Saint Somewhere in Food Network Magazine

Saint Somewhere Brewing is a little brewery in Tarpon Springs. They have been making two Belgian-style beers, Saison Athene and Lectio Divina, for a couple of years. The 750 mL bottles are about $10 each.

They are kind of a stealth brewery, making two good beers and keeping under the radar.

Their Saison Athene gets a mention in the November 2009 issue of Food Network Magazine. It's part of a neat little package, "Grape Escape" on page 43, on how great beers are a fraction of the cost of great wines.* They list 12 craft beers and how they can be substituted for wine.

Saison Athene is listed under "Instead of red wine." They write:

Made in Tarpon Springs, FL, this gently spiced beer is brewed with rosemary, black peppercorns and chamomile. Like zinfandel or syrah, it's a terrific match for lamb.

I've had this beer. It pours a very bright golden color with substantial bubbles and a very white head that reduces to a fairly thin ring in my tulip glass. It smells of spices, particularly coriander and orange peel. The taste is equally spicy, with big coriander flavors and notes of musty and earthy flavors. The body is quite light and crisp. This beer is well-attenuated.

I prefer Saint Somewhere's Lectio Divina, which has an earthy aroma with notes of grape and other fruit and has a pure Belgian fruity, earthy and yeasty taste. Grape flavors mix with hay and grass-like notes. It totally nails the Belgian style, better than almost any other American brewery.

*Dogfish Head's chief, Sam Calagione, has said that you can buy a six-pack of the best beers in the world for less than $20, while buying a bottle of the best wine will cost well over $100. And Brooklyn's brewmaster, Garrett Oliver, has even written a book, "The Brewmaster's Table," about pairing food and beer and has said that beer is more versatile than wine. I agree with both of them.