Stone / Dogfish Head / Victory Saison du BUFF

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Saison
Escondido, California USA

Serve in Tulip

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UPDATED: AUG 12, 2011 (12oz bottle via trade with BA pastradul) clear pale yellow with a few off-white bubbles. Nose has tons of rosemary, cotton candy and other herbs. Taste is floral, perfume, rosemary, grassy, herbal, and spicy. Well carbonated finish, long herbal linger. Unique! The best of the 3 beers in this series. Stone nailed it.

12oz bottle from Sam’s, Durham. You know what would go well with this beer? Pork, baby. Splash some of this on the pig and it’ll come out succulent and sharp. In other words, the nose is straight Simon & Garfunkel, with the emphasis on the sage and rosemary. I am not opposed in principle to such additions in a saison by any stretch. But the base beer was like an unfinished version of the solid (but not spectacular) Victory brew which got, for lack of a better term, Calagioned. Again, not opposed in principle and I enjoyed this beer in stretches. But there was way too much rosemary and bitters, and the beer at times tasted like Brazil nuts to me.

a good one. complex and multi-layered. pale golden hue with a big head and some lacing. the herbs are first and most dominant in the aroma, particularly the sage, though you get a lot of phenolic quality from the yeast as well. that comes through even more on the taste -- some parsley, but mostly yeasty saison funk with some orange and even more pepper, light malty breadiness. light body, well carbed, and apleasant, dry finish where the hops come through a bit more. very refreshing. nice lingering herbal quality with notes of thyme.

Straw color with a slight haze, strong bright white head that held forever, and terrific lacing. Strong lemony herb and pepper aromas, accompanied by other citrus and cloves. Flavor matched the aroma, perhaps less intense, and included a bready chewiness. Light bodied, but plenty of carbonation to fill it out, and a crisp citrusy aftertaste.

Pours a bright straw yellow with a billowing lather of foam. The aroma is highly floral with notes of pepper and rosemary. The parsley and sage also shine through in the nose. The flavor is somewhat sweet, but by no means cloying. Du BUFF shows hints of lavendar and the palate is moderately dry.

The pour is a mostly clear, golden color with a full, white, fluffy head which is mostly diminishing and leaves minimal scattered lace. The nose is filled with the herbs, sage taking the forefront, herbal hops, some white pepper spice, and maybe just some light citrus peel. The flavor is very similar with the dry, herbal hop notes melding well with the brewing herbs, white peppery phenols still adding to the spice, faint lemon peel, more than moderate bitterness, faint acidity. The palate is dry, mildly quenching, lively, and light to medium. The finish is dry, spicy with pepper, and ultimately with herbs on the tongue. The spicy phenols seemed to be almost too much hiding the beer, as did so many different herbs. The beer was pleasant but with four herbs in the brew, it was hard to distinguish each one individually. Nice attempt but not one of favorite saisons.

Pours a murky golden hue with TONS of fluffy foam and a visibly fizzy character, with bubbles upon bubbles running up the sides of the glass. Aroma of Rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage are immediately notable upon the pour. It’s odd, but far from unpleasant. Taste is light and pleasantly of malt, and then the herbs kick in and it’s like drinking an rum-free mojito. Pretty cool, and definitely a unique beer to be appreciated and remembered. Palate is lasting and just complex enough to keep me interested between sips.

12 oz bottle. Pours slightly on the pale side of gold with a large white head. Aroma has a very interesting herbal aroma that I can’t quite place; checking the description it makes sense as rosemary and parsley. The aroma also includes some citrus zest, a bit of yeasty aroma, and pepper. Flavor is also rather herbal and mildly peppery, again with lots of lemon zest leading into malty biscuit with some yeasty elements. If you’re going to add herbs and spices to a saison, this is how to do it.

12 oz bottle. For starters, this bottle poured out one beautiful beer. The rich, creamy, cloud-like, milky white head was retained exquisitely, leaving a frothy lacing down the sides. The body of the beer was big and bright, though completely opaque, and gold in color. With that said, the actual beer wasn’t too bad either. Not so unexpectedly, the aroma was like opening a spice cabinet with a Belgian golden ale sitting in it as well. Notes of mixed spices, obviously, and bread, light cashew nuts, butter, and herbal hop. The spices thankfully do not overpower the palate though as they blend nicely to make for a well balanced, flavorful beer. Aside from the minor kick the spices give to it, this is has nice creamy texture overall. The parsley is readily apparent to me, and though the others are not, it is obvious that there are several unique spices added here. Also, bread, herbal grass, light earth, a mellow nuttiness, and some mixed fruits, peaches, and cherries as well in the mostly herbal spiced finish. Even with the quality of brewers involved, I wasn’t really expecting too much here, but in the end, I was really impressed. This was a great beer.

Bottle that John shared. Pours a hazy yellow gold with a thin white head. Lemon and citrus, rosemary. Nice lemony notes, crisp musk. Medium bodied and smooth, light sweetness to it. More lemony sweet flavors on the finish. Surprisingly well done.