Farming ales that truly bring out the roots in brewing

By Kyle Kirves

Editor’s Note: To the casual beer lover, the phrase “Belgian beer” evokes the sensory recall of banana-bread and bubblegummy ales. Beers produced in a tiny country by monks with unrivalled ability, bottled in small, precious, and pricey batches. But more well-read and palate-literate Belgian fans will quickly explain that there’s much, much more to Belgian beers than cowl and cross, dubbels and trippels. This is the first in a series of articles by Thirst Colorado contributor Kyle Kirves, who talked with Bruz Beers head brewer, co-founder, and Belgian beer enthusiast, Charlie Gottenkieny about the variety of styles and tastes that fall into the Belgian and Belgian-style motif. This article will be followed by two more that will be posted online at thirstcolorado.com.

Couple the word “farm” with anything these days and it takes on a special aura. Farmers market. Farm-to-table. Farm-raised and free-range. Something authentically rustic and close to the roots from which it sprang; embodying terroir, as the French would say. It is no different for farmhouse ales – a particular and somewhat eccentric variety of beer that evokes the kind of emotional response reserved for, say, small continental vineyards and the prestige of a “family label.”

Farmhouse ales, as Charlie Gottenkieny of Bruz Beers will tell you, are part of a rich history in Europe, including Belgium. “Farms brewed their own beer primarily because they couldn’t get potable water out to their seasonal help in the summer and early fall. Beer was easier. In fact,” he says, “it was often written into the contract for seasonal workers as to how much beer they would get.” Up to—get this—five liters a day.

Five liters? Will work for beer, anyone?

Joking aside, farmhouse ales are manifestations of the land and the locality itself – what the native peoples subsist on, and what’s produced nearby. One example of a farmhouse style (if you can call it that) is saison.

“Saison is one of the traditional Belgian styles that would fall into the farmhouse category,” Gottenkieny says. Going further into the history, Gottenkeiny relates that the individuality of each farm in Belgium – what they produced, and when, seasonally informed and infused their brewing. On an evening’s sojourn in the countryside, the wayfarer might find himself treated to a saison at one farm. Then, Quixote-like, laying over at the next, have a wildly different beer produced by another freeholder. Both, though, fall into the category of saison.

“Wheat raised on the farm? Wheat was likely in the beer. Growing a seasonal fruit or vegetable? Likely in the beer,” Gottenkieny says. Spontaneous elements like airborne yeasts found their way into the mix as well, creating truly one-of-a-kind flavors. “Farms producing better beers had a tendency to attract better labor.” Other flavor elements, like water quality from a particular well, might infuse something with limestone akin to a sauvignon blanc.

While continental beer drinkers may look down their nose at the humble farmhouse ale or saison, the style has caught on in recent years with American brewers.

“Because there was no real formula, American brewers can explore and spread their wings with farmhouse and saison.” Typical concoctions States-side are highly carbonated, but beyond that, anything goes. “We make a beet saison [at Bruz],” Gottenkieny says by way of example.

Simply stated: no one farmhouse or saison really tastes the same as any other. Consider that when someone tells you “Oh, I just don’t like saison.” You don’t? Are you sure? Which one do you mean? It’s akin to saying you don’t like ice cream because you tried cherry cordial, and, well, cherries just aren’t your thing.

As for you, seasoned traveler that you are, look over the menu at your local tap house. If everything just seems like something you’ve already had, see if they have a farmhouse/saison because, more likely than not, it will truly be something you’ve not had before.

Bruz Beers makes beer at its north Denver location and has opened a tap room on East Colfax.

Kyle Kirves drinks beer, plays guitar, runs trails, and manages projects – all with varying degrees of success. While not a craftsman himself, he is quite content writing about the Colorado artisans who create such wonderful things and memorable experiences.