Dogfish Head-Victory-Stone Saison Du Buff Ale

I'm not sure I could pick three better craft breweries to combine efforts to make a beer. However, I don't know what to make of the resulting ale. It says that it's "brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary & tyme." It was they who used all of these spices and no Oxford comma. Attention to detail, then, might not be at the fore.

The very light gold (verging on yellow) beer has big bubbles (with some teeny tiny ones hovering around it) that leave more than enough lacing for this... ale? I mean, it's not a pale ale, IPA, APA, DIPA, or anything like that. It just says it's an ale. The aroma is all kinds of spices and flowers, and that isn't surprising considering what they printed on the label.

First sip is an odd one. I'm definitely tasting the various spices, a bit of sourness, and some flowers. I can't say this is hitting me over the head with awesomeness. In fact, were I out and about and only having a few, I would definitely not get another one of these based on the sip. But, maybe there lurks a hidden depth under all of the... uniqueness?

Tip-in is all spices and carbonation bite. The middle gets some very nice grains, and the spices recede a bit (but not quite enough). The finish is a sharp hit of floral hops, sourness, and a definite sense that whoever made this didn't like me.

Bottom Line: Proof that even a committee of geniuses can put out something worse than any of them can do alone.

0.75/5