This style is typical for the country side of Hainaut, a Province of Belgium and a Departement of France. It is a rural area with large grain farms, and these farms all used to brew. A lot of beer was needed for the many farm workers. The original style of Saison is a blend of 2 or 3 beers, with one of them being an old slightly sour beer. This extra touch of sourness gave it its thirst quenching nature for the farm workers in the summer. That was the only season (harvest) it used to be brewed. The quality image of this beer style used to be very bad.

The farmer was making room in his vessels by dumping old sour beer, and the drinkers were the poorest of all workers. They were people wandering from season to season, from crop to crop, to work.