Dubuisson Saison Surfine (6,5%)

Surfine is a hidden gem that shone out when the extensive back catalogue of the Dubuisson Brewery was explored. A search through the brewery’s archives brought to light a brand that many thought had vanished forever.
The Surfine brand is older even than the iconic Bush Amber, created in 1933. Surfine (the name means ‘extra fine’), pays homage to a well-known bubbly beverage and was born as an amber-coloured spéciale belge-style beer that was marketed until the 1950s.
2014 saw the rebirth of this brand as a saison, or seasonal beer, typical of the Hainault (Henegouwen) region (http://belgium.beertourism.com/belgian-beers/surfine).


PIPAIX - When a brewery with a history stretching back over two hundred years (1769) starts digging around in its rich past, hidden treasures sometimes come to light. And this is exactly what happened.
Hugues Dubuisson, owner of the eponymous brewery near Doornik (Tournai) came across Surfine, a beer brand far older than Bush, the brand with which Dubuisson made its name.
The first strong Bush beer – marketed as Scaldis in the USA – dates back to 1933, whereas the Surfine brand was already popular in the region from the 1930s until the 1950s. In those days Surfine was an amber-coloured ‘spéciale belge ale’. The label has however been dormant in recent decennia.
(http://belgium.beertourism.com/blog/surfine-saison-new-beer-brewery-dubuisson)


When it re-surfaced last year, Hugues Dubuisson was instantly captivated by its original ‘vintage’ look. The brewer has now given this beer a second lease of life. However, in contrast with the original version,the  Surfine, Dubuisson modern Surfine (6.5% ABV) is a ‘Saison’ (French for ‘seasonal beer’).
This beer style is typical for Hainault, Dubuisson’s home region. “Whenever we introduce a new beer, we want it to complement our existing range”, Hugues Dubuisson explains. “Our assortment was lacking a ‘Saison’.
This type of traditional farmhouse ale used to be brewn by farm breweries to celebrate the harvest and to quench the thirst of the farmers and those working in the fields.
A ‘Saison’ was invariably hoppier and also stronger than the average beer back then. Surfine has now introduced us to more strongly hopped beers.
We are discovering more and more secrets of the hop now that we have our own hop field. From next year onwards we will use our home-grown hops to produce the Surfine”. There is more to the Surfine than hop, however. This new beer is brewed using three types of malt plus three varieties of Belgian hops. The latter underlines the importance that Dubuisson attaches to local terroir. The brewery also uses a novel approach to fermentation.
The Surfine undergoes three fermentation stages; with each stage using a different yeast. The final yeast variety used is a ‘wild’ one that ensures that the last remaining sugars are converted into carbon dioxide.
“The re-fermentation in the bottle makes for a beer with excellent storage possibilities”, Hugues assures us. “And we are looking forward to following the evolution of this beer as well”.
...
It may well be that the success experienced by saison-type beers in the USA has inspired the brewer to launch a similar brew. Twenty years ago this beer style was all but dead in Belgium.
It has now made a resounding comeback. “The Surfine is a relatively light beer with lots of taste and character, which is exactly what we are after”, is the explanation provided by Hugues Dubuisson. “Moreover, with our new brewing hall we now have a far greater choice about what we produce and when.  The decision to produce a Surfine ‘new style’ was made quite quickly. But it took us a year to fine-tune the beer. The triple fermentation posed particular challenges”.
Orval now springs to mind. This beer uses a similar process, but at Dubuisson another yeast variety is used, which results in a product that is completely different from this well-known Trappist.
The alchemy between the various ingredients has conjured up a balanced beer that will never be too bitter. The name of the beer and the serving glass ooze elegance from every pore. ‘Sur-fine’ means ‘extra fine’, a name that at the time incorporated a nod and a wink towards the celebratory drink of champagne (http://belgium.beertourism.com/blog/surfine-saison-new-beer-brewery-dubuisson).

La nouvelle bièrede la brasserie Dubuisson – la Saison Surfine –est un mélange subtil entre tradition, vintage, nouveauté, goût du jour.
Voici un an, la brasserie Dubuisson fêtait les 80 ans de la fameuse Bush ambrée, celle qui tire à 12°. La semaine dernière, elle faisait le point sur sa deuxième récolte de houblon. Hier, elle présentait sa nouvelle bière, ses nouveaux investissements, ses évolutions récentes…
1. Nouvelle bière Elle était annoncée mais le secret avait été bien gardé. On ne savait rien de son nom ni de ses caractéristiques. La Saison Surfine évoque le passé de Dubuisson, sa tradition. Dans le temps, on produisait à Pipaix de la Saison, «une bière de fête, liée aux fermes-brasseries». Pour ne pas apparaître comme une énième bière de ce nom - 1 900 Saison sur le marché des États-Unis! – on lui a accolé le nom de Surfine, qui évoque une autre bière ancienne de chez Dubuisson, dont la production s’étala entre les années 1930 et 1960. Mais la comparaison s’arrête là. La vieille Surfine, dont on n’a pas retrouvé la recette, était ambrée. La nouvelle est blonde. Elle tire à 6,5° d’alcool, la moins forte donc de la gamme Dubuisson. Mais, comme ses grandes sœurs, elle se veut «typée». Pas d’épices mais trois malts, trois houblons belges et trois levures entrent dans sa composition. Beaucoup d’amertume donc - c’est au goût du jour, en réaction peut-être aux bières sucrées – et beaucoup de mousse aussi. De sorte que Dubuisson devra peut-être revoir la conception de son verre, en l’élargissant sur le haut. Demandant deux mois de garde, la Saison Surfine devrait être disponible dans le commerce dès la fin du mois, en bouteilles de 33 cl qui se veulent vintage. 750 hectolitres ont été produits dans un premier temps, pour la tester sur les consommateurs de la région (www.lavenir.net/cnt/DMF20140909_00525685).

Surfine
Brasserie Dubuisson, Chaussée de Mons 28 - B-7904 Pipaix - www.br-dubuisson.com -
La Brasserie Dubuisson lance une nouvelle bière : avec la Surfine, nous avons ressuscité une marque issue du riche passé de la Brasserie. Il s’agit d’une Saison traditionnelle typique du terroir hennuyer. Brassée avec 3 malts différents, 3 houblons belges estampillés et fermentée avec 3 types de levures. C’est une bière blonde dorée, refermentée en bouteilles, qui titre 6,5% de volume alcool. Bien que développant une amertume bien marquée, la Surfine est une bière bien équilibrée en bouche et particulièrement rafraîchissante. A déguster absolument, et en vente dès le 22 septembre 2014 ! (www.belbev.be/product_new_list.aspx)

With the Surfine, Dubuisson has had to quickly get to grips with the world of more intensively hopped beers. However, hops are only part of the story here. This beer is produced using three varieties of malt and three strains of Belgian hops.
Dubuisson is proud of its Belgian origins and promotes its strong ties to the local terroir. Surfine owes its lovely balance to the alchemy of its ingredients. Remarkably, the Surfine is subject to three fermentation stages, using a different yeast each time.
The third and final fermentation stage uses wild yeasts that convert the remaining sugars into carbon dioxide, giving the beer its dry character. (http://belgium.beertourism.com/belgian-beers/surfine)
(http://belgium.beertourism.com/belgian-beers/surfine, http://belgium.beertourism.com/blog/surfine-saison-new-beer-brewery-dubuisson)

Ingredients
This unique saison is brewed using well water, added sugar and Cascade, Styria and Northern Brewer hops (all grown in Belgium).
Furthermore, no fewer than three types of malt are used during the brewing process (winter malt, spring malt and Cara Munich malt) as well as three varieties of yeast.
Colour & Transparency
When poured correctly into its splendid proprietary glass, this slightly cloudy, blond beer will develop a luxuriously dense and sturdy head of froth (http://belgium.beertourism.com/belgian-beers/surfine).

Aha, nu wordt en duidelijk waardoor dit bier zo wild schuimt en de bittere smaak wordt verklaard: Cascade, Styria and Northern Brewer hop!

The nose instantly picks up fruity, zesty and floral aromas with impressions of citrus and pepper. From the first tasting you will be amazed by its pleasant flavour of dry bitters, characteristic of a saison.
The wild yeasts used for the final fermentation contribute a trace of sourness, giving this newcomer its refreshing and thirst-quenching properties as well as making it easily digestible (http://belgium.beertourism.com/belgian-beers/surfine).

Mijn grote voorbeeld Lambiekstoemper dronk dit bier al in december 2014:

Fijn om te lezen dat ik niet alleen ben in het opmerken dat het etiket vintage aandoet en dat het bier ontzettend schuimt. Vanuit de fles drinken is praktisch onmogelijk. Het is een bier voor mensen die van bierschuim houden.
Het bier smaakt mij goed, maar ik weet niet of het aan een saison doet denken, omdat ik de afdronk/nasmaak wat zoet vind en niet al te droog. De nasmaak doet mij wat aan bloempjes denken..