From the Beer Writer: The impact of the local brewing industry is resonating at City Hall, where visionary public servants are seeing the job creation and fiscal boost craft beer brings to America’s Finest City. Particularly bullish on local brewers and working to do all he can to advocate on behalf of the craftspeople within his constituency is Chris Cate, City councilmember for District 6. Encompassing Miramar, Mira Mesa, Sorrento Mesa and Kearny Mesa, D6 is home to more breweries than any other district—or any municipality in San Diego County—with 21 (and more on the way in the form of Amplified Ale Works, Pure Project Brewing and Mikkeller San Diego). In celebration of San Diego Beer Week, Cate wanted a local brewery to craft a specialty beer to represent the region, and reached out to AleSmith Brewing Company CEO and brewmaster Peter Zien to do the honors. The result is this 4.2% alcohol-by-volume (ABV), session-strength Belgian-style saison. It’s the only farmhouse ale AleSmith has brewed in its 20 years of operation, making this a first for the company, the District and the City.
From the Brewer: “After 20 happy years of calling San Diego home, the brewers at AleSmith decided to conjure something special for one of the biggest champions of the local beer scene to come out of City Hall, District 6 councilmember Chris Cates. A unique ale style from the farmlands of Belgium known as “saison” was our choice to honor San Diego’s brewery-rich Sixth District. District 6 Session Saison is a light copper-colored ale with a relatively low ABV. Mildly hoppy with a tantalizing combination of spices, the aroma and flavor contain hints of lemon, citrus fruit and mild pepper. Designed for easy drinking with a complexity generated from European hops, spices and a Belgian yeast strain procured from our District 6 neighbors at White Labs, this saison pays tribute to our councilmember, our district and all of our fellow brewers within it.”—Peter Zien, CEO & Brewmaster, AleSmith Brewing Co.
NOTE: In addition to his work as Editor-at-Large for West Coaster, Brandon Hernández is also the Marketing Manager for AleSmith Brewing Co.