Saison Ale Cheese Pairings

Pairing Cheese with Saison Ale - Saison beers are malty and relatively light, and a delicate touch is required to match them with cheese. Their farmhouse character calls out for cheese with a certain level of funkiness. After extensive tasting, we found Saison matched well with musty, earthy leaf-wrapped cheeses and washed-rind cheeses on the firmer side.

About Saison Ale - Saison beer is a difficult style to pin down and is only recently seeing a resurgence in both Europe and the US. Typically, Saison-style Ales are brewed in small batches by artisanal brewers. Malty and light in character, they are usually produced in the winter months to be consumed in late spring and summer. Their unique floral aroma comes from the addition of local herbs and spices, including coriander, myrtle, and orange zest, as well as the use of some indigenous Belgian hops. Saison Ales are, in fact, closer to what beer would have been like 500 years ago, when hops and cultivated yeasts were not widely used.