The Boston Globe took on session beers in a Saturday article. Writer Steve Greenlee calls them "sessionable beers," which strikes me as two syllables and four letters more than necessary for news writing style, but that's just a quibble. What's more important is that he stays below 5% abv with his recommendations: Narragansett Summer Ale, Haverhill Haver Ale, and Samuel Adams Rustic Saison.
This was the first I'd heard about the Rustic Saison. How about that, only 4.35% abv? OK, it's only available in the summer seasonal variety pack. And while the product description emphasizes spicy yeast character over the hop character, that's a matter of personal taste.
Best of all, the beer leads to some basically accurate historical info about saisons in a major metro newspaper:
Rustic Saison is more in line with the original saisons, or farmhouse ales, that were brewed centuries ago in Belgium to refresh field workers (since drinking water could prove fatal). These days we have become accustomed to saisons that are anywhere from 6 to 8 percent alcohol by volume, but the original saisons were only 3 to 4 percent.To me, that's nearly as refreshing as the beer itself must be.
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