“Saison of the Witch” Beer!/ by Warren Peterson, Brave Horse Tavern Sous Chef
It was a treat to work with the head brewer, Dick Cantwell of Elysian Brewery (on Capitol Hill) on a pumpkin beer made from Prosser Farm pumpkins and wild fennel. If anyone is known for brewing pumpkin beer- it’s Cantwell. He is the Pumpkin King! He’s the man! Working side by side with Dick Cantwell on pumpkin beer is like making crab cakes with Tom Douglas!
I met Cantwell and a crew of brewers at the Elysian Brewery. First, I grabbed a cleaver and whacked up Jackie’s wild fennel. We threw the fennel and 120 pounds of pumpkin pulp into the mash tun and we brewed up a pumpkin beer. Cantwell had decided, since we were bringing pumpkins from a farm, that we should do a Belgian style of beer that’s “farm house style,” or in beer terms, a “saison.” So, that’s what we made: a rustic, pumpkin saison. I wanted to come up with the name and wanted to tie in with Brave Horse Tavern so I thought of the “Headless Horseman.” But Cantwell said he had used a similar name for another beer. So, I started thinking about October, and Halloween, and about “saison,” and I came up with “Saison of the Witch,” as the name of our new pumpkin beer.
“Saison of the Witch” will debut September 20 at our Octoberfest Dinner at Brave Horse so join us there for a taste of this beer.
We’ll also have the beer on draft at Brave Horse and at all of the Tom Douglas Restaurants for the month of October. Or you can get the beer at Elysian’s festival:
Elysian puts on the “Great Pumpkin Beer Festival” in October. Last year they had around 20 different pumpkin beers, made by Elysian brewers and guest brewers. The festival is super awesome. It’s a big party to celebrate fall and celebrate pumpkins and celebrate beer! Come celebrate at the festival this October and sample a little “Saison of the Witch!”
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October 3rd, 2011 at 6:05 am
We missed the Oktoberfest feast at the Brave Horse, but my brother-in-law and I were there the next day to sample the new 2011 Deschutes brews. We went upstairs to the Brave Horse and tried a few of the brews on the list. Really appreciate the Beer Geek info on the back of the roster. Was that Warren’s idea?
I really enjoyed the Iron Horse High Five Hefe. You expect the clove and banananana of a hefe, then you get hit with honey and ginger instead! Excellent!
Then I got a Saison Of The Witch. Wholly Chao!
Pat wanted to know if it was an all-pumpkin mash you were using. I see now from this that it was!
We’ll be back very soon to have some more of this before it all goes.
Warren, what would you recommend pairing this with that’s on the regular menu?