As many of our regular readers may know, early last year, a number of hardcore homebrewers ventured across the big pond to the land of beer and chocolate, better know as Belgium. While we were there, the HBA gang got a first hand taste of some of the finest beers in the world. One of the many great styles we savored was the Saison (also refered to as the French Country Ale). This beer has a glorious rich golden color and fruity aroma, with subtle hints of citrus. These exciting flavors come from the use of Saaz hop. The generous use of this special hops creates a spicy bitterness, which is partnered with a malty sweetness. The yeast imparts an interesting, yet subtle, spiciness and aroma which lingers on your palate in the finish. For the wine lovers in our audience, the flavor profile is similar to a Gewurztraminer wine with it's fruity spiciness. This little-known beer style comes from the depths of the Wallonian (French speaking) part of Belgium along the French border. Once regarded as only a summer drink, this style is now available all year round. Saisons were originally brewed during the winter by farmer-brewers, then stored for drinking during the summer. The beer had to be sturdy enough to last for some months, but not too strong so as to still be summer and harvest quencher. Saisons are local to the western part of the province of Hainaut, in old, small, farm-like, breweries close to the Borinage coalfield. Examples include the crisp Saison 1900, from the brewery Lefèbvre, in Quenast, south of Brussels; the tart Saison Silly (named after its home village); and the spiced Saison de Pipaix. The last is made by a steam-powered brewery dating from the 1780s. After returing from our trip, the HBA guys did some research and brewed up a test batch for this fine style. Ale found a number of references and recipe notes which he studied. With the help of Brewer's Workshop, he came up with the test recipe. One afternoon at the "HBA Brewing Lab" (a.k.a. Rich's kitchen), Ale and Rich carefully crafted the brew, taking meticulous notes of the process. The color is classically golden orange and the flavors are refreshing with citrus and fruity hop notes. A little side note on our testing process: whenever the HBA gang tests a new recipe, we normally brew it several times to help us refine the subtle flavors and notes. But two weeks after we kegged this Saison, we tapped and sipped a brew that we instantly fell in love with. What's Roger Vadim got that we haven't? Now the tricky part, naming it... After polling an intense focus group of beer experts (a.k.a. the keg hounds that linger in Rich's kitchen), we realized that "love" needed to be part of the name. So the conversation went something like this... "Who does this remind you of?" "Bardot!" "So is Bridget Bardot French or Belgian?" "Hmm... not sure..." "Well, let's name it after her anyway..." Brigitte Bardot Biography: Discovered in 1950 by Roger Vadim who later became her husband, Brigitte Bardot was a model-turned-actress. Bardot enchanted the world with her first film, 1956's And God Created Women. This film won her an instant cult following, but her career trailed off as she continued to make increasingly similar movies. Bardot retired from acting in 1974 but still makes headlines today with her many animal-rights causes. And thus was born the "Bridget's Love Potion Saison". Articles from our Belgium Series: Belgium Beer Series:Belgium's Great Beers by Rich Rabassa From May 20th through the 29th of this year, 23 intrepid adventurers hopped on a plane and landed in the land of chocolate, lace, and, oh yes, beer! Their quest? The Chimay Brewery by Al Clayson and Brian Smyth Our tour group had the pleasure of making a pilgrimage by bus to the Chimay Brewery near the Ardennes forest of southern Belgium. Chimay is the world’s most recognized Trappist beer. The Frank Boon Brewery by Mike Lewandowski Traditional lambic brewing is alive and well in the Zenne River valley in Belgium! I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Frank Boon Brewery in Lembeek, Belgium. It was a relief to find out that small-scale brewing methods still have a good home.