Who here likes research? If you do, be a pal, and look into this for me: why do so many Aussie saisons sit around the 6 to 7 percent ABV mark, when the style was originally a low alcohol beer for farm workers?
Of course, I could speculate, and I will. Perhaps Aussies already had a low alcohol style they were comfortable with (mid-strength lager), and so when Australian beer lovers started to discover French and Belgian beer styles, the standouts were the big, sticky beers - the more funk, the more candy sweetness, the higher alcohol, the better.
Catchment’s Cockfight saison is a more traditional Belgian style saison. It sits at a comfortable 4.5 percent ABV, and makes for comfortable drinking. There are rich fruity and banana esters in the aroma, but in the mouth it’s more about baking spices, a subtle nudge from the orange peel and coriander seed, and a light hit of funk. Rather than the sweet ride of a bigger saison, it’s quite dry and light on the finish, and leaves you wanting more.
If you’re in the brewpub at the right time, you might even get lucky, and be served by the French bartender who says “saison” the way it’s supposed to be said.
Mick Wust
