Dogwood Saison
Devils Backbone Brewing Company

heck of a year for this little saison, world beer cup gold and gabf bronze, thats doing pretty well for an american brewery in this style, and while the beer is good, it didnt wow me, i like a little more to the ferment in my saisons, call me old school, but this is just a bit too generic and clean, even as a clean saison, if that makes sense, no denying its well executed of course, not saying it isnt worthy, just that for me personally, its a little mild and safe. this is blonde and sunny, pretty clear as saison goes, and appropriately high white headed, looks almost delicate, minimal, well carbonated for sure. the nose is estery and belgian, clean to me, maybe subtly french saison yeasty with that characteristic white wine fruitiness, but i get red and green apple and cider too, green gooseberry sort of lush and just a bit astringent at the same time, could be pils malt and pale wheat together, but easy and generic on the grain side too, nothing farmy about it, doesnt seem like raw wheat or spelt or anything, and im struggling to find points of interest, a little splashy lemony citrus to the yeast, dry and very slightly piquant to me, fresh and appealing, and not totally generic belgian as a lot of these can be, but its in that range yeast-wise, maybe done a little cooler to keep some of the phenolic character in check. all of this is the case with the flavor too, well integrated and kind of mellow as these go, light bodied and bubbly, all combine to make it very drinkable, green table grapes, underripe banana, slight grain huskiness, faintly peppery maybe some hops too, notes of dandelion and even milk thistle or something late, but simple and clean as they go, understated which is to its credit, and refreshing, but like, there is so much better saison in the united states and world, we can surely agree on that no? maybe those makers are not submitting for medals, maybe the judges are seeking standard profiles rather than elements of distinction, but this is not rustic or farmhouse to me, not even quite indicative of the style at its best, its very good belgian blonde or belgian single with just a little saison type spiciness and fruitiness in the ferment, and its of great quality, not saying it isnt, but there is more out there in the saison world than this, a lot more...