Written by I’m not sure why I grabbed this bottle of Helios Ale from Victory Brewing Company, for The Brew Club here, but I think it had something to do with the happy, summery label! Bright colors, a smiling sunshine. What’s not to like about the looks?
Well, we all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the label is often the best way for a craft beer to be noticed on a full shelf of great alternatives. The fact that Helios is made by Victory Brewing Company and is also a Belgian-style Farmhouse Ale didn’t hurt either.
Never had a farmhouse-style ale actually, so who better than Victory to take my innocence?
What’s a Farmhouse Ale you ask? Well, from what I can tell a Farmhouse Ale is just another term for Saison ales. In fact, Helios used to be called V-Saison and had a fancy cork top. A Saison, in a nutshell is a strong European beer that was brewed over the winter months with the intention of being enjoyed over the summer. Well-known examples are Ommegang Hennepin and Saison DuPont – both of which are on my beer shelf.
So now you may ask, ‘ok, what the hell is a Saison then?” Well, that’s a good question. In addition to the seasonal nature of the beer as referred to above, a saison, which actually means ‘season’ in French, is thought to have been brewed as a refreshing drink, and possibly as compensation for workers of the farms that brewed the stuff. From what I can tell, Saisons of the time were of a lower ABV than than Helios is. Victory’s Helios checks in at 7.5% ABV.
So, I’m pretty sure Siason = Farmhouse Ale. One term refers to the season (Summer Ale), the other where it was made or consumed.
Victory’s Helios is a cloudy orange-gold color. Its bottle fermented, so that’s to be expected. The head was quite foamy and I had to be careful keeping it within the rim of my glass! Goood carbonation! It was like that expanding insulating foam that just kept growing! The head also took its sweet time to dissapate, but that’s cool because it gave the beer some time to warm up and breathe.
Victory Helios is made with a ‘dynamic imported Belgian yeast’, imported German malts and some kind(s) of imported European hops. So, as far as this beer’s DNA – its all European. The smell reminded me a bit of a Hefeweizen. I picked up some spice, and certainly some banana, but there was something different that was a bit had to put a finger on. It was sweet too, like some of the Belgian ales can be.
The taste was pretty cool! Again, it reminded me of some Hefes I’ve tried, but it also had that Belgian Ale feel to it. It had a bit of a peppery bite, and flavors of clove and banana were there too. I think there was a bit of a citrus flavor as well, lemon or orange perhaps (what else is there – grapefruit?) overall it was quite nice and refreshing and I could see the farmhands of lore being satisfied with this brew. I did find that this beer got better (as most do) as I let it warm up – the banana, citrus and peppery flavors really came out which was nice.
Mouthfeel was decent, and it left a little bit of that sticky sweetness that some Belgian ales seem to leave – but it wasn’t heavy at all.
For my first Farmhouse Ale, I’m going to say it was almost like a bolder Hefeweizen in flavor with a bit more kick, but just as refreshing. Hefes are wheat beers, I don’t think Farmhouse ales are, but there are some flavor similarities.
Not having mush of a frame of reference to compare this beer to other Farmhouse Ales (yet) I simply have to rat it on the happiness it caused me which was substantial! I enjoyed this brew and from that standpoint alone I’m going to give this beer a 3.5 star rating.
Rating: 
If you’re into this style of beer, go check it out and let us know what you think. Also, if you can recommend your favorite Farmhouse ale for me to expand my sampling – I’d appreciate it.
Cheers!
Sounds really interesting. For the most part the Belgian Wheat beers tend to be too ‘in your face’ for me, I tend to prefer the German approach to the style, or even Grolsch’s offering.
And yes, while Wheat Beers tend to be served chilled, I enjoy the way the flavours develop as the beer warms up a bit.
I’ll look out for it at my (newly found) beer shop, but I confess there’s something perverse about buying a beer from the US that’s been brewed using ingredients imported from Belgium – which is only a hundred or so miles away!
I’ve been really liking wheat beers recently. Mostly Troegs Dreamweaver and Kapuziner hefeweizen. I definitely will give this a try. B&W brother Don was talking about Helios not too long and I just haven’t gotten a chance to try it yet. Thanks for the great review and the reminder!
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Biryani with Shrimp =-.
@Bob, it does seem odd, doesn’t it? I think its a good thing and while I don’t have too many of this style under my belt, I think its a good, refreshing beer on its own merit. BTW, Happy Birthday!
@Rachel – I’ve got to try the Dreamweaver (I’ve go to try a lot of beers!). Did B&WB do a review of Helios? I don’t recall. hopefully Don will stop in and link to it for me, I’m curious what he thought.
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Avery Hog Heaven-Barleywine Style Ale =-.
Hey Scott, nice review! I actually just drank that beer the other day, we’re doing a whole series on Saisons for the summer. We have Saison Dupont, Fantome Saison and Jack D’Or American Saison on the site right now. Still have Victory Helios, Saint Somewhere Saison Athene, Great Divide Colette and some more to post up. If you want to get a feel for the style, check it out (not trying to spam, thought you might find the reviews interesting; they’re at http://drinkcraftbeer.com)
But, in my opinion, if you want to know what a modern Saison should taste like, just try Saison Dupont.
Saisons were actually much drier and drank by farmhands as they worked on the farm for the most part. They were meant to be thirst quenching and low alcohol as they were drank throughout the day. Each farmer’s “Saison” was different, though, as it was pretty much made from whatever he had on hand. It’s a really cool and diverse style. Great for summer.
Usually a traditional Saison will have a different yeast profile from from the brasher German Hefeweizens, so if you think Hefes are too yeasty try this instead.
I don’t remember if he did a review of it. He suggested it in the comments as a go-with to my Italian Pulled Pork recipe/post. Here’s the link: http://www.locodiner.com/2010/04/matts-italian-pulled-pork.html#comments
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Biryani with Shrimp =-.
@Jeff from Drink Craft Beer – Thanks again! I always appreciate your comments so feel free to link @ any time! You always add something to the conversation and I’m sure others appreciate it too. I’ll definitely check out the reviews!
@Rachel – thanks for the link. I bet that would go well with Italian pulled pork quite well!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Rogue Brewery Dead Guy Ale =-.
I thought I heard my name being bantied about the site! I have had exactly one drink of my Brother’s Helios. O, wait I had another one too but it was a taster only 6 oz. But it was wonderful. Very full flavored and relaxing. I think they bump up the ABV because the market demands it. I have had a few Farmhouse ales and I love the style. I had the Avery 15, which has been replaced by the Avery 16 for this year, I had the Souther Tier Cherry Saison…You remember Scott…She’s my Cherry Pie! Then i know I had one other but I can’t remember it. It is a great style, and I really do appreciate it for summer. I have a Hennepin waiting at home. Maybe tonight. We’ll see, I got a lot to go through.
.-= Don´s last blog ..Oskar Blues Gubna: Don’t Meass with Texeas =-.
Aaah, makes sense. I’m liking the style too and I also have a Hennepin to get through. We should compare notes. Also, I can’t believe you brought up that song! Aaaaaaaaah!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Stone Pale Ale =-.
@Don – Avery 15 is not a Saison. Avery may have described it as a “farmhouse ale” but it’s a beer fermented fully with brettanomyces, making it more of a wild ale than a Saison. When they say “farmouse ale” they just mean inspired by rustic Belgian brewing. Southern Tier Cherry Saison is not really indicative of the style either… it’s quite sweet and doesn’t quite have the yeast profile that would show a Saison yeast.
That said, I totally agree that Helios and Avery 16 are delicious!
Hey Scott, I’m drinking this right now so I thought I’d drop it. I really like it. I definitely get that grapefruit taste you mentioned, and I actually like it which is strange because I hate grapefruit. This is a very well made Saison, but for the best I gotta go with the classic Saison Dupont.
.-= Billy Broas´s last blog ..Swamp Cooler Homebrew Experiment =-.
I only hear good thing about the Saison Dupont, Billy. Its on my on-deck circle and I’m really looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Westmalle Double and Triple Belgian Ales =-.