541. Saison du Buff Trifecta

So I salted away bottle of each of these when they first came out, and then proceeded to forget about them. Well, until now. My initial realization came from the “Enjoy By” date on the Victory bottle: January 16, 2011. Don’t tell me when to open my beer! While we’ve previously sampled the Stone version, we haven't had a chance to sample all three at once in order to compare them. The approximate brew dates were: Stone in April 2010, Victory in July 2010, and Dogfish Head in August 2010. All three breweries put out new version earlier in 2012; I saw the new version from Stone, and I heard that both Dogfish Head and Victory brought one out as well, but these three are from the first go around. Aged, might I add, to perfection. All three pour a soft gold; the white pillow-y head runs from voluminous for the Dogfish Head version to minimal for the Victory version.

Dogfish Head: this version has the best nose and overall delicate aroma—slight mineral and herbal character that dances in harmony with the malt and yeast components. There is a clean citrus character, and a soft honeyed sweetness that plays well with the perfume-y aromatics of the herbs and yeast. The body is fuller than other two versions; the malt is sweet and slightly doughy, and the herbal flavors carry across the profile. The dry, sharp carbonation helps clean the beer, making the body appear drier than it is. However Dogfish Head handled the herbs should be the new model—it has the cleanest and brightest flavors of the three, and is still delicately nuanced after two years in the basement. It is Fortney’s favorite of the three.

Stone: the nose has similar characteristics to the Dogfish Head, but they are more muted and flat, and are accompanied by a musty earthiness. There is also a touch of vegetal, although it dissipates as the beer opens. Fortney calls it a “rancid chamomile,” which sounds harsh, but it is appropriate. Flavor-wise, the only real brightness is a soapy character on the palate mixed with vegetal and herbal flavors. There is a touch of cardboard across the profile, and the finishing bitterness doesn’t quite fit with the beer. It is dry and minerally, drier than the Dogfish Head, but the flavors don’t work as well. This would be a good beer by itself, but in comparison to the two other versions, it is the clear loser on table.

Victory: this version is the most classically saison-like of the three. The nose is earthy and dry with softer herbal characteristics, but has more Belgian yeast character in the nose—there are both floral and fruity aromatics with a soft hint of malt sweetness. There is some tannic bite in the body that strikes both of us as mineral and herbal residue, but it works well in the beer. This is also the driest and most attenuated version of the beer, and has both the least herbal presence and the most Belgian yeast character of the three. The carbonation is lighter than other version, but the mineral bitterness serves to clean the palate and close the beer nicely. This version is, not surprisingly, my favorite. It carries the subtle herbal flavors of the Dogfish Head, but is the strongest saison of the three.

A delightful experience in all; too bad there aren’t more bottles to try later. We all thought the aging improved the beers; flavors were married well, allowing subtlety to shine through.

ABV: 6.8%

Herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage, and parsley

(11/17/2012)

476. Dogfish Head Hellhound on My Ale

It’s been a while since we’ve punched that Dogfish Head ticket. After all the yeast schenanigans and beer dumping on Brewmasters, it is good to see something end up in the bottle again. We can, however, add this one to a long list of tasty and interesting beers, including Raison d’Extra, Dogfish Head/Victory/Stone Saison du Buff collabo, Immort Ale 2009, Chicory Stout, Theobroma, 120 Minute IPA, Festina Peche, Squall IPA, Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA, and Sah’tea.

Pouring a dirty hazy gold, Robert Johnson’s Hellhound on My Ale has a decent white head that slowly fades to a brief covering, but it does lace up the glass rather impressively along the way. The citrus sourness of the Centennial hops comes through clearly in the nose; behind that, there is a bit of bright candy sweetness and some lemon citrus zest along with a touch of alcohol aroma buried all the way in the back. In the front of the beer, there is a fair amount of spicy malt sweetness; the malt is pretty unobtrusive. Either that, or covered over by the hops. The middle does feature some candy-like sweetness and a whole mess of bitterness mixed with floral, citrus, and spicy hop flavor, while the finish is bright with lingering bitterness and just a hint of lemon and some alcohol warmth. The beer is medium to heavy in mouthfeel, but everything in the flavor profile tends towards brightness and lightness, counteracting a fair share of actual heaviness. There is also some alcohol warmth, but the bitterness, spicy hop flavor, and carbonation does hide a decent amount of it. It does creep in, though, especially after all of the flavors have left the palate, and you’re left with just the warmth on the back of your throat. It is a 10.0% beer, however, and I wouldn’t hold out on this one, as the real strength is the hop flavor and character of the beer. Actually, this is one of Dogfish Head’s more drinkable big beers—there is character and balance here. Elli likes it for its front to back hop presence, and I have to concur—it goes down smooth and easy. Too easy for a beer this big.

From the bottle: “2011 marks the 100th birthday of Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson who, according to legend, sold his soul down at the crossroads in a midnight bargain and changed music forever. Dogfish Head pays tribute to this blues legend by gettin’ the hellhounds off his trail into this finely-crafted ale. Hellhound is a super-hoppy ale hits 100 IBUs in the brewhouse, 10.0% ABV, 10.0 SRM in color, and dry-hopped with 100% Centennial hops at a rate of 100 kilos per 100 barrel brew-length. To accentuate and magnify the citrusy notes of the Centennial hops (and as a shout out to Robert Johnson’s mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson) we add dried lemon and flesh to the whirlpool. To read more about Robert Johnson go to www.robertjohnsonhellhoundale.com.”

ABV: 10.0%
IBU: 100

P.S. Is it too much to ask for a scarier hellhound? It could just as well be good ol’ Barky on fire...

(5/2/2011)

425. Dogfish Head Raison d’Extra

Today’s drinking pleasure was made possible by the kindness of Casey McAdams and Dave Williamson—Casey brought the Dogfish Head, and Dave the Russian River. Since we’ve already had Blind Pig and Consecration as part of our previous shenanigans, a careful process of elimination reveals that Raison d’Extra gets the nod for beer o’ the day. Such a delicious dilemma... Today’s drinking was part of the 3rd Annual Tomtoberfest celebration, which is just about as egregious and self-referential as it sounds. I did brew the rest of the beer involved, so I feel perfectly fine with the level of hubris expressed in the day’s designation. Previously sampled beers from Dogfish Head include the Dogfish Head/Victory/Stone Saison du Buff collabo, Immort Ale 2009, Chicory Stout, Theobroma, 120 Minute IPA, Festina Peche, Squall IPA, Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA, and Sah’tea—making ten all told.

Raison d’Extra pours a thick, rich walnut with a rich, dark fruit nose—those raisins are still doing good work, even all these years later. As well, the age on this bottle has allowed a wonderful marrying of flavors and components—I wouldn’t have guessed it was an 18% ABV beer from the smoothness and richness of fruit and malt dancing across my palate. I’d love to regale you with more detailed notes, but, well, I was consuming this in the middle of Tomtoberfest, which meant that note-taking really wasn’t an option. Rest assured that I did enjoy this beer with the appropriate level of care and concern.

Remains of the day...

From the Dogfish Head website: “A bigger, bolder version of our Raison d’Etre. This is a bulbous, brown ale brewed with a bunch of malt, brown sugar and raisins.”

ABV: 18.0%
IBU: 40
Bottled: 3/15/2007

(11/13/2010)

338. Dogfish Head/Victory/Stone Saison du Buff

BUFF (’bef) n. Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor. A clandestine organization committed to liberating collective taste buds, citing the dastardly and/or oppressive reign of so-called “fizzy yellow beer.”

“The description on the label combines the obnoxiousness of both Stone and Dogfish Head—how did Victory get involved in this?”

Between these three breweries, we had quite a few beers, so I’ll refrain from listing them all and just note that this beer will be brewed three times, once at each brewery using the same recipe. The expected release dates for each brew are as follows: Stone: April 2010, Victory: July 2010, and Dogfish Head: August 2010. Collect all three and trade them with your friends!

Described as an “ale brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary, & thyme,” Saison du Buff pours a pale clear straw with a clean light white head that slowly rings the glass. The nose is a combination of spicy herbal aromas and exotic fruits—there are touches of banana, pineapple, and citrus zest–it’s like they stole the pineapple sage plant out of our front yard, and dumped it in their beer. Opening with a dry sweetness, Saison du Buff quickly moves into the herbal flavors of the middle, with pine and evergreen from either the rosemary or the hops, and some general spicy herbal flavors. The end has some lingering bitterness along with lemon zest and a bit of vegetal flavor. With a medium to light body and bright, lively carbonation, Saison du Buff has a very dry and well-attenuated body that allows the herbal and hop spiciness to shine through. A very good beer, one that is better as a slow-sipping beer that gives time to savor the nuance; there is a bit less of the crisp refreshing nature of some of the other saisons that we have tried this year.

From the bottle: “It’s a saison of sorts; hellaciously herbaceous and hopefully contagious. This was not a ready made ale. But it is a ready made collaboration. Meaning Stone & Victory are 2 breweries that are exactly like Dogfish in that they do/brew exactly what they love and do/brew it exactly like no other brewery out there.”

From the Dogfish Head website: “This beer is collaboration between Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA), and Victory Brewing Company (Downington, PA). The idea for this beer germinated way back in 2003 when the three guys (Sam from Dogfish, Greg from Stone and Bill from Victory) formed the BUFF alliance (Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor) - a noble endeavor with the goal to highlight the passion and camaraderie of the American craft brew movement. So, BUFF didnt really do anything (beyond talk a lot of talk) until 2010 when the three brewers finally got together to jointly brew at beer at the Stone Brewery. Saison du BUFF will first be brewed at Stone and then replicated at each of the other two breweries - same recipe, same ingredients, three different breweries throughout 2010. Plans call for Saison du BUFF to be a 6% alc/vol Saison brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. This beer will be brewed three times, once at each brewery using the same recipe. The expected release dates for each brew are as follows: Stone Brewing Co.- Late April 2010 (release date 5/3/2010, visit Stone Brewery for more information).”

ABV: 6.8%

Bottled: 5/3/2010

I do feel compelled to note that you can’t be a “clandestine organization” when your mantra adorns a beer bottle—not quite so secretive there, tiger.

(6/3/10)

271. Dogfish Head Immort Ale 2009

“It smells like fancy beer.”

More beer from Dogfish Head, the best little brewery in Delaware. And yes, I am making a purposefully obscure reference in that description. Care to take a stab at it?

Immort Ale pours a hazy maple syrup (the grade A all natural stuff, not that Mrs. Butterworth’s crap) and has a thin ivory head that leaves some lacing; the beer also has some legs when swirled or tilted against the side of the glass. Maple sweetness is the first aroma in the nose, followed by low levels of clean oaky wood aroma without much in the way of tannins, and a bit of alcohol spiciness; some smokiness emerges with some warmth. Immort Ale opens with maple syrup and brown sugar sweetness to start, followed by a bit of heat in the middle along with some carbonation bite, and finishing with oak, vanilla and alcohol, with a touch of smokiness in the lingering alcohol flavor. Heavy bodied with dryness from the alcohol and the oak; the carbonation is medium with small tight bubbles that help liven up the heavier body, and there is some creaminess from the oak without much in the way of a tannic bite. An enjoyable beer for slow sipping and picking apart the different flavors that emerge across the palate and as the beer opens up with warmth; we’ve got two more bottles from this four-pack that we’ll keep sitting on and try one of them again in another year.

From the label: “Vast in character, luscious and complex, this smooth, full-bodied ale reveals interwoven notes of maple, vanilla & oak.”

From the Dogfish Head website: “We started brewing Immort Ale at our brewpub in 1995 and began bottling it in 1997. For this beer, we use maple syrup from Red Brook Farm – Sam’s family farm in Western Massachusetts, peat-smoked barley, juniper berries, and vanilla. Immort is fermented with a blend of English & Belgian yeasts, then aged in the big oak tanks at the brewery. The sweet and earthy flavors meld magnificently in the Immort Ale. But, be warned the ABV is 11%, so after 1 or 2 you may start feeling immortal (even though we promise you won’t be). Immort Ale is released each and every spring (after the sap starts flowing).”

ABV: 11%

(3/28/2010)

208. Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

Dogfish Head says yummy goodness. Or at least that is our claim for today. This is our seventh beer from Sam in Delaware. Our rundown includes Theobroma, 120 Minute IPA, Festina Peche, Squall IPA, Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA, and Sah’tea. We had this on tap at South Park Tavern; we had pizza and beers while watching the Saints decide that they really did want to win that game, and pull their heads out at the end.

Chicory Stout has a creamy roasted malt nose that is also a bit woody. We think the color was an opaque brown or black—sorry, the bar was dark and also crowded—with a thick tan head. It also started out a bit cold, so we did wait a little for it to warm up to get a better sense of the taste and smell. Chicory Stout starts creamy and roasty, moves into some mild lactose-like sweetness accompanied by light coffee flavors, and finishes with more roastiness mixed with woody, chicory, and herbal notes (well, at least we are taking it to be chicory—there was a taste we weren’t readily able to identify that married well with the roasted malt profile)—it ends rather clean. The mouthfeel is rich, creamy, and smooth; there is very little burnt unmalted barley flavor across the profile of the beer, but still rich and enjoyable. There is also a good bit of dryness across the body, particularly at the end. Chicory Stout is rather subdued for Dogfish Head; they’ve done a nice job here of using a unique ingredient to subtle effect; as a stout, this is well rounded, and also very drinkable. As noted above, the chicory blends well with the rest of the beer, making this a smooth, nuanced, and, more importantly, very enjoyable beer.

From the Dogfish Head website: “A dark beer made with a touch of roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John's Wort, and licorice root. Brewed with whole-leaf Cascade and Fuggles hops, the grains include pale, roasted & oatmeal. Chicory is one of the first beers we started brewing when the brewpub opened back in 1995. That’s back when we had a teeny, tiny brewing system and had to brew all day, every day to keep up the bar stocked. Brewing with the same four ingredients got real boring, real fast. That’s when Sam’s ADD kicked in and he started adding some non-traditional brewing ingredeints. Chicory Stout is our winter seasonal and released in bottles each year in the November/December timeframe. We do brew this beer in smaller, draft-only batches for our brewpub throughout the year. It is roasty and delicious. It is also a fantastic food beer and pairs very well with chocolate!”

ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 21

(1/24/2010)

196. Dogfish Head Theobroma

Yep. Another beer from Dogfish Head. This makes our sixth: we’ve had 120 Minute IPA, Festina Peche, Squall IPA, Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA, and Sah’tea. So, backstory. In graduate school at SUNY Buffalo, I had to read the Popol Vuh for one of Dennis Tedlock’s classes. And yes, Adam, you still better have your copy of that sitting on the bookshelf. So while we’re reading it, Tedlock tells us a story one day in class in his monotone voice that’s a half-register above the air-conditioner about how the Maya used to drink this alcoholic hallucinogenic chocolate beer out of a calabash, which represented the skull of their slain opponents. Damn. Hardcore. My first thought upon hearing this story: I need to get me some of that. Fast forward to the present, and I read about Dogfish Head’s Theobroma. While I did have momentary pangs about the lack of hallucinogens, the flashback to my dreams from grad school made it all worthwhile.

Theobroma has a candied fruit sweet nose; it is a very clear tan with a strong red undertone and has a light white head. In terms of flavor, Theobroma starts with low levels of dry malt before moving into some light fruitiness (mostly cherry-like) and some alkaline cocoa flavors, ending with a return of the sweetness that lingers too long on the palate. It is soft and dry in the mouth, and, somewhat paradoxically, has some cloying stickiness in the mouthfeel. There is medium carbonation, but very little bite to it, and the heat that does appear in the back of the throat from the ancho chilies is very much in the background and takes some time to accumulate. This bottle was sort of a letdown—last time we had this (on tap at the Trolley Stop) it was much spicier and had more of a chocolate flavor in the body with a lot less fruitiness. We’re not sure what happened between that last batch and this, but we liked the previous one much better.

From the bottle: “Theobroma, or ‘Food of the Gods,’ is a re-creation of the premier chocolate beverage of the Americas, intended only for the gods, kings, and the elite. This liquid time capsule is based is based on the earliest chemical and archeological evidence of cacao in the New World, dating to before 1100 B.C., and enhanced by natural additives of the later Mayan and Aztec drinks.”

Stolen from the New Yorker

From the Dogfish Head website: “This beer is based on chemical analysis of pottery fragments found in Honduras which revealed the earliest known alcoholic chocolate drink used by early civilizations to toast special occasions. The discovery of this beverage pushed back the earliest use of cocoa for human consumption more than 500 years to 1200 BC. As per the analysis, Dogfish Head’s Theobroma (translated into ‘food of the gods’) is brewed with Aztec cocoa powder and cocoa nibs (from our friends at Askinosie Chocolate), honey, chilies, and annatto (fragrant tree seeds). It’s light in color - not what you expect with your typical chocolate beer. Not that you’d be surpised that we’d do something unexpected with this beer! This beer is part of our Ancient Ales series - along with Midas Touch, Chateau Jiahu, and other - step back in time and enjoy some Theobroma.”

ABV: 9%

(1/12/2010)

162. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

It’s been a while since we’ve had anything from Dogfish Head, so we decided to bust this one out, which is our fifth beer from crazy Sam Calagione: we’ve run through Festina Peche, Squall IPA, Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA, and Sah’tea. Ah, the happy memories...


120 Minute IPA has a spicy sweet and very hoppy nose; because of the large hop load in the beer, there is something slightly sharp and metallic or astringent in the nose. There is also sharp and bright and young alcohol aroma perceptible amongst the hoppiness. The beer pours a light copper—lighter than we expected it to be—with a creamy ivory head that laces the glass well. 120 Minute IPA starts with a malty caramel sweetness; the middle is made up of alcohol flavors mixed with bitterness and vinous-like qualities and some yellow fruit raisin flavors and some vegetal taste, and the finish is dry with caramel and a good dose of lingering bitterness. There is a rather heavy mouthfeel with some carbonation bite and creaminess; there is also currently some cloying stickiness to the beer. The alcohol flavor and warmth both increase as the beer warms. We’re not so sure about this beer being a hophead’s dream, although the advertising claim makes sense; there seems to be less hop character to it compared to current beer options and offerings. As well, the suggested aging parameters on the bottle would seem to further minimize the hop profile (although it would also reciprocally minimize the alcohol flavors, so the two might even out). Aging would certainly add to the complexity of the flavor, but I’m not sure how it would help the hop body. Nonetheless, an interesting beer, one that is still quite young—the sharpness of the alcohol points to the need for aging, even at the long term expense of the hop flavor.

From the bottle: “What you have here is the holy grail for hopheads. This beer is continually hopped over a 120-minute boil and then dry-hopped every day for a month. Enjoy now or age for a decade or so.”

From the Dogfish Head website: “Too extreme to be called beer? Brewed to a colossal 45-degree plato, boiled for a full 2 hours while being continuously hopped with high-alpha American hops, then dry-hopped daily in the fermenter for a month & aged for another month on whole-leaf hops!!! Our 120 Minute I.P.A. is by far the biggest I.P.A. ever brewed! At about 18% abv and 120 ibus you can see why we call this beer THE HOLY GRAIL for hopheads! We brew 120 Minute IPA three times a year, but it goes fast. If you find some grab a few bottles, some to enjoy and some to age. Every Beer Has A Story... Check out our Quick Sip Clip for 120 Minute IPA to see Sam talking about it. In the video, Sam also shows off some of our 'vintage' pieces of brewing equipment - including our 2nd generation continual hopping device, Sir Hops Alot. He also touches on the topic of *why* we dialed the 120 Minute IPA back to 18% abv, some aging recommendations, and little lesson on the I.B.U. measurement. Enjoy!” I like big hops and I cannot lie...

Bottled on: 11/06/08
ABV: 18.0%
IBU: 120


(12/9/2009)

66. Dogfish Head Festina Peche

Yet another in the long line of Dogfish Head beers—we like ’em, and we’ll keep drinkin’ ’em. And, by proxy, you’ll keep reading about them. That is, unless you start ignoring us (which would also reciprocally assume that you actually paid attention to us in the first place). And that would be downright mean, I say. We had this on tap at the Trolley Stop.

Festina Peche is a hazy straw color with a light white head that has small bubbles like champagne. The nose is tart and fruity with a slight peachy aroma. It starts tart and sour mixed with a light peach flavor—the two flavors marry nicely together in the front of the beer. There is a building sourness in the middle with some light sweetness, along with a drawn out finish—there is a slight chalkiness from the sour at the back of the tongue and some lingering malt and bready notes. The mouthfeel is sharp and crisp, but also a bit thin. While Festina Peche is lighter than many other sour beers—there is less candy sour tartness and a thinner body—it is nonetheless an excellent and well-crafted beer. And we say this as a couple of people who are hesitant about fruit beers.

From the Dogfish Head website: “A refreshing neo-BerlinerWeisse fermented with honest-to-goodness peaches to (get this!) 4.5% abv! Because extreme beers don't have to be extremely boozy! Available in 4-pack and draft during the sweaty months. Sadly, there are only a few breweries left in Berlin still brewing the BerlinerWeisse style which is characterized by its intense tartness (some say sour). There were once over 70 breweries in Berlin alone making this beer! In addition to fermentation with an ale yeast, Berliner Weisse is traditionally fermented with lactic cultures to produce its acidic or green apple-like character. It is delicately hopped with a pale straw color and served as an aperitif or summertime quencher. To soften the intense sourness, Berliner Weisse is traditionally served with a dash of essence of woodruff or raspberry syrup.In our Festina Peche since the natural peach sugars are eaten by the yeast, the fruit complexity is woven into both the aroma and the taste of the beer so there is no need to doctor it with woodruff or raspberry syrup - open and enjoy!”

ABV: 4.5%
IBU: 8

(9/4/2009)

57. Dogfish Head Squall IPA

Our third beer (see entries 9 and 13) from Dogfish Head. What can I say? They make some good beer. Don't worry—this won't be our last Dogfish Head beer for the year.

Squall IPA is copper colored with a creamy soft smooth head that generously laces the glass; the nose mixes floral and aggressive spicy hop aromas with malt notes. It begins with a soft sweet malt flavor and builds into an assertive but well-balanced hop presence, resiny and spicy flavors predominating. While Squall IPA is a bit sweet, it is balanced by the hop profile and the nice soft finish; it has a soft, delicate, creamy yet substantial mouthfeel. Overall, an interesting, delicious, and different offering from Dogfish Head; this is one of their less aggressive beers. While it has a 9.0% ABV, it is still mellow and balanced—we’ve dubbed it the “non-extreme extreme beer.” As well, it is the newest member of the potential Top 10 Best beers of the year.

From the Dogfish Head website: “An unfiltered, 100% bottle-conditioned, super-pungent imperial I.P.A. clocking in at 9% ABV and dry-hopped with Palisade, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ, and Willamette hops. As many of you know, Dogfish Head is named after a ‘head’ of land off of Boothbay Harbor, Maine where company founder Sam Calagione grew up. A few years ago we discovered and fell in love with a Portland, Maine company called Rogues Gallery that makes beautiful, unique clothing. Their rustic, quality-centric creative approach mirrors our off-centered obsession with inspired brewing. As Time Magazine put it Rogues Gallery is all about ‘Masculine-style with a nostalgic eastern seaboard feel.’ Alex Carleton and the crew at Rogue’s Gallery were down with getting their chocolate in Dogfish Head's peanut butter. We agreed to do a beer in keeping with their brand and a line of co-branded clothing in keeping with ours. The theme of the clothing line is superlative stuff to wear while drinking beer at a sunset beach bonfire and the clothes will be available by mid-summer 2009. The beer first came out in June of 2009 in a handful of eastern seaboard states, a second 2009 release started shipping to wholesalers in November 2009. A more wide-spread release of Squall IPA is planned for 2010.”

Someone didn’t want to let any of it go to waste...

ABV: 9.0%

P.S. Anyone who can tell me what the phrase “masculine-style with a nostalgic eastern seaboard feel” actually means is entitled to a beer on me. Not a Squall IPA, howver, as that shit is hard to find.

(8/26/2009)

13. Dogfish Head Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA

Our second beer from Dogfish Head; while it is a bit early to already be doubling up on breweries, we got a four-pack of Burton Baton as a gift and just couldn’t wait any longer to try it. Take that, Puritan ethics of denying one’s self pleasure. As with last time, Dogfish Head Brewery is still located in Milton, DE, and their brewpub is in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Burton Baton has a particularly delicious nose, combining maltiness, hoppiness, and oakiness to create a trifecta of olfactory delight. I almost didn’t want to stop smelling the beer, but was told I needed a) start the actual tasting, and b) stop bogarting the log. Remember, it’s puff puff pass. Or in this case, sniff sip pass. The rich full brown color was accentuated with red hints; while there was a bit of a sticky sweet mouthfeel, due in part to the higher ABV, it balanced nicely with the oakiness that was surprisingly un-tannic. Flavor-wise, a pronounced malty sweetness to start that was strong but not overbearing before moving cleanly into the hoppy middle, carrying with it pine and resin notes. There was minimal overall bitterness, at least in large quantities, probably due in part to the increased malt load of the beer, but the hop flavors worked well here. Burton Baton finishes with oakiness, although there is a noticeable lack of the vanilla hints that traditionally accompany oak. The oakiness does increase as the bottle warms, becomes more prominent; from the current flavor, I think that this is a beer that will age well, especially as some of the oak mellows and rounds out the overall flavor. For a 10% beer, the alcohol never really comes to the forefront, which is impressive.

From the Dogfish Head website: "“A blend of oak-aged English strong ale and our 90 Minute I.P.A. Citrus notes from Northwestern hops meld with vanilla notes from the oak.”

ABV: 10%
IBU: 70

"Huh huh...huh huh huh huh. You said increased malt load."

(7/13/2009)

9. Dogfish Head Sah'tea

Me: “Do you like it?”
Elli: “I like it, but it’s a lot of flavor.”

Dogfish Head Brewery is located at #6 Cannery Village Center, Milton, DE 19968; their Brewpub is at 320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.

Sah’tea has a sweet, almost candy malt nose with a honey-colored and slightly hazy body. The carbonation is pretty minimal and there is little to no head. Juniper and chai flavors at the start and then rolling into a sweet middle which carries to the finish. There is a slight bitterness (either a rye spiciness or resiny bitterness; not sure exactly which) after the sweetness. The alcohol flavor comes through as the beer warms, creating a spicier finish as well. We’re not so sure why they bothered adding the chai tea—not so sure that the chai adds much to the beer, and it seems to dampen more than open up the overall profile; after all, if it’s based on a 9th century Finnish recipe, they should have stuck with that. Elli finds the chai distracting; I would have liked a bit more juniper and caramelized malt flavor that the white hot rocks normally produce—the sweetness mentioned above is less caramelized malt and more plain sweetness. While I do love the experimental ethos behind Dogfish Head (see, for example, this New York Times article on their Chicha beer), this one is not as complex and interesting as the majority of their other beers—it seems a bit too showy and predictable.

From the Dogfish Head website: “A modern update on a 9th century Finnish proto-beer. Brewed with rye, we caramelize the wort with white hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizen yeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made with black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper. The spicing is subtle and balanced and Sah'tea is a highly-quaffable, truly-unique brew with a full-mouth feel.

The Sah'tea was first brewed at our small brewery in the Rehoboth Beach brewpub. The brew was chronicled in The New Yorker article by Burkhard Bilger in the fall of 2008.”

ABV: 9%
IBU: 6

(7/9/2009)