#saison du buff

[the-beer-gypsy]

Stone Brewing + Victory + DogFish Head Craft Brewery - Saison du BUFF

[thehastfiles]

Saison du BUFF brewed by Victory Brewing Company which has 3.7 out of 5, with 2757 ratings and reviews on Untappd.

[thehastfiles]

Dogfish Head/Victory/Stone Saison du BUFF brewed by Stone Brewing Co. which has 3.8 out of 5, with 4027 ratings and reviews on Untappd.

[beerinmybelly]

Saison du Buff (Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, In Collaboration with: Stone Brewing Company, Victory Brewing Company)

Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale

6.8% ABV

Brewing Note:  Brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

First things first, this is a really cool collaboration brew.  Unlike traditional collaborations, this beer was designed by the three breweries and then each brewer went and brewed it at their own respected brewery.   What this means is that there are three different versions of this beer, each with their brewery’s own personal spin on the recipe, which is an awesome way to exemplify the individuality of the brewing world, and how hard it is to brew the same beer twice.  This collaboration is a nice testament to the craft beer world from some of the ‘older’ titans of the industry.

The bottle is nice. I love the dark green with light green spatters around the symbols.  The Dogfish Head logo is classic and large but nicely rustic (as always) the beer title’s font choice mixes well with the Dogfish Head logo, but the other two beer company logos are a little out of place on this bottle label.  The shish kabob triangle of brewery names is also redundant and awkward.  The bottom of the bottle seems a little crowded with text, and overall the label is just a meh for me.  You can save the label for scrapbooking, but the bottle is not worthy of the shelf.

The beer pours a hazy yellow-orange-gold with a light soap bubble head that dissipates quickly and leaves little clouds of lacing on the sides.  This is another dehydrated piss-looking beer, and it has some lovely carbonation seen through its murky interior.  The beer smells richly biscuity with some lovely subtle spice notes which must surely be parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  The spices give the nose a slightly minty cool feel, and there is some wet citrus floating at the edges of the smell, which suggest oranges and lemon.  The beer tastes surprisingly bananay with the esters, and biscuity with strong citrus undertones.  The spice is much softer in the taste, leaving a hint of mint in the aftertaste mixing with the bread and banana esters to suggest a wheat malt backing.  Mouthfeel is superbly clean and refreshing, making this an excellent summer beer.  The mouth is only barely kissed with saliva after the beer passes, and is ringing with a slight spicy burn that helps to beg for more beer.  Carbonation is bubbly and frothy in the mouth which helps the flavoring feel fresh in quick and the mouth, and probably washes away some of the more brutal bite from the spices.  This beer reminds me more of a spicy wit than a saison but that isn’t a bad thing.  Overall it is a fantastic summer sipper and a lovely collaboration by Dogfish Head, Stone, and Victory.  If I can find the other two I will definitely try them, but I’d say Dogfish Head has done this beer well to their company’s name.  It is a quirky saison that is more of a wit and definitely worth a sip.  

  3.95/5

[allthesamesong]

Beer Review 0123: Dogfish Head Saison du Buff

A few collaboration beers have been reviewed on this website, most recently the tasty More Brown Than Black IPA, and this beer is a collaborative effort between three well-known breweries.

Using the same ingredients, Dogfish Head (Milton, Delaware), Victory Brewing Company (Downington, Pennsylvania), and Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, California) all try their hand at brewing a Saison, or a Belgian-style farmhouse ale. This particular beer is brewed using parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

The idea for the collaboration came in 2003 when executives from each of these three companies came together and formed an alliance called BUFF (Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor). The organization didn’t really do anything of note for several years until a meeting came about in 2010, where this beer was brewed at Stone. The recipe was then replicated at Dogfish and Victory.

All three breweries decided 2012 would be the year to try it again. First up, we have the Dogfish Head version. This beer comes in at 6.8% ABV (alcohol by volume) and has a limited availability -- so if you find it, you might want to go ahead and pick it up instead of waiting. Besides, the Victory version of the beer is slated for release in April, and the Stone issue should hit shelves in late May. Each version has different labeling, of course.

Dogfish’s Saison du Buff poured an average size head, frothy and long lasting. The beer was a golden yellow color, more yellow than gold, and was completely clear, free of all particles and sediment. As I drank, there were just a few bits of lace that stuck to the glass.

Most of your typical beer aromas from hops and malts were covered by the herbs used in the brewing of this beverage. On the herbal side, I got mostly sage and rosemary, but I did detect each herb used, if only faintly. As far as regular beer scents, there was some graininess on the backend, creating a pleasant and quite unique aroma for a beer; something that smelled alive and very much like a greenhouse.

On the palate, this starts with a strange combination of bouncing between bitter and sweet, before developing a grainy taste that sprouts the herbs; again, mostly sage and rosemary, but the parsley and thyme are there, too. The finish is slightly bitter and rides the herbal notes, eventually creating a softness of flavor in the mouth and a drying effect. There’s also a bit of Belgian yeast funk, especially at the very end of the finish. The texture of the beer is thin and slick, while the carbonation was average despite a bevy of bubbles that streamed to the top of the surface after pouring.

I could see one food pairing for this beer that is very obvious: pizza. I bet this would be incredible with a good pie. I thought this to be an interesting beer but I don’t know how many I could (or want) to drink. I encourage you to try this, as it is quite different from the norm, which Dogfish are incredibly talented at.

Dogfish Head Saison du Buff, 84 points. Price: $2.49 for one twelve ounce bottle.