In the lore of saison two grains loom large: spelt, and buckwheat. But buckwheat is actually a seed, a pseudocereal, and is more closely related to rhubarb than barley or wheat.

I've brewed with buckwheat intermittently at Floodland, if you remember the initial Viognier beer it was all buckwheat grown in the Skagit Valley, but that farm stopped growing it shortly thereafter and it took me a few seasons to get any from Chimacum. We took raw buckwheat from them for two seasons and brewed with it a few times trying to coax out a compelling character and trying to figure out what the beer would be. Unfortunately we weren't able to get any buckwheat or spelt from them last year, so this beer stands as probably a one-time only release.

This beer was blended from two batches, one brewed with buckwheat and barley and aged in a puncheon for 18 months. The other was also brewed with spelt from the same farm and aged in a neutral oak barrel for a year. The beer was built to age for a bit longer, but I felt that it was time to transition to aging in the bottle to let the culture develop without oxygen and oak. It's very hoppy now with a little funk and a very Floodland-y profile, I think it's reminiscent of the Chimacum Valley bottling we did previously, although a bit punchier.

Bottling date: 02/06/2025
ABV: 5.68% ABV
Conditioned with: Organic sugar.
Cellar: Should continue to develop and improve with age for the next 12 months, at which point I expect it will plateau and drink very nicely for another year or so. Best by 2028?