Bison Announces New Seasonal: Saison de Wench

After turning his ever-popular Honey Basil Ale into a year-round offering, Bison’s brewmaster, Daniel Del Grande, was challenged to replace it with an equally interesting seasonal brew. Del Grande turned to his Director of Awesomeness, Ashley Routson (aka “The Beer Wench”) for inspiration. Together, they created Saison de Wench––a farmhouse ale brewed with botanicals.

“It might sound like a modern-day concept, but people have been brewing with flowers and herbs for thousands of years,” explains Routson. “Hops are actually the more contemporary flavoring agent.”

“Herbs, like basil and lemongrass, have been a major part of Bison’s brewing history since we started in 1989,” boasts Del Grande. “I welcomed the opportunity to continue this tradition with Saison de Wench.”

Using Bison’s gold medal award-winning farmhouse ale recipe as the base, Saison de Wench features a botanical blend of organic roses, organic hibiscus and organic lemongrass—each strategically added in various stages throughout the brewing process, including the mash.

“We put all of the hibiscus in the mash in order to extract as much flavor and color as possible. The lemongrass and roses were added in the whirlpool to capture otherwise volatile aromas,” notes Del Grande. “The result is pink-hued, refreshingly tart and slightly fruity ale with a bright floral nose and spicy, dry finish.”

Saison de Wench LabelSaison de Wench will make its grand debut the 2nd week of February on draft and in stylishly sleek, yet gender-neutral pink 4-packs. “As with all my beers, the packaging showcases the main ingredients––which, in this particular case, are pink,” explains Del Grande. “It’s not meant to attract or alienate either gender.”

“No one else has put a beer into pink carriers,” says Routson. “From a marketing perspective it’s quite original and, dare I say, brilliant.”

Saison de Wench will officially release during San Francisco Beer Week. Official release party is TBD. For information on Saison de Wench sales and distribution, contact sales@bisonbrew.com.

Ashley Routson

Ashley Routson, known amongst the craft beer community as The Beer Wench, is a self-proclaimed craft beer evangelist and social media maven on a mission to advance the craft beer industry through education, inspiration and advocacy. She is the author of The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer: An Unpretentious Guide to Craft Beer.