(Escondido, CA) – Stone Brewing posted up some information today on the release of Saison du BUFF, a collaboration with Dogfish Head and Victory Brewing.

Back in 2003, three intrepid craft brewers formed Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor, or BUFF, to bring publicity to their crusade for artfully crafted, flavorful beers. To further the cause, Sam Calagione, Bill Covaleski, and Greg Koch got together in 2010 to brew an audacious collaboration beer enhanced with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Emboldened by the beer’s enthusiastic reception, the BUFF team reconvened in 2012 to brew an updated version with lemon thyme from Stone Farms. And the rest is history… more info.

Vital Statistics:

Abv 7.7%
IBU: 52
Malts: Pale 2-Row, Pilsner Malt, Wheat Malt, Flaked Rye
Additions: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Lemon Thyme
Hops: Centennial & Citra
Availability: Limited 12oz bottles & draft, beginning June 18th
Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, NC, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, VT, WA

Appearance: This beer pours a beautiful pale gold with a white head of foam.

Aroma: Pronounced herbal characters, a wonderful blend of sage, lemon thyme, rosemary. It has some very pleasant citrusy notes, perhaps from the lemon thyme and the Citra dry-hop. And the Belgian yeast strain contributes low level banana esters and a hint of clove.

Taste: The taste starts with the herbal blend in the forefront, and then is backed by a clean malt balance and a very nice citrus and tropical fruit influenced finish. The finish has a substantial, but balanced hop bitterness and hop flavor. It is a very dry beer, and has a nice refreshing quality that makes it wonderful for this time of year.

Overall: This is the second time that Greg, Sam, and Bill have brewed this beer here at Stone Brewing Co., and this time we were able to get all the herbs from Stone Farms! How cool is it to brew with ingredients from your own farm?