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Nicole Simeone
Spencer Brewery’s Peach Saison
Spencer Brewing is not your average operation. It’s one of the few of its kind. Spencer Brewing, located in Spencer, Massachusetts, is one of only fourteen Trappist breweries. That’s worldwide. It’s the only one of the fourteen to be found in the States. The rest of the Trappist organizations are in, no surprise here, Europe. The majority of them in Belgium specifically.
What does the label of Trappist mean? Excellent question. In preparation for our Great Belgian Debate last year, I did a deep dive into Belgian beer, including Trappist products. The Trappist designation means that the product meets a very specific set of criteria:
- The beer must be brewed within the Cicsteran monastery walls- either by the monks themselves or with their supervision.
- The proceeds of the beer sale must go to the upkeep of the monastery or charitable institutions.
- The brewery cannot be the primary focus of the monastery.
This label can also be applied to the monastery’s other products, such as cheese, jams, jellies, and the like.
The idea of a brewery at St. Joseph’s started in 2010, doing a lot of research into the project. This included traveling over to Europe to visit the other Trappist breweries. Spencer Trappist Ale was their first beer produced from the monastic facility. Over the years, their beer lineup has slowly expanded to include a lager, pilsner, and even an IPA. Today though, we will be sampling one of Spencer’s Fruit Series – their Peach Saison.
I came across this beauty on a hunt for a good “hot weather beer” to take up to the lake. An ardent fan of their traditional offerings, I grabbed a four-pack and headed for the register.
Once again, Spencer hasn’t let me down. This was the perfect beer for lounging out on the lake on a hot and humid day. Poured out of its signature bottle, the brew is deep gold. Or perhaps a light caramel color. I couldn’t quite decide.
When I bring the glass up to my nose, peach rises up to meet me first. There is the slightest twinge of citrus. Perhaps this is coming from the yeast rather than zest additive, but I can’t be sure. The nose is a little wheaty too. Surprisingly there is only the faintest hint of the Belgian yeast characteristics. The banana and pepper flavors so prevalent in Belgian brews don’t rise up away from the glass at all.
The Peach Saison is very light and bubbly on the tongue, consistent with other saisons. When sipping the beer, the peach is the first flavor that hits you. In this case, it’s almost as if you’re drinking a puree of the subtle fruit. The brewers managed to capture the peach flavor brilliantly. As the sip slides down your throat, the saison’s flavor mellows out into the trademark Belgian pepper notes I was looking for in the nose. In this brew, the peppery taste is considerably less intense than a standard saison thanks to the peaches.
A delightful beverage all around. Highly, highly recommend this to everyone, whether you like saisons or not. This could be the beverage that changes your mind.
I am going to keep it short today because this beer has more to give. Check back on Monday for my adventures in baking with this refreshing beer.
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