Friday, March 6, 2009

Dogfish Head Red & White

As I mentioned before, we had this brew at the EBF, but I wanted to give it a fair review without the confused palate of so many delicious beers, so here goes.

Appearance: Poured into my Duvel tulip glass, dark amber/brown color, cloudy, extreme amount of head, could be from a shaken bottle, improper pour, or just the nature of the beer, it is lacey and does stick around for a while.

Smell: A fruity white grape aroma with a tinge of orange in the background, has a distinctive wine smell that dominates and some sweet malts in the fray.

Taste: An interesting combo of sweet malts and white wine taste, big difference in make-up between smell and taste, a weird ebb and flow as the fruitiness begins the taste, maltiness takes over next, then the aftertaste is dominated with a strong alcohol sensation similar to that from wine, pretty unique to me as I haven't had anything comparable, although you could make a case with a Belgian, but the Belgians pack a little more punch and are identifiable, while this doesn't make as noticeable a mark.

Mouthfeel: Well carbonated, light, a dry alcohol twinge at the end that makes you want to quench your thirst more.

Drinkability: Definitely a pleasant beer to have, enjoyed its crispness and its complex flavoring, relatively easy to drink, but one bottle could do you in at 10% abv. I'm glad I had this beer again after the festival because I remember not liking it as much there as I do now. I'm positive the overload on the tastebuds was the reason since we had it late in the day. I give this a solid 7.5/10.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Duvel tulip glass

1 comment:

Mike said...

The head was from an improper pour. The second glass only had about a finger of head, but still just as lacey. Once it warms up, the malts and alcohol taste become more prevalent. Still a very good brew from one of our favorites, DFH.