Saison Du BUFF
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

Drank 4/13/14 @ the Yarchives.

Murky yellow color.

Fluffy white head; nice lace.

Banana & cinnamon nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Clove, banana & black pepper flavor; a strong cinnamon smack on the lips.

Pleasant, with a nice kick.

Poured into a tulip, this one sat about a hazy burnt golden color with a thin finger’s worth of white foamy head that dissipated at a nice pace. Moderate lace. Clingy speckled lace. The aroma had some lemon peel, sly breadiness, piney hops. Oregano/herbal sweetness. White pepper settles in for the balance. The flavor leans to the bready sweetness initially, but the herbal arrangements enter in nicely semi-sweet with a delving bready sweet aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium in body with a fair sessionability about it. Low carbonation leading into a sweet stickiness flowing over my tongue. Overall, pretty good saison that I would have again.

 

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle into a chalice. marked as best by 11/11/15, so i'm about 9 months late on this one. Oh well.

Faintly hazy yellow amber body. head was a thin ring with a faint covering, but comes back with a little agitating. Still not much in the way of lacing though.

faint yeasty aroma and some spices coming through.

Lemon, Thyme, Rosemary, and sage coming through. No parsley, but the other spices have held up well. puts me in mind of one of the Sierra Nevada Ovila spiced beers. There is a faint alcohol burn at the end as well.

Medium on the mouth, faint;y bitter on the finish.

Overall, nice spiced saison, even with the age on it.

 

L: Golden-straw yellow, very mild turbidity. Head originally pours about a finger, off white, leaves some lace
S: Predominantly smells of lemongrass, has hints of other spices as well (parsley is definately apparent), despite having thyme it almost smells like fresh oregano. No malts really.
T: Up front, slight sweetness, followed quickly by the added herbs. Lemon and a dryness from the herbs in the finish. Not much in the way of traditional saison qualities I expect, however this is quite tasty.
F: Typical of Victory, super nice, smooth and easy drinking beer.
O: Despite deviating noticably from the style and being rather weak in the malt department, this is a stellar summer beer. Definately not a traditional saison, not funky, its a solid rendition.

 

 

from a bottle to a beer tulip, bottled on 2/18/16
look; golden with an orange hue. lots of bubbles. 1/4" head with 2 minutes retention, leaves a film. thin soapy lacing
smell; spicy, lemon, sage, rosemary, coriander, tangerine, yeast notes
taste; all those spices, tune down the fruit and add passion fruit, kiwi to the mix, finishes yeasty and bitter, then finishes again a little with malt and honey
feel; crisp, almost sharp at first, carbonation is present but not intrusive, finishes smooth
overall; a nice, spicy well balanced saison

12 oz. bottle, 2015 vintage, no bottled on date. Acquired a single bottle of this stuff from the local bottle shop; aged a year.

Poured into a Duvel tulip snifter.

A - A cloudy golden lemon pour, some sediment haze, just under a finger of frothy white head that falls to a ring. Minor spotty soapy lacing that doesn't really cling. Appears well carbonated still. It looks good.

S - The spices are apparent on the initial whiff, which is to say they might be more pronounced that the current Stone version of the beer i tried recently. Notes of herbal lemon thyme / rosemary / basil. Notes of clove and saison yeast.

T - Taste is dry, herbal, bready. Spices are apparent, but they mostly meld with the saison yeast base. Notes of lemon / citrus / lemongrass.

M - Feel is smooth, crisp, clean. Bready & dry finish, full of spicy herbal notes. Citric lemon & lemongrass. Medium-light bodied and very easy drinking stuff.

Overall, it held up rather well, i think i might have enjoyed it more than the current Stone version of the beer. Not the most interesting stuff, but it did hold up nicely. Not something i would age too long, but it was nice to find past vintages of this sitting on the shelf.

Victory Saison Du BUFF (2015) -----3.5/5