A Belgian-inspired saison from California's Mendocino coast, this brilliant golden/straw colored brew is a product of the renowned and respected North Coast Brewing Company. "Saison" translates from French to "season," and "Le Merle" to "The Blackbird" - but this particular name was chosen to honor a special woman named Merle: the wife of North Coast Brewing's founder Mark Ruedrich.

In its 2005 limited release, this saison was known as Silver Jubilee- a brew commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Whole Foods Markets (read more about this below). In an interview with the Oakland Tribune, North Coast's Senior VP Doug Moody says of the beer, "We thought it was so good, we didn't want to let it go away. So Mark tweaked it, made some changes and now it's Le Merle."

Thankful are we that this one stuck around. After all, this is a beer described by acclaimed English beer connoisseur (and great grandfather of beer style taxonomy) Michael Jackson as "outstanding…appetizing, refreshing," and by Celebrator Beer News as "heavenly." What makes these words all the more weighty: until a relatively recent revival, saison was widely considered an 'endangered' style. North Coast's version is a fine tribute to its predecessors.

Saison is a pale ale originating from the French-speaking region of Belgium, Wallonia. Originally saisons were home-brewed on farmhouses during the cooler months, stored, then consumed during the summer months as hydrating and refreshing beverages for farm hands. While the earliest of saisons were very low in alcohol - 3-3.5% ABV, today's versions tend to weigh in at over 5. Jackson commented of the modern Belgian varieties, "Only in a country with so many strong beers would brews of at 5.0 to 6.5 per cent be regarded as "light" summer specialities." Of course at 7.9%, one may argue that Le Merle comes in as a heavy hitter, but the ABV of this brew falls right in line with most recent American interpretations.

A Slight Misunderstanding

I have read a number of reviews where Silver Jubilee is identified as a beer brewed to commemorate North Coast's 25th anniversary. Some quick math had me scratching my head before I could even 'carry the one' (so to speak). North Coast was founded in 1988 - only twenty years ago. Was this a beer from the future? Yes, probably a miraculous artifact from the future, I thought... but I had to press further!

Throughout my readings, I came across several vague mentions of Whole Foods Markets in reference to Silver Jubilee. I dug a little deeper to find that Whole Foods was founded in 1980, so I jumped to the assumption that this beer was commissioned specifically for Whole Foods... and therefore it must have been released in 2005. Perhaps unimportant, this little discrepancy of mass-opinion was driving me crazy, so I sent my inquiry directly to North Coast Brewing Company.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email from Mark Ruedrich himself, explaining the mixup in some detail:

Yes, there was a little confusion on the part of Michael Jackson in a review of the Silver Jubilee he wrote in All About Beer. He did think it was a beer to commemorate our own 25th. We had a good laugh about it afterward.

It was in fact commissioned by Whole Foods Market for their Silver Jubilee in 2005. This is not the first or only beer we have done for Whole Foods. NCBC developed their Lamar Street organic beers and did the production for awhile.

We are presently making two organic beers on an exclusive basis for [Whole Foods Markets]: Cru d’Or – a dubbel, and Old Plowshare – a stout. After doing the Silver Jubilee – a one-off production of about 2500 cases – we thought so much of the beer we couldn’t bear to retire it. So we decided on a re-branding in honor of my wife, Merle, for the twenty good years she’s given the company. The first release into West Coast markets was June of 2007.

Bingo, mystery solved...though I was really enjoying the idea of a 'beer from the future.' My thanks goes to Mr. Ruedrich for taking the time to personally respond.

A Treatise on Style

This beer journey is very much an educational one for my wife and I. What started as a harmless induction into a local pub's beer club has paved the way for this blog, a steadily maturing palate, and a continually expanding waist line. I wish to precede the below by disclosing that the saison style is relatively new to me and my wife, and we have only tried a few to date. The style first became of interest to me when I heard its mention on the Craft Beer Radio podcast, driving me to read more about the style's history and near-extinction.

While I cannot yet speak of how this brew compares to its colleagues of the same style, my personal opinion is that beer should not have to qualify in style before it satisfies in flavor. Such is the point of contention for some beer snobs, their argument: the only way to sample a brew is among other beers of the same style.

Sampling by style establishes a benchmark when training one's palate to pick out subtle flavors, contrasts and commonalities; but if I were to find a great beer that perhaps was fitting of a different title or categorization, should that make the beer any less great? "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," Shakespeare reminds us.

Keep in mind that until recently, a vast number of styles weren't even clearly defined, essentially illustrating that the entire controversy is little more than a semantic one. Limiting how or why people enjoy their beer does little to encourage the growth of the craft beer movement; the mission of this blogger is to make these fine beverages seem all the more approachable.

Experience

It may have been by chance that during a recent visit to California my wife and I spotted this beauty tucked away amongst a plethora of fine beers in a Sonoma wine shop. It was certainly not an accident, however, that Le Merle ended up in our shopping cart. We have most recently been enjoying North Coast's Old Rasputin (which I'm sure you'll hear more about on this site, somewhere down the line), so it was a no-brainer to try their take on a style I had long wanted to further explore. I couldn't have made a better choice.

This beer pours a bright yellow-golden adorned by gleaming, brilliant sunny highlights. Millions of tight, tiny bubbles compose a towering head with impressive retention, leaving spotty, thick lacing to coat the glass. Hazy, but without substantial sediment, Le Merle gives off a bright, crisp and fruity aroma - the first impression was almost of a sweet, yeasty apple juice, perhaps with a backdrop of mellow tropical fruit.

Relatively light in the mouth, a good amount of carbonation presents a mild citrusy-floral body with hints of lemon zest on the mid-palate- never quite sour, but retaining a quenching bitterness on the finish. Delectable. Le Merle toys with the background 'funk' of the classic saison concept, and never quite turns south, effectively leaving desirable and alluring flavors along its slippery path on the tongue.

Final Thoughts

Le Merle left us wanting more with every sip. Light in body and layered with flavor, its an easy drinker that constantly reminds you it was made with love; love for a woman named Merle. Refreshing summery tones are enjoyable year-round, but appreciated most, perhaps, on a warm sunny day. Approachable, refreshing and delicious, Le Merle never lets on nor gives way to its steep alcohol percentage. I think often of this beer and hope to find it locally.

America (California) - 7.9% ABV

North Coast Brewing [website]

Saison (Farmhouse Ale)