This is an especially meaningful year for Baird Brewing. It was ten years
ago in 1997 that Sayuri and I embarked on the endeavor to create a
first-class craft brewing company in Japan. We were thirty years old and
brimming with passion and ambition. After finishing brewing school in the
U.S. and traveling up and down the pacific northwest visiting and studying craft breweries and brewery-pubs, we returned to Japan and settled in Numazu where we began planning the establishment of Baird Brewing. Eventually, we launched our business in 2000.

Thursday, May 10 is the 40th birthday of the matron saint of Baird Beer and The Taproom -- Sayuri Baird. As you all know, whereas I am the angry boy, Sayuri is the calmly serene girl. Her elegance is earthy, her common touch classy. She is a wonderful business partner, friend, wife and mother. There would be no Baird Beer or Taproom without her. Fitting, then, that on May 10 the brewers of Baird Beer release a seasonal brew whose inspiration is Sayuri: Saison Sayuri.

-Saison Sayuri (ABV: 5.5%): Saison means "season" and this family of beers is thought to have originated in Wallonia in southern Belgium. Saisons were brewed in the winter at farmhouse breweries for the summer consumption by thirsty farmhands. While there is no exact flavor profile or processing technique that define Saison stylistically, common traits exist (e.g. relatively pale in color, moderate in alcohol, refreshing in a dry or sour type of way, etc.). Often spices and ingredients uncommon to beer but otherwise readily available on the farm are incorporated. Saisons are thus typically Belgian in their funkiness and individuality.

Saison Sayuri is like its namesake -- a fascinating admixture of down-to-earth simplicity and understated complexity. Brewed entirely with pale base malts and Japanese candy sugar (except for a hint of roasted barely for color contribution), Saison Sayuri is relatively light in body and sprite in flavor. The nose is an immensely complex amalgam of aromas --
bubble gum-like phenolics from the Belgian yeast, floral and fruity notes
from dry hopping, and a subtle hint of citrus and spice from the addition
of Japanese daidai peels (daidai is a very sour type of Japanese orange). A splash of sour daidai juice also was added to the wort which manifests itself in a stealthily citric-sour finish.

In addition to Saison Sayuri, we are debuting one other unique seasonal
brew -- Rustic Grace Daidai Dark Ale.

-Rustic Grace Daidai Dark Ale (ABV: 4.6%): This wonderful fruit ales' dark color (hazy russet) belies its light touch and unvarnished elegance. Small additions of highly roasted caramel and chocolate malts joined together with a complex mixture of base malt (Marris Otter, Canadian Wheat and German Munich) lay a rich but not overpowering platform of flavor. Upon this foundation, the freshly squeezed sour juice and outer peels of the daidai fruit perform acts of magic. Spicy and tart citric notes play the underlying malt sweetness like a maestro. The result is a sublime interplay of gracefulness and rusticity.

Both of these seasonal beers will be poured from the Fishmarket Taproom taps beginning Thursday, May 10. Please visit and salute the birthday girl over a pint or two of some of Baird Beer's finest! Each of these brews also will be available through select Baird Beer retailers in Japan.

Cheers!

Bryan Baird.