Saison + Chevre d’Or = Yummy
Saturday night, I was hanging-out at a beer geek party to taste Saisons. The Saison is a French farmhouse style. Historically, it was brewed in the spring with enough alcohol to last through the summer but not so much that you couldn’t drink it for lunch and still work the fields (this was back when it was safer to drink the beer than the water). The style is characterized by a citrusy yeast aroma from the Belgain yeast strains, typically fermented at high temperatures (70-80F). The yeast aroma is complimented by spicy and floral “noble” hop varieties. The taste is of wheat, light malt and some hop bitterness. The finish is dry and tart, accentuated by a champagne-like effervescence. I preferred the Saison Dupont and Fantome, particularly the Hivers (winter), among those we tried.
To the tasting, I brought a round of the Chevre d’Or, a soft-ripened goat cheese from the Loire Valley. It was everything I love, and can’t quite describe adequately, about these cheeses. It was soft and a little chalky in the center. The color was white beneath the rind. It had a slightly earthy aroma, with notes of hay and barnyard. The flavor matched the aroma very well, and included the tart acidity characteristic of goat cheeses.
The two together were magic! The tart, dryness and slight farmhouse funk they share made for an absolutely delicious paring. I would, in fact, gladly put it to the comparison test against a Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc, with which the cheese is suggested. For my money, it’ll be Dupont and Fantome every time.
