The Matchmaker
Specializing in modern farmhouse ales, Transient Artisan Ales’ Founder and Brewmaster Chris Betts uses simple recipes and barrel fermentation to create beers that are works of art.
brewing and blending some truly sublime creations, Chris Betts, brewmaster and founder of Transient Artisan Ales in Bridgman, Michigan, has garnered the attention of craft-beer lovers everywhere. His operation—which at first operated with the help of two other breweries in a gypsy-brewing format but now has its own digs to call home—created beers so exclusive and coveted that he had to start a reserve subscription membership in addition to his bottle release parties. We at Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® have reviewed quite a few of the beers, and— spoiler alert—they are remarkable.
The beers themselves are works of art, with styles ranging from stout to porter, to saison and wheat ale, to pale ales and IPA. Several of them were brought to life using wild fermentation, and many were further conditioned in barrels with fruits. Betts uses local ingredients as much as possible, but when he can’t, he sources them from trusted producers.
Betts shared with us his recipe for his wild saison, Obelus, and discussed some of the many facets of the recipe that make it so unique. Inspired by the Belgian greats, this saison’s flavors are derived mostly from the yeast. “We use very simple recipes, and that’s our approach. We get the flavor from the yeast and not so much [from] the malt and hops,” he explains. “There’s lots of big fruit character in our saison yeast, with some Brett to add a little bit of funk, but for the most part, the yeast flavors include tropical-fruit notes, pineapple, and passion fruit.”
Obelus is a versatile saison, and Transient has created multiple iterations of it using variations of hops, yeast, Brett, fruit, and barrels. “We’ve made several versions—the point behind the beer is to adjust the process based on the hops we’re using. One had lemony hops, so we blended it with sour beer to help bring that character out. Another had orange and citrus hops (Motueka), and for that