Life & Limb - Batch 2

Considering that I've mentioned it in my "Best of" posts for the past 2 years running, I feel like I've been remiss in never actually reviewing Life & Limb on here. For those of you not familiar with the beer, Life & Limb is a collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada that was originally brewed in 2009. It uses maple and birch syrup to add a unique flavor to an American Strong Ale.

The beer sits dark and nearly opaque in the glass, with a tan head that has almost a whipped-marshmallow appearance for thickness. The dense bubbles sit a finger thick and dissipate slowly, leaving a constant coating of foam on the beer. If held up to the light, you can just see a trace of brown around the edges.

The scent of maple syrup comes through prominently in the nose, combined with caramel, a touch of alcohol, and some light floral touches. Overall it's a dense and strong smell that overpowers other aromas.

The first sip highlights the woody and sweet flavor of the syrup, with a mild bitterness following up in the back. Some toasted/roast and a very light chocolate flavor make an appearance in the back and aftertaste as well. I feel like there are some dark fruit flavors like plum in there as well, but they are more muted. This beer has an earthy, wooden, and organic taste to it. There is some alcohol flavor just around the edges of the tongue, but they are well hidden for sure.

There's some definite substance to the beer as well, with a medium-thick body, and a moderate-high level of carbonation. It's got a creamy feel to it as well, so the carbonation seems more pleasant to me. I noted just a bit of warmth going down as well.

Overall, I'm still very impressed with this offering from Dogfish and Sierra Nevada. It's extremely flavorful, and the alcohol is well hidden for 10.2 %. Although the sweetness and syrup flavors are able to come through, even prominently, the beer is still fairly well balanced and not at all cloying. Although I'm sure it will not appear on this year's "Best of" list (there's too many epic quality beers this year), it's still a well done beer and easily worth having.

-Adam

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA: Revisited

A few years ago, I reviewed Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA here. It wasn't my first time having this beer, and my taste for the hoppier brews was just developing at that point. Recently a friend of mine came over with a 6-pack of this popular brew, and ended up leaving a bottle behind in my fridge. Now that my taste buds have developed even further, I wanted to see how my perception of the beer stacks up, especially considering the vast range of amazing beers I've had this year alone. That said, I'm also not going to try to be overly harsh to this brew as it is a beer available daily for a reasonable price and across a wide distribution range. This bottle is fairly fresh, having been bottled last month and left refrigerated for most of the time since then.

The first thing I noticed is that it doesn't smell all that hoppy to me now. I'm getting roast malt, bread, and caramel scents more than anything else. Perhaps there are some wood/spice smells, but I'm definitely not getting the citric qualities I noted a few years ago.

My first sip revealed a mild sweetness up front, followed by just a touch of citrus. In the back of the mouth I experienced a pleasantly substantial bitterness with a more peppery quality to it than I had expected. Considering that I have a copy of the recipe for 60 Minute found in Extreme Brewing, I don't see how this taste comes from the ingredients listed. Maybe I should try brewing it myself sometime.

I'll spare you all the boring details of mouthfeel and such, these remain largely unchanged from my previous review. What I will say is that even though I have had offerings from other breweries that I vastly prefer (see Evolution Lot 3 or Southern Tier 2XIPA), even brews that are just as easily had for about the same price, I still see a place for 60 Minute. There's a sense of balance to this beer that can be hard to match. It certainly isn't the overly malty, syrupy beer that some people make every Dogfish offering out to be. The flavor profile is pretty drastically different from your standard IPA, and I can easily see some people choosing it over some of the more citrus flavored offerings out there. At it certainly beats the pants of Sam Adam's Latitude 48 IPA.

- Adam

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew

This beer was brewed for the 40th anniversary of Bitches Brew, an album by Miles Davis that was considered groundbreaking, as Miles Davis' first gold record, one of the first albums to use complicated studio recording techniques, and because of the unusual instrumentation the album contained. The owner of Dogfish said that he made this beer because of the parallels he wanted to create with his own business plan, something radically different that could change how beer was made.

The aroma is actually kind of faint considering how dark the beer is. I'm used to a strong roasted quality that's fairly overwhelming in any type of stout or porter. There is a definite roasted malt quality to it, with an underlying sweetness of caramel and toffee. There might be a touch of grassy hops to it, but not much at all.

The beer pours a dark, black color, almost completely opaque. It has a quarter finger coating of pillowy foam that's deep tan. The foam dissipated slowly, leaving a solid coating of lacing on the glass.

The taste is smooth and velvety, with a strong roasted quality. It's somewhat like chocolate and coffee, but there isn't much bitterness to it. I'd say it's a little creamy. Since Dogfish recommends that the beer be consumed cool, not cold, I decided to let it warm up and see what changed if anything. If anything, I felt that the creamy quality of it came out more. The flavors also seemed to get more robust, with the roast and bitterness building up in the mouth.

In the mouth the beer was surprisingly light. There were tiny bubbles, with a decent but not overwhelming level of carbonation. Again the beer felt extremely smooth, and left a bit of sticky coating in the mouth. There was no warmth to it either, a little unexpected since it's 9% ABV.

I'd say this beer is overwhelmingly, possibly even dangerously drinkable. Considering how strong it is I don't think I'd have any problems putting away entirely too many glasses of this brew before I realized what had happened. I really did enjoy drinking it, but it certainly was not what I had expected. Considering that it's supposed to be mostly an imperial stout, I'd say it was too easy to drink. I can definitely say that the beer needed to warm up to be appreciated fully, and to actually get the imperial flavors to come out. Still it's not the strongest imperial stout I've had, but it does stand on it's own. I don't think it's trying to be the ultimate explosion of roast flavor and bitterness, but rather a strong, good tasting beer.

- Adam

Epic/Dogfish Head collaboration video

Wow, I've had a pretty serious lack of updates lately. Things are pretty busy around here, and I really just haven't had time to make a lot of posts. Anyway as you can see from some of my most recent posts, a while back I had the opportunity to meet Luke of Epic Brewing at the Dogfish Head brew pub when he was here doing a collaborative brew with Dogfish. The resulting beer was called Portamarillo, and was absolutely delicious. It was a porter made with tamarillo, a tomato-like fruit that grows on trees, and is native to New Zealand. The fruit was smoked over some type of New Zealand wood whose name I can't remember and couldn't pronounce. In any case, it gave the final beer a nice touch of smoked quality to it that I quite enjoy.

Early this morning, Luke tweeted a video of himself sitting down with Sam Calagione of Dogfish, having a beer. They chatted about their brew day this past Sunday in New Zealand, where they made round 2 of the collaboration, and about craft beer as a whole. I really enjoyed watching it, so I wanted to pass it on to you. Also, you can expect to see Luke as one of the featured guests on BREWED, the show Sam will be hosting on the Discovery Channel this fall. Pretty sweet.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

It's kind of an interesting phenomenon how tastes can change over time. The first time I had the Dogfish 60 minute, I didn't like it at all. I thought it was too bitter, and didn't have the malt profile necessary to balance the beer. That was a few years ago when I first had a Dogfish beer. It wasn't until pretty recently that I gave this beer a fair chance again. Now I'm sitting near the end of a case and a half that were left over from the wedding, and I've become pretty fond of it.

The initial burst of aroma carries a strong hop scent, but it's got a dull bitterness to it, that seems similar to dark chocolate. It's a bit surprising since the beer isn't all that dark, and chocolate usually comes from heavily roasted malts. There is also a grassy hay smell underneath. All in all, it's not the best smelling beer in the world, but there's nothing unpleasant to it.

In the glass the beer has a smooth and deep golden color with a faint hint of ruby. The beer is extremely clear, and the bottle doesn't contain any sediment. A vigorous pour is required to get a finger thick creamy head, mostly white with a touch of caramel color to it. Still this dissipates quickly to a ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass and a dusting across the top.

Although the malt quality of the beer doesn't stand out as particularly strong, it is fairly present. It's not sweet, but butterscotch flavors come through along with a faint roasted taste. In the back of the mouth, the hops come through clearly with a smooth dull bitterness. There's a bit of grapefruit, spice, and a bit of pine. There's also a lasting warmth in the front of the mouth and a dull bitterness in the back.

In the mouth, the beer has a medium body, with a moderate and pleasant level of carbonation. The warmth in the beer seems to come more from a spice quality of the beer than from the alcohol. There's a light smooth coating in the mouth, and a decent wetness to the beer.

It really does astound me just how much my opinion of this beer is changed. Before I would have had to really force myself to get through this beer, now I find it extremely easy to drink. It's not particularly strong, but not exactly lightweight either. At 6% it still has the potential to sneak up on you, even more so if you find it as easy to drink as I do now. With beers like this it's no wonder that Dogfish has manged to become one of the top breweries in the country.

- Adam

Random News Update

So there's 2 fairly major things that I found out about this week pertaining to beer. First is that this year, Samuel Adams will be releasing Utopias again. This is generally regarded as the world's most expensive commercial beer, retailing at $150 a bottle. Dan and I are already on a waiting list for this beer, so depending on how many bottles are shipped in, we may end up with one. It comes in a special 24-oz bottle shaped like a copper brew-kettle. It's served uncarbonated, and at room temperature.

The other thing I was informed of was that Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada will be making a set of collaboration beers. One is called Life & Limb, the other is Limb & Life. Limb & Life will be released first as a draft beer, and is a lower ABV version of Life & Limb. Life & Limb will be released in bottles only, and is meant to be aged. More info can be found here.

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

This has been the month of Dogfish Head for me. So far I've tried Daily Wry (a brewpub exclusive), Olde School, Immort Ale, Palo Santo Marron, World Wide Stout, and brief sips of Red and White. I've easily tried more beers from Dogfish than any other brewery, even Brewery Ommegang, one of my favorites (although possibly only because they have less offerings available in my area). I can't complain, especially since Dogfish Head has consistently proven themselves with great beers that are sought by beer aficionados nationwide. Who knew something that good could come out of Delaware? My bottle was brewed sometime in 2007, so it's had well over a year to age.

The beer poured black. Jet black. No light shining through, no traces of other colors, just black. The head was fairly non-existent, dissipating quickly to a dusting of brown head and left very little lacing. It looks intimidating to say the least.

The aroma was not overly strong, especially for such a heavyweight beer. I noticed smoke, roasted malt, and dark fruits. Overall it was a sweet smell, but there were dark bready scents as well. Underneath lay hints of chocolate and coffee.

The taste was similar to the Aecht Marzen (review still coming, I promise), but sweeter on the tongue. The flavors of chocolate and smoke dominate, with a tangy quality to it. I also found that there was a bit of nuttiness to the brew. There was not a strong alcohol quality to the taste, which is even more surprising considering it's somewhere over 18% ABV. There was a bit of bitterness to it, but nothing terribly strong. It was really just enough to offset the sweetness and balance the flavors. Most definitely a very flavorful brew. Also notable for me was the lack of a metallic aftertaste, that I so often find in Dogfish brews. I've noticed that it's much less common in their seasonal and occasional beers, possibly because of different ingredients or their higher alcohol content.

This was quite the full-bodied beer. It was thick, somewhat viscous, and lay heavy in the mouth. The carbonation was on the mild side, with just a bit of tingle. It had a nice creamy quality to it as well, and left a smooth coating on the mouth. Going down, the only real indication of the beer's strength was the warming sensation it left in the throat on the way down.

The beer was absolutely a sipper, and has a great flavor, but wasn't one to session. It's a little on the sweet side, but still able to be put down easily. Incredibly flavorful, intense, and one of the best Dogfish brews I've had to date. I can see why people try to get a hold of this one whenever it comes out.

- Adam

Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery located in Milton, Delaware. They also have a restaurant in Rehobeth that serves their beers along with wood-grilled food that's a pretty amazing place. Their motto as brewers is "off-centered stuff for off-centered people" so when you try one of their beers, you know you can expect something different.

The Raison D'Extra is a higher alcohol content version of the Raison D'Etre. The D'Etre is brewed with green raisins, beet sugar, and Belgian style yeast. The D'Extra on the other hand is brewed with brown sugar, and weighs in at 18+% ABV. Our particular bottles were brewed in March 2007, so our January 1st tasting gave it nearly 2 years to age and continue fermenting.

The beer poured a reddish caramel color, with a slight haze to it from the yeast in the bottle. It had a 1 finger off white head with a nice foamy quality. The head dissipated fairly quickly, but it still left good lacing on the glass.

The aroma was sweet and malty. Initially it was dominated by a raisin smell, which isn't surprising given the ingredients. Underneath there's a definite hint of alcohol, but for being the strongest beer I've ever tried, it was well hidden. There was some traces of chocolate and caramel as well, but they were pretty muted. Overall, the smell was attractive, and not overly strong.

The taste was as sweet as the smell, and likewise the raisin flavor is predominant. Dan suggested that it was a white raisin flavor, and the beer definitely had some wine-like aspects to it. There was a definite burn to the beer as well, as expected given the high ABV. It was right in the middle of the throat that the warmth really got me, but it was a nice pleasing type of warmth that would be good on a cold night. There was also a nice light bitterness that finished the beer just in the back of the throat that stayed in the mouth for a while after swallowing. Dan and I both agreed that the beer was most similar to a brandy, both in strength and flavors. The one thing I noticed was missing from the taste was the metallic "Delaware water" flavor that I normally find with Dogfish beers. I was pretty happy about that fact, as it's usually the one issue I have with the flavor of stuff I've had from them.

The beer had a medium-heavy body that was somewhat syrupy in quality. The carbonation was moderate, with a light tingle on the tip of the tongue, and more roundness in the rest of the mouth. There was just a little bit of coating in the mouth, and it had a somewhat wet finish. Overall it was a substantial beer and complimented the warmth and strength of it well.

Overall, I would definitely recommend trying this if you manage to find it, but beware, it is strong! I wouldn't try drinking more than one of these in a night, and make sure you don't have to drive for a while after opening it. It's absolutely a winter ale, and not one for the weak of heart. I went from completely sober when I started this brew to feeling a good buzz halfway through, and finished it a bit tipsy - and I was drinking it pretty slow. Still it's not surprising since it's roughly 4 to 5 times as strong as the average beer.

- Adam