Lone Wolf Beer Review: John Harvard's Houblon Saison

Ok, so I lied. I do have something to write about. Over the weekend, my friends and I met up for late lunch/early dinner at John Harvard's Brewpub in Cambridge. I have been there several times, but usually to watch sporting events or grab a quick dinner with Mere. However, I don't know if I've ever stayed at this place longer. We got there around 3:15 and left around 7:15 for another friend's place, growlers in tow. Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet, and return to dinner. The first and pretty much only beer I drank that night was their Houblon Saison. The waiter explained it as a "lighter unfiltered belgian wheat ale." Knowing the Saison style, I decided to give this a try. I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised. This brew is faithful to the Saison, but is a tad sweeter. The sweetness is not to say it approaches a dubbel or tripel, but it has just a hint to keep one intrigued. It was served a golden hazy color with about 3/4 inch of frothy head. The lacing on this beer was spectacular as it clung to the side unapologetically. The smell was almost a little yeasty, and definitely hearty. Can smell a faint hop aroma, but mostly other things. It was nice and smooth on the tongue and a good swishing brought out the bitter hop signature to counterbalance the sweetness. It definitely compares more to La Chouffe's Houblon IPA Tripel (geez, longest name ever for a great beer) than to a Saison like Dupont, although it would not be crazy to see this brew as a combination of the two. The aftertaste was an almost perfect balance of bitter and sweet, but left me wanting more. I ended up waiting with my first pint well over an hour just savoring it. Needless to say, I left with a growler of it which I drank later that night. Overall, amazing beer... one that is friendly to both the seasoned Belgian style ale drinkers and new fans.

My rating: 9/10

Poured: IPA glass 

Location: John Harvard's Brewpub, Harvard Square

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