Beer of the Week: Sandlot

I’ll never forget the first time I saw this week’s featured beer on East Village Brewing Co.’s menu board, and not just because it referenced a nostalgia-evoking movie from my youth. Simply dubbed Sandlot, it was described as a Wallonia-style saison. Saisons, or “farmhouse ales” as they are also known, are my favorite types of beers, and while I was excited to get to try this one, I was even more jazzed about the guts it took for the EVBC team to go with such a drilled-down description. Not many people know what a saison is and even fewer know where Wallonia is, assuming they know such a place even exists. Long story short, saison’s roots trace back to the farmlands of France and Belgium, including the French-speaking area of southern Belgium called…that’s right…Wallonia. The most wide-ranging style of beer on the planet, saisons vary, not just from producer to producer, but in many cases from batch to batch, providing a sense of geographic and craft-derived terroir that makes drinking them unpredictable and exciting. You never know just what you’re going to get. But since saisons are yeast-centric versus hop-forward, and substantial in their alcohol content instead of registering in the crushable 5% and under range, average consumers show little interest in them. That is, unless, a brewery engages in a bit of subterfuge, switching out terms like “saison” or “farmhouse ale” for “blonde”. Vague, English, innocuous and easy-to-pronounce, blonde strips away any eccentricity or (incorrectly) perceived pretentiousness, allowing more people to find interest in and feel comfortable ordering an unfamiliar or esoteric style of beer. Which is why, come baseball season, when EVBC busts out fresh batches of their “Sandlot Belgian-style Blonde Ale”, it is regularly among their top three best-sellers. While the purist in me rolls his eyes and laments the fact that stripping away the style’s name keeps consumers from learning about – and perhaps even learning to love – saisons, thus ensuring the survival of my favorite style (which is one of the hardest to find these days), my inner craft-beer fan is simply happy people are selecting and clearly enjoying this delicious, stylistically on-the-nose beer. My go-to before a Padres game or concert at Petco Park, it pours a vibrant gold hue with a fluffy white head emitting a host of floral, spicy aromas. A balanced array of flavors – citrus, white pepper, kitchen herb, lavender, bubble gum – hit all at once, without any one sensation dominating. It’s a lovely saison, and that’s coming from someone who would drink them every day if I could. No matter what EVBC chooses to call Sandlot, it’s a winner.

This beer was brewed in collaboration with Briess Malting, where the barley is grown in the high plains of Wyoming. It features their newest light Munich malt, which adds pleasant bread-crust notes. A large portion of wheat also gives this beer a rustic texture and flavor. French Saison yeast brings pleasant spicy and subtle fruity notes. The finish is exceptionally dry and crisp, leaving a slight tingle on the tongue.”

Aaron Justus, Co-founder & Brewmaster, East Village Brewing

East Village Brewing is located at 201 Park Boulevard, Suite 101 in downtown San Diego’s East Village community