Define Farmhouse Ale. The term Farmhouse Ale is an overarching classification encompassing and unifying many unique substyles of beers including funky styles like Saison Sahti Gotlandsdricka Biere de Garde and others. But when the brewer means to migrate toward biere de garde by saying farmhouse it can be a whole different style of beer.
But when the brewer means to migrate toward biere de garde by saying farmhouse it can be a whole different style of beer. Oxbows Tim Adams says that the American Farmhouse Ale is an homage grown out of respect to the perfected styles of the entire Franco-Belgian region from the farmhouse ales to the Lambics the gueuze to the Flanders Reds. Along with several other varieties it is generally classified as a farmhouse ale.
No matter what the style any beer made in.
Also called farmhouse ale its a rustic beer that unlike other styles is open to the brewers interpretation. In that case Farmhouse ale just means rustic giving them a little freedom from the exemplars of the saison style eg Saison DuPont Hennepin. Belgian Saisons may be the most famous style in this category but there are many more to be found in the family of Farmhouse Ales. Beers were given to seasonal workers who tended the crops or the saisonniers in French so it wasnt made with top-shelf ingredients people sought out.
