May Tasting Event – Saisons & Biere de Garde: RSVP Now

Hi Everyone reading The Thirsty Hopster,  

I’d like to invite you to my 3rd monthly beer tasting event. 

I hold themed beer tastings once a month at my apartment.  The March event was a “Beer: 101″ course, covering one or two beers in each of about 10 different styles.  The April event was a Belgian sour ale tasting.   

The tastings generally cover about 10 beers.  No one is expected or encouraged to drink a full bottle of each beer, usually to we try to work it out so that everyone gets about a 4 oz pour of each beer, and so that there’s some left over for those who want seconds of a particular beer.  Those who were at the first tasting know we had tons of extra beer, at the second tasting we were a little short, but I’m learning from these expereinces and I think I’ll get it right this time.     

This event will be a tasting of saisons, which are a Belgian style of beer traditionally brewed in the winter and drunk in the spring and summer.  Saisons are light beers that tend to have fruity aromas, with earthy, spicy, and moderately hoppy (bitter, aromatic) flavors.  They are not very sweet, and may be a bit sour, but not on the level of the sour ales we tasted last month.    For a great discussion of saisons, check out’s Rob’s recent post. 

I will also throw in some biere de garde style beers, as I can find them.  This is a style very similar to saisons, but it has less tartness and spiciness, and greater sweetness and malt flavors. At the end of this post, you can find a list of the beers I think I will be most likely to be able to find and include in this tasting.  

The tasting will be 7:00pm – 10:00pm on Saturday, May 31st.  It is fine to come late or leaver early, but you may miss some of the beers if you do.  Usually there is also a group that goes out together afterwards to one of the bars that is walkable from my apartment (and I’m jsut around the corner from the Toronado…), but this is optional and up to others to organize if they want to make it happen. 

The tasting will be at my apartment in San Francisco.  I’ll send out the address to those who RSVP.  If there is interest from far more than 15 people, I may try to secure a larger location for us. 

The tasting will cost between $10 – $20, which I charge to cover the cost of the beer.  I aim to keep it at $15, but sometimes I go a little overboard when I see what my local beer stores have on their shelves.  I promise it won’t go over $20 though, and that I will give you an update on the actual price once I’ve bought the beers and know what my costs are.  

The tasting is limited to 15 people because that is all that my apartment can fit.  We’ve learned this the hard way in the past and 15 is the absolute maximum I can do without having people sitting on the floor.  I’m really going to stick to 15 this time around.   

You are welcome and encouraged to bring other people as long as you RSVP them.  One of the great things about these events is that often people bring friends, roommates, significant others, etc., so we all get to meet new people.   

Please RSVP by emailing thethirstyhopster@gmail.com.  Hope to see you there!

- JJ    

List of potential beers in the tasting:  

Saisons

• Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere
• Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Ale
• The Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale
• Ommegang Hennepin Farmhouse Ale
• Saison Dupont Farmhouse Ale
• Firestone Walker Lil’ Opal – may only be available on tap
• Russian River Erudition – may only be available on tap
• Brookley Brewery Saison De Brooklyn – may not be available anymore
• New Belgium Saison Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale – may not be available anymore  

Biere de Gardes

• Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza
• The Lost Abbey Avant Garde
• Flying Dog Garde Dog
• Russian River Perdition – may only be available on tap