Three Stars Brewing Co. - "Peppercorn Saison" farmhouse ale

As you may be aware, I'm a big fan of the Belgian farmhouse / saison beers. Having passed over this beer on the shelf a good number of times, my curiosity got the better of me. This is DC-based Three Stars Brewing Co.'s "Peppercorn Saison," a 6.5% ABV farmhouse-style ale.

Three Stars Brewery is a brewery local to me - it's based only a few miles away in the Takoma Park neighborhood. It's named after the three stars (or in heraldry terms, "mullets") on the DC flag, which in turn are taken from George Washington's ancestral coat of arms, pictured below.

N.B. "Exitus Acta Probat" is Latin for "the end justifies the means," which sounds kind of creepy. But in this circumstance, Washington is referring to the Revolutionary War, stating that such a "means," i.e. the war, was necessary to achieve the outcome of the founding of the Republic.

But the history of saisons reach far beyond our own nation's. For those of you new to saisons, it is a word use to generally describe a family of ales. These ales are light, yeasty, and fruity, with lots of carbonation. Also called "farmhouse ales," their history begins in Belgium centuries ago, when farmers would often brew such ales for consumption during working hours (sounds like a plan to me!!) Back then, however, the beers were much lighter - closer to 3% ABV, an almost impossibly-light figure by today's standards. The beers were so light since summer farm workers were given large quantities to sustain them during the hard field labors. These seasonal workers were called "les saisonniers" in French. And as such, this style is called a saison.

It pours pale orange, with a nice color that shows the variance in saison colors. It's fizzy with a foamy white head that dies down quickly.

The nose is the usual one - yeast, spices, and bright light fruit flavors. It's very pleasant, fresh, and light. I also like the cool amoeba-shaped patters that appear when the beer settles.

The flavor is generally on par with saisons - light, floral, with an effervescent spicy taste the whole way through. This beer has some pepper tastes, and the flavor really builds as you keep on drinking. It finishes with a very interesting dry texture that I like a lot. The aftertaste is of floral yeast and lemon zest which lasts for quite some time.

The great part about saisons, in my opinion, is how refreshing they are. For this particular beer, what stands out to me the most is how the flavor develops all the way through to the aftertastes. The pepper notes were kinda cool, and added a new aspect to the usual saison fare.

Of course I enjoyed the whole thing, but the spice / yeast flavors carry over well throughout the whole tasting experience. That kind of longevity of flavor is a great asset to any beverage. And, economically speaking, it's at the right price point (around $9.99 for a 750mL) and has the right mixture of taste and alcohol for a sessionable saison ale.