Fairhope Brewing Fall Seasonal Release "Football Saison"

A breweries seasonal releases often add a welcome variety to their core lineup (year round beers) and many people wait in anticipation for these once a year limited offerings. Craft beer is inherently seasonal and many craft beer drinkers favor a specific beer style that pairs well with the weather or even nostalgia related to that time of year.

Being Fairhope Brewing Company's (FBC) first year in operation, their initial seasonal lineup has given the brewery a chance to flex its brewing prowess muscles and show the area what they can do with beer styles outside of their regular lineup.

Their first seasonal was spring's "Rescue Dog Red" of which one dollar of each pour benefited The Haven, a no-kill animal shelter located in Fairhope, and more than $1,400 was raised this year. Summer brought along the very well received "(Take the) Causeway IPA". But summer is quickly coming to an end and recently FBC announced their fall seasonal "Football Saison" which is tentatively set to be released on Thursday, August 29th to coincide with the start of college football season.

FBC describes "Football Saison" as:

Unlike anything we've had on tap before, this Belgian-inspired ale is brewed with French and Belgian malts and Australian Galaxy hops, but the focus is squarely on the saison yeast used in fermentation. A slight funkiness accentuates the beer’s bitterness, and a dry finish makes for a thirst-quenching brew perfect to enjoy while cheering for your favorite team.

As a big fan of saisons I'm looking forward to trying this next seasonal as I'm sure many others are as well. If your unfamiliar with the style, BeerAdvocate describes the style as:

This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness.

You can read much more about saisons in All About Beer Magazine's article, "Saison: Flavors of the Countryside"

If you are a craft beer fan that lives in the Pensacola area and haven't visited FBC yet, we cannot recommend highly enough that you plan a visit in the near future.