Plum Runner
The Bruery

Review: 2379
Name: Plum Runner
Brewery: Dogfish Head
Location: Placentia, CA
Style: Oak Saison
ABV: 6.6%
Canned: 2022
Date: 26 April 2025
It is a different beer from The Bruery; I am glad this is something different instead of being a massive stout or barley wine. I am serving the beer at 46 degrees in a tulip glass. The pour created a frothy, airy, foamy, one-fingered white with excellent retention. The slow dissipation left bits of lacing on the glass. The color is golden yellow with a light amber hue, transparent, and charts at 10. This beer's appearance is above average; I loved seeing a steady, rocky white head with excellent retention.
Nosing the glass, I smell wood, plums, floral, light funkiness, crackers, light toasted bread crust, acidic acid, fruity sweetness, and light earthiness.
Sipping beer reveals the depth the plums and lavender add to this saison. The plums are slightly tart yet have some fruity sweetness. The lavender is not overpowering but lends a flowery note to the base of the beer. The base beer has oak, crackers, a lightly toasted bread crust, a touch of acidic acid, light funkiness, some earthiness, and a malty sweetness.
The mouthfeel is tart, finishing crisp and dry. The body is light and has high carbonation.
Plum Runner is something the Terreux arm of The Bruery would put out. The saison is well made, and adding the adjunct gave the beer depth and complexity. It is a refreshing beer to sip on a warm spring night in Idaho.

creative and delicious, and so cool to have the idaho bruery location moving into more saison types and funky stuff rather than just enormous stouts and barleywine styles that have dominated their list since the opening, much better mix this most recent time in, and this was one of the highlights. slightly cloudy and slightly pink stained from the plum, but less colored than anticipated with the plums, fizzy and holding a short patchy white head, just a bit of viscosity to it, not real delicate looking. the nose is cool, the lavender is obvious immediately, but right before it becomes too much the rest of the beer kicks in, wood aged funk, light lemony tartness, some cereal grain character, and a plum profile that reads very vinous to me, subtle blackberry and currant too, clean acidity but also some nice saison type funkiness, a good mix of fermentation personalities, relatively complex, certainly unique. the flavor is similar, mature and woody throughout, lavender first and last but its not too much, the plums are tart and tangy, i get the flesh and the skins both and have no doubt real fruit was used in this, unique with the floral aspect all woven through, more sour than sweet, some nice grain support on this, wheaty maybe, fuller feeling for the style, smoothed out all over by the time in oak, and overall this is lovely, layered, and satisfying. an uncommon mix of ingredients with the plum and the lavender together, but it is definitely successful. real enjoyable brew.

 

2022 - 750 cc bottle
Burnt orange with a one finger white head that dissipates. Nose is full of lavender, slight pepper and bread. Taste follows the nose with lots of lavender, just at the cusp of too much, followed by some lemon, and hint of plum with a moderate amount of acid. Body is light to medium with similar carbonation. Ends long with a drying lavender perfume. Overall, I feel like I’m missing plum, but getting lots of lavender that somehow isn’t dominating. Not quite worth the price imo but still good, and pairs really well with graham crackers

750 ml bottle, 2022 edition, couldn't find a bottling date on it. Served in a Bruery tulip, the beer pours a hazy dark gold/orange color with about an inch and a half off-white head that stuck around a little while. There's also a good amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like plum, lavender, and peppery spice. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some funk, bready malt and citrusy flavors noticeable too. I think the plum and lavender stands out but without overpowering the other elements of the brew. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit creamy and has a moderate amount of soft carbonation. Easy enough to drink. Overall I liked this brew, definitely worth trying especially if you like plums and/or lavender!