It is possible that a self-sufficient farmer/brewer thought of his beer as just another provision to stockpile—no more special than the root vegetables that stocked the cellar, the wheels of cheese aging in a cave or the sides of meat hanging in the larder. A fraction of the season’s bounty that pleased not from its ability to excite the taste buds but rather from its role as basic sustenance. Not a chance! It is unlikely that vats of farmhouse brew would be given the same matter-of-fact attention as a hunk of pork! Not with its ability to soothe aching muscles and coax the spirit to go back out in the field again the next day.

Pretend you are a 19th-century farmer/brewer getting ready to make one of several batches of ale you produce each year. What will you brew with? You had a bumper crop of wheat so you trade a neighbor for some barley to blend with your wheat and rye. Your hop crop wasn’t great so you might substitute some evergreen boughs, juniper berries and seeds from your recently bolted coriander plants. The point is that you improvise; you brew with what is at hand.

A no-two-are-alike legacy lives on in many contemporary “farmhouse” ales. Emphasis on individuality, rather than uniformity, is evident in modern Belgian, French and American versions. Though this lack of conformity may be vexing to those who like their stylistic ducks in a row, attempting to narrowly define the beverage misses the point. A true farmhouse ale conveys a sense of origin; a great one, transcendence. You feel the rusticity, imagine the field and sense the unpredictability of the season—the liquid summation of “terrior.”

Today, outstanding versions of farmhouse ale are not and need not be brewed on a farm. The requirements for authenticity are a healthy respect for their origins, the brewer’s art and its many variations, and an open mind. A fitting tribute is when a modern brewer, looking to capture the essence of farmhouse ales past, creates something new and different. A modern farmhouse ale, like those of old, serves to refresh, sustain and dazzle. And we should expect nothing less from the salt of the earth.

Belgium may be a small country within Europe, but it is huge in the world of beer, with every village seemingly hanging onto its own individual brewing tradition. The result is a diversity of beer styles unmatched in any other traditional brewing nation. With so much variety, it’s not possible to define Belgian beer, per se. However, many Belgian styles can be clustered together in a relatively small number of categories according to their dominant flavor character. With some guidance, whether the beer is brewed in Belgium, brewed elsewhere but inspired by Belgian brewing, or brewed in Belgium with foreign inspiration, it’s possible to make an educated choice and select a new beer you’ll enjoy.

Spices and Citrus: The White Beers

Let’s say you’re in a local watering hole, and you see patrons enjoying a cloudy, blonde-colored beer. The bartender says it’s a Belgian brew, and that it’s kind of spicy and citrusy, but not too strong.

You have just discovered “white” beer. It’s also called witbier in its native region of Flanders, and bière blanche in French-speaking Wallonia, the southern part of Belgium.

Belgian white beers originated in the town of Hoegaarden over five-hundred years ago. The last white beer brewery in Hoegaarden closed in the late 1950s. Pierre Celis resurrected the style in 1966.

Wit beers are fine warm weather thirst quenchers. They typically contain about 5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), and are noticeably spiced, often with coriander and curaçao—a remnant of Belgium’s role in the spice trade. The wheat gives the beer its spritzy, almost lemony character. A good Belgian witbier should be easy drinking, yet still satisfying.

Some of the best Belgian examples are Troublette, from Brasserie Caracole, Blanche de Honnelles from Brasserie de Rocs, St. Bernardus Witbier, Watou’s Witbier from Brouwerij Van Eecke and Saisis from Brasserie Ellezelloise. Here in the United States, some especially fine white beers include Allagash White from Maine, Great Lakes Holy Moses White from Cleveland, Lakefront White from Milwaukee and Ommegang Witte from Cooperstown, NY. Have you been drinking Blue Moon? That Coors product is also an example of a wit beer.

Herbal and Earthy: Ale Brewed in a…Farmhouse?

Truthfully, most Belgian “farmhouse” ales aren’t literally brewed in a farmhouse. This style family, referred to as saison in Belgium and bière de garde in Northern France, is thought to have originated primarily in Hainaut province, a rural area of Wallonia where both farming and brewing have been important economic activities for centuries. Session beer-strength saisons (3 to 5 percent alcohol) were brewed in the winter and spring, to be consumed by farm workers in the summer heat. Stronger versions of farmhouse ales were brewed for winter enjoyment.

“Farmhouse ale” is a sort of a convenient catchall term to describe saison beers that are aromatic, dry, earthy and fruity. Saisons can also be spicy, but these notes suggesting anise, pepper or green herbs most often come from the yeast, not from the actual addition of spices, and the beers display a light to medium tartness. Some saisons are, however, spiced with various ingredients. Bitterness ranges from pleasantly hopped to highly hopped, by Belgian standards. Translation: don’t expect any farmhouse ale to knock you over the head like a double IPA.

This style is very wide-ranging, and encompasses beers such as Saison Dupont and Avec les bons Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont, which are both world classics and benchmarks of the style. The often very idiosyncratic ales of Brasserie Fantome in Soy, such as Black Ghost and Noel, are also farmhouse ales—though these beers may seem to have little in common with the Dupont brews. Taste ‘em and decide for yourself.

Other standout Belgian Farmhouse ales include the superb Saison d’Epeautre and La Moneuse from Brasserie de Blaugies, Saison de Erpe-Mere from Brouwerij de Glazen Toren and Saison de Pipaix from Brasserie a Vapeur, the last solely steam-powered brewery in Belgium.

Excellent Belgian-inspired U.S.-brewed farmhouse ales include Pecore from The Brewer’s Art in Baltimore, Bullfrog Brewing Beesting Saison from Pennsylvania, Iron Hill Saison, Jolly Pumpkin Bam Bière, Red Barn from Lost Abbey in San Diego and Ommegang Hennepin.