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Kevin
Moderator
USA
608 Posts |
 Posted - 12/08/2004 : 07:50:09
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From an artist’s perspective, Fine Art is an ongoing conversation. A response to what’s come before. This conversation involves the reuse, reinterpretation and innovation of unique elements from other great works to make something completely new. It is only when seen by historic comparison that the depth of the conversation becomes an “artistic style.”
Saison and Biere de Garde exist in this artistic world along with most Belgian Styles. In his new book, Farmhouse Ales, Phil Markowski puts perspective on two little understood styles that sprawl like the farming countryside that spawned them.
For those needing neat little boxes of defined styles, Farmhouse Ales are defined as… well, as “isn’t.”
Pretty early in the book, Markowski spends a chapter discussing styles this way:
quote:
“While critiquing and deconstructing a beer a preoccupation with style definitions can lead to a reflexive habit of evaluating and assessing whether a brew is worthy simply by whether or not it fits a standard style definition. The same can be said when a like-minded beer aficionado may feel when tasting something completely unusual. Without a place to put a particular beer, some individuals may be left feeling unsettled.”
From there, the first half of this 187 page book discusses Biere de Garde, and the second half, Saison. Markowski’s writing can be a bit dry, but to his credit, he does not offer overt opinions about the evolution or direction these two styles have taken. He discusses the effects of industrialization, politics, taxes, urbanization and interpretation without lamenting for what’s been lost along the way. He doesn’t cheer the current trends, either.
quote:
“Biere de Garde is the most notable French contribution to world class brewing…. Modern biere de garde has evolved from a distillation of consumer preference, marketing efforts, the influence of lager brewing techniques, and individual interpretation of how original French farmhouse ales might have tasted. No one alive today can know for certain what original biere de garde was like.”
Not funny, but then the French are not known as a humorous people, until parodied on British television.
That said, his passion and understanding of these complex styles comes through every chapter. Markowski even lets the reader in on some interesting intermediate styles associated with the more mainstream.
I would have liked more detail on these sub-styles, and more of the lore that Markowski alludes to, but doesn’t really reveal.
If you find yourself upset with the lack of clear style definition, you’ll go completely bonkers from the ‘recipes’ included. Markowski is a professional brewer in New York state, and there is a professional shorthand involved in communicating recipes at that scale. The recipes are in the professional format where target gravity is named, and the grain makeup is expressed in percentages.
In this shorthand, a very important statistic of Apparent Attenuation is given. This alerts the astute brewer that greater degrees of fermentability are required for this style than in more common ale categories. Hints of additional secondary fermentations and temperature ranges are given to point to ‘how.’
Hop types are named, and quantities given in ounces per barrel. Then tasting and color notes are given, and you are left to be an artist to paint your own canvas.
I like this approach to the style. It shows the broad latitude available and is intended for intermediate to advanced brewers. Gone are pedestrian chapters on “what is malt, hops, yeast;” or a perfunctory “how to brew.” What is left is pure inspiration to get into this artistic conversation.
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There is no better way to spend the day than riding the caboose on a train of thought. |
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Barbarian
Brewbie
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2006 : 23:19:26
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Kevin pretty much sums it up, when it comes to the interpretation of the guidelines of BJCP. I was disappointed in said book because the "true" saison beer was minimalized.....Saison Dupont got very little mention! From a historical standpoint, Saison was the Belgian answer to the European trend to light colored lager beers. Saison originally was a pilsner-ale...available for consumption to the common laborer. Thus the fact that Saison Dupont is still brewed with only one grain, pils, and adds no spice, this flavor comes from the ninety degree fermentation temperature!
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"The mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer."
-Ancient Egyptian wisdom
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Farmhouse Ale Review
