For years this has been one of my favourite beers from Belgium.
It was the first beer brewed by the ‘Glass Tower’ brewery, and remains the leader of their portfolio. It has won numerous awards at various international beer awards, and I have a pretty cool story about a US award for a competition that the brewers hadn’t even entered the beer for!
For many years the beers of Glazen Toren were only available in 750ml bottles. The reason for which was explained to me over lunch one day by co-founder Jef van den Steen: ‘Good beer is to be enjoyed in good company, so we make it in bottles to be shared.’
It was an ethos that really resonated with me, but I’m very glad they’ve started to put there beers into smaller bottle so we can include them in the beer packs too.
The beer is brewed with barley and wheat, along with some Belgian candi sugar and uses Hallertauer hops to compliment the complex saison yeast mix. And the result is a truly delicious beer.
A grainy malt body with a really complex yeast character that offers citrus and also hints of hay, apple and pear. There is also a peppery touch that combines with the earthy hops for that sense of rustic farmhouse. But all in a beautiful balance.
Alvinne's saison is light, crisp, quite funky with a hint of sour thanks to blending a little of the Omega blond sour beer
This classic Belgian Saison was the first beer produced commercially by Brasserie Atrium
The new beer from the good 'Dochter' is a dry-hopped saison with bitter orange
A spelt saison brewed in collaboration with Hill Farmstead
A simple but funky and interesting saison, with two old style hops for a fruity, dry and spicy character
A collaborative Saison featuring rye, spelt and wheat malts, dry-hopped with a Ukranian hop called Zachrava
An attempt at recreating a traditional 19th-Century saison, heavily hopped and mixed with lambic then barrel aged
An historical style spelt saison, dry-hopped and refermented with Brettanomyces
A classic Belgian style saison, with a twist - dry-hopped with Cascade & Amarillo
A saison with winter-type spices added including timut and szechuan peppers, mustard seeds and juniper
by Brouwerij Emelisse/Slot-Oostende
A hazy golden saison - crisp, citrusy, earthy and dry
A traditional Belgian saison, dry and funky, grainy malt and a solid bitterness
by Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille
A traditionally styled saison brewed with just the four ingredients as such beers were in the past
'Tess' is a White White Saison - a farmhouse ale fermented on Pinot Grigio white wine barrels and hopped with Hallertau Blanc hops
A very tasty little saison - or Grisette - from London's Partizan Brewing
A refreshingly crisp and dry farmhouse ale with addition rhubarb and ginger
A collaboration between De Molen and Beavertown (UK) sees a beery take on the traditional Gin & Tonic
A classic Belgian saison from Brouwerij De Ranke - hoppy and floral with a dry finish.
An earthy Wallonian saison from one of Europe's last remaining steam breweries
So good it was recently included in USA Draft's '25 Best Beers of the Year'.
The classic farmhouse ale, and benchmark that re-popularised the saison style of beer.
A special annual vintage version of Dupont's classic saison
A very traditional style saison, with a recipe dating back to 1884
A black India saison isn't something you see everyday from a Belgian brewer
A tasty, fairly traditional saison with lots of loverly earthy character and a little funk
A unique combination of Saison and White Beer produces a refreshing blonde ale with a nice bite.
White Pony have created what they call a Pacific Saison Ale, featuring hops from Australia (Summer) and NZ (Wakatu)
The winter seasonal offering from the KleinBrouwerij De Glazen Toren - a rich, dark winter warmer.
An extremely interesting take on the classic Belgian dubbel style, with hints of being a Flanders Oud Bruin.
The winter seasonal offering from Glazen Toren is a Scotch Ale
A traditional Belgian Tripel, as all good Belgian breweries have in their range
Four grains are used to produce this fantastic 'Double White' from KleinBrouwerij De Glazen Toren.
An imperial witbier, brewed with barley, wheat, oats and buckwheat, and the addition of coriander and curaçao
So good it was recently included in USA Draft's '25 Best Beers of the Year'.
