Dogfish Head -- Saison du Buff

One craft brewer can make some great beers.  When you get three craft brewers together, they can make some unbelievable beers.  Such is the case of the Saison du Buff, which is a collaboration between Dogfish Head, Stone and Victory Brewing.  The three brewmasters brewed a saison, but the ingredients they used are truly special because they are some of the flavors that I love to use in my cooking.  The ingredients ... parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

The beer pours like a saison, light gold in color with a good foam.  But the beer hardly tastes like a saison.  No banana or clove flavors.  It is primarily sage and rosemary, although the thyme and parsley can also be tasted.  The beer is fairly dry, which is also different than a typical saison.  The ABV is about 6.8%.

But one does not expect anything typical from breweries such as Dogfish Head, Stone or Victory.  Each brewery brewed this beer, using the same recipe.  The one I tasted is the one brewed by Dogfish Head although I also have a bottle of the one brewed by Stone.  Dogfish was the last to brew the beer, having brewed it in August of this year.  Victory brewed it in July and Stone brewed it in late April.

The beers are relatively cheap, about $3.50 for a twelve ounce bottle, but they are hard to find.  I bought the Stone version at Binny's in Chicago, Illinois and the Dogfish Head version at State Line Liquors in Elkton, Maryland.  If you can find a bottle, I strongly recommend that you buy it and try it!

ENJOY!