Dogfish Head Fort

This was not fun to drink. I picked this up at Whole Foods Chelsea in NYC thinking I would be adventurous. What a nightmare, thank the Lord I had my boyfriend to kinda help me finish this one off. 

The appearance is actually beautiful. A nice lightly red tinted golden color is present, and boy is it clear. Nice clarity, and on top of that is a crisp half finger white head that leaves pretty quick. The alcoholic legs on this were not extreme, but fun to watch slide down the sides of my glass.

The smell is not very strong, but what is there is very straight forward. Sweet red raspberry sweetness paired with 120 Minute ABV sweetness. Thats it. 

The taste is very simple. The taste is of faint raspberries with vodka. I have some advice for you, if you are first drinking this beer, do NOT inhale. This beer actually harms you. The back of my throat and my mouth burned with alcohol. There are not many flavors in this. It reminded me of the worst parts of 120 Minute, burning ethanol and sugar from the malts and raspberries. 

The mouthfeel was terrible, like taking shots of 151. Terrible. 

I could not of finished the whole bottle, I would of died if I did not have my boyfriend helping me out. I do not understand why this HAD to be 18% ABV. Why!?! Just make it a sessionable 5% and take away all of the burn and make it at least a bit enjoyable. Sugar sweetness and burning sensations made this a very big disappointment. But because we couldn't finish our glasses we poured it into the fire we were sitting around because we were gonna head in for the night....Boy that was entertaining. 

The Fire Before Fort

The Fire While Pouring Fort into it

Dogfish Head Saison Du BUFF

Pours with a bllowing bright white cloudy textured head rises well above the rim of my chalice. Slightly hazed bright straw golden color, lacing left behind is fine and intricate. Nose is blasting with rosemary and thyme it smells like somebody just roasted some chicken. Sharp spicy acidity with hints of citric undertones and sweet grassy layers as well. Flavor this one is tasting nice a saison/gruit combo with aromatic/spiy herbal additions. Much more appealing than the Stone version I had, it was so spicy I had a hard time detecting the saison characteristics. This one actually accomplishes the balance that would go nice with a meal using these same aromatic herbs. Citrus combo of herbs/lemongrass/thyme bitterness very green and fresh tasting lively carbonation on the palate helps the flavos not fall flat. Eye opening appeal that brings out the point that what else could be used to spice a beer up instead of straight up hop additions, I like the creativity no boundary approach that went into play when formulating this saison style. Light effervescent carbonation that works nicely with the style body is moderate very killer mouthfeel. Drinkability was easy, no problems consuming this fantastic gruit/saison,

Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre

Picked up a 6 pk of this from work.

The pour on this brew was very nice. It poured very much like it says on the bottle, with a deep mahogany brown. It had a nice, small white head, that faded pretty fast.

The aroma on this brew can only be explained as complex. The first aroma that his the nose is some very strong dark malts. That is followed by a some what yeasty, banana aroma. Its soon followed with a bunch of other aromas such as cherries, sweet raisins, it also has a nice nose of what smells like brandy.

The flavors on this brew are very good as well. The first flavors you pick up on are the raisins and toffee. These flavors lead into the dark malts and then into some of the other sweet fruity flavors that make up the brew. There is a nice sugary sweet flavor that comes from the beet sugars that balance all the flavors of this brew.

The mouthful on this brew is well balanced and smooth. It has light to medium body, with a wonderfully dry finish. The alcohol burn afterwords is great, a nice warming feeling.

The drink on this is pretty decent. For some drinkers it might become heavy, as well well as the alcohol burn might turn a few away. I am a huge fan of DFH beers, and once again, they have not let me down. Thanks DFH.

Tea Beer???

We have coffee stouts so why not tea Weizen Doppelbock? Left Hand Brewing Company is going to be releasing TNT a Weizen Dopplebock this Febuary as part of a bi-annual seasonal. Left Hand will be using Lapsang Souchong tea, which is known for its smoky character.

I’m really interested to see how this beer comes out. I really loved Dogfish Head’s Sha-Tea which is brewed with chai tea. 

Palo Santo Marron by Dogfish Head

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, an unfiltered brown ale aged in Palo Santo wood barrels.

Aromas of vanilla, dark cocoa, dark fruit (plum and black cherry) and slight woodiness.

The taste has certain characteristics of the nose with a light but defined oak flavor with some lighter alcohol and vanilla notes. There is a boat load of darker roasted grains you do not detect in the nose. Burnt grainy malts and dark chocolate, pretty freakin’ delicious if I do say so…

The mouthfeel is full but with adequate carbonation, solid, but never syrupy or cloying despite the 12% ABV. Overall this is one of the top offerings from Dogfish head, which is saying quite a lot because they churn out a pretty solid portfolio of brews.

Midas Touch Golden Elixir by Dogfish Head

This brew poured with a nice golden body. It had a wonderfully foamy and thick white head. As it settles, the faded pretty quick and left some lacing, but nothing special.

The aroma was very fruity and a bit sweet. The nose was hit right away wiht sweet white grape flavor, which is expected since this brew is made from Muscat grapes. The aroma is almost that chardonnay, there is a bit of a spice and honey aroma that finishes out this brews profile.

The flavor this beer is great. Something I have really never had before. After having so many traditional and other such brews, this one was great because it was different. There flavor is strong with grapes, some oranges as well. This nice alcohol push at the end that gave it a nice warming heat. Which is expected from the 9% ABV.

This brew has a medium to light body. The carbonation on this brew was kinda of heavy, but gave it a nice balance. So I enjoyed it a lot.

This brew has a higher ABV at 9%, but it was great. A great sweet, almost wine like flavors, but a nice heat that comes along with the brew. Another great brew by DFH.