Over the years we have been able to try hundreds of unique Farmhouses. Some good, some bad, and some so-so. But every so often one comes along that blows us away. Some may be one off beers that you'll never be able to try and some may be flagships at that brewery.
Saison D'Swannanopolis
Brouwerij Cursus Keme
Asheville NC
Wow what a name right? This Asheville brewery is off the beaten path but has some amazing beers of this style. This Belgian style saison is earthy and floral while being juicy and fruity at the same time. One of the amazing characteristics of so many great Farmhouse beers. Definitely seek this or any similar style out at this brewery when in western North Carolina.
Group Therapy
Bissell Brothers Brewing
Portland ME
Earthy yet again with zesty notes, this saison slept for a while in some barrels. The Farmhouse is so versatile that you can funk it up, throw a bunch of dry hopping at it, or like Group Therapy you can barrel age it! Not overwhelming, this saison is an easy drinker....for a barrel aged beer that is.
Backroads
Suarez Family Brewery
Livingston NY
Here's a brewery that specializes in Farmhouses and lagers. However, they put their own spin on them and call them "country style" beers. A perfect description for this rural brewery! Suarez uses Staghorn Sumac and Marigold flowers from the land around them for this beer. If there's a perfect definition of a Farmhouse or "country" beer, this is it.
To Give Form and Coherance to the Mystery
Elder Pine Brewing
Gaithersburg MD
Here we have a hoppy mixed culture saison fermented with a number of yeasts including Brett. Fresh, funky, fruity...this one has it all. Elder Pine has a number of beers like this and it was hard to pick our favorite! Definitely stop by here if you're sick of the same old beers crouding up every brewery menu.
French Viking
Triple Crossing Beer
Richmond VA
Lastly, we have one from a brewery that mainly focuses on hazy IPAs! Don't get me wrong, I love hazy IPAs. But to have a brewery that does the hazies so well AND can produce a Biere de Garde of this quality?! This is the reason we visit Triple Crossing every time we stop in Richmond.
There's you go! Some of our top picks and the reasoning behind why Farmhouse style beers are so greatly under appreciated. Get out to your local brewery or beer bar and ask for a saison or biere de garde. If they don't have one then make them brew one! The Farmhouse may not he the style of the future, but it definitely has a special spot in the craft beer scene and we can't wait to discover more breweries who brew this delicious style.
Cheers!
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