My latest article for The Bulletin delves into one of the anniversary beers from Boneyard Beer—but not the IPA. Instead I take a look at Plum Saison, an unusual style for the typically hop-forward brewery.

“Saisons rock and I haven’t had much experience with them so… why not?” said owner Tony Lawrence via email. “I love wild yeast and fruit together and we have brewed many styles with both… but not a saison interpretation.”

Lawrence considered the addition of spices before settling on hops.

“I really wanted to use another component from the herb or botanical space. Lavender, dandelion, etc., but I was struggling on what or how much and what was the application technique,” he said. “My buddy Ian with (Stillwater Artisanal Ales) said, ‘Tony stop overthinking it and use hops!’ So that’s what we did. Dry hopped it at about (one pound per barrel) with Loral and a little Chinook for an herbal sub layer of flavor.”

It wouldn’t be a Boneyard brew without some hops involved, but this saison has a suitably rustic character with a subtle fruit presence. I wrote a bit about the saison style as well as posting my review thoughts, so check it out.