The core of a great Saison comes from a brewery’s ability to harness and nurture wild yeast, creating complex levels of flavor. Saison fans immediately recognize Portland’s Commons Brewery and St. Louis’s Perennial Artisan Ales as leading players in the Farmhouse arena with distinctive funky flavors that come straight from their proprietary yeasts.

Now, these breweries come together in a new one-time creative tour-de-force with Meriwether, a classic Saison dry-hopped with Hallertau hops.

Perennial and Commons are highly regarded breweries committed to furthering the American Saison craft. They’ve looked to European greats and crafted yeast blends to stamp the specific flavor of the brewery into each creation. For this collaboration Saison, a 50/50 blend of each brewery’s Saision yeast strain was used during fermentation. This rare type of collaboration is a meeting of breweries.

After pouring hazed-gold, aromas of dusty haystacks, banana and pear with a hint of spice greet you. The flavor expands with notes of lemon zest, grassy shoots, clove and apricots. The subtle kiss of Saison yeast funk mixes with the earthy floral spice of Hallertau hops, giving way to a pleasant peppered dry finish, standing up to European favorites.

The soul of the Saison, yeast imprints a je ne sais quoi quality to the flavor and aroma of the style. Meriwether is a unique take on the typical collaboration and a chance to delve into complexity of the Saison.