BUFF brings back herbaceous ale, Dogfish releases Alternate Take #4

The herbaceously outrageous 6.8 percent ABV Saison du BUFF, a pleasantly light, yet spicy ale, began its noble quest to shelves nationwide Feb. 21. Brewed with heaps of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and oodles of valor, this three-way collaboration saison is available in 4-pack bottles and draft. "We have timed Saison du BUFF to hit the shelves just as spring is in first blush as the hops and herbs come together to taste and smell like Mother Nature coming out of hibernation," says Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head founder and CEO.

The brilliant saison is the brainchild of BUFF, Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor, a brave trinity of brewers made up of Calagione of Dogfish, Bill Covaleski  of Victory Brewing Co. and Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Co., who came together on a crusade to combat the mass industrialization and commercialization of the beer industry and united to wave the righteous flag for thoughtfully crafted, delicious beers. The breweries aligned in 2003 to jointly concoct the Saison du BUFF recipe and pledged to take turns brewing an annual batch in rotating years at each brewery, relying on serendipity and nuance to give the different versions their own flavor profile, while holding true to the passion and camaraderie of both the American craft beer movement and the delicious Saison du BUFF.

Alternate Takes #4, a funky farmhouse ale bursting with notes of juicy apricot, earthy sourness and balanced hints of vanilla and oak headed to the draft-only playground Feb. 21. Clocking in at 7.8 percent ABV, this aged, off-centered ale begins its life in French-oak wine barrels where it is fermented with brettanomyces for seven months, blended with apricots and then re-fermented with Belgian Saison yeast, resulting in a brett funk flavor and a dry, tart finish.

In the analog age of music, artists recorded take after take, experimenting with new sounds until the perfect, ideal record emerged from an exploration of goodness. The Alternate Takes series at Dogfish Head offers a peek into its innovative and creative research and development process, where no craft beer idea is out of bounds, and each take celebrates a single, off-centered step forward. To find and enjoy Saison du BUFF, Alternate Takes #4 and other off-centered Dogfish Head brews in any area, go to www.dogfish.com/brewery/fishfinder.