(Dottignies, BELGIUM) – De Ranke is set to send over a new Saison to the States.

Despite being a very reputable brewery in Belgium and a maker of some classic ales (think XX Bitter), this is my first time writing about the 15-year old brewery. Per De Ranke’s importer, The Shelton Brothers, as of late 2009, the brewery was “the only place in Belgium that makes a point of using only whole hop flowers, all the time.”

De Ranke created a beer last year to celebrate its use of hops (and its anniversary) with an especially hoppy Saison called, “Hop Flower.” The Sheltons Bros. are dubbing the new Saison de Dottignies “the daughter of Hop Flower.”

Joe Stange of Thirsty Pilgrim gives his thoughts from a tasting at this year’s Zythos Beer Festival in Belgium: “Saison de Dottignies. This is classic De Ranke — well-hopped, floral and dry — so in some ways this beer is no revelation. But it’s lighter and brighter than the XX Bitter, refreshing as a saison ought to be, and at 5.5% strength ultimately very useful. And some good news: Jean at Moeder Lambic Fontainas says it should be a permanent fixture on draft there.”

The beer arrives on U.S. soil in June. Look for it on shelves and on draught this summer.