Just want to clarify. I have a saison with coriander, ginger, peppercorns and grapefruit zest that I’m going to enter into a competition. Saison as a style 16C can have spices right? Or do I need to put this into the spiced beer category? As I read the guidelines spices are fine in a saison but I wanted to double check.
Herbs and spices are fine
Spices can go in a Saison, but they should be part of the overall beer profile and not stand out on their own. As a judge if I could pick out a certain one I would consider that a flaw.
Agreed. 99% of the flavor of a saison should come from the yeast. Additional spices should only compliment or add complexity. If you taste a saison and say to yourself, “this taste like coriander”, you added too much.