Dogfish Head Au Courant

Formerly brewed at Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Fruit Beer
Milton, Delaware USA

RERate: The 2004 recipe. A bold ruby body and a fluffy pink head. The aroma and flavor are reminiscent of cranberry, tart and acidic, a note of barnyard character. This is rather lambic like in style. I like the spin they put on this 2004 batch.

2003 - Glowing copper body with a white insolating foam head. The aroma is sweet and Christmas-y; plums, apricots, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice. The flavor is sweet and spicy aswell.. Reminds me of a sugar cookie with cinnamon, even clove dashed atop. Notes of tangerine and honey…loads of caramel and plums… I like it! The palate is nothing grand, syrupy.. mostly medium… nice Holliday spice in the finish! I’ll really enjoy this next Christmas Holliday!

This was problematic. On the intial pour, smell, and taste I don’t know if I would have picked this out as Dogfish from a line-up of malt liquors and other pedestrian beers. Things began to change slowly. First was that there is a clear sweetness here, and a rich palate, slightly syrupy (certainly sticky) that makes it a step up from the average. The yellow body never does appeal, but there are fruity notes (as one would expect) that come through nicely. Still, I didn’t think the currants were dominant by any stretch and I would have liked more clarity and direction to the flavor. It doesn’t have the golden ale quality to stand on its own but neither is it sufficiently a fruit beer. Still, I drank my 7% abv with pleasure and appreciated the sweetness.

Rich, chewy malts ruined by too much currant flavor. Syrupy and overly sweet, the currant flavor lingered too long. Overbearing.

Now that I see this is a fruit beer, I can understand the wine-type of flavors that I experienced drinking this. Mostly light berry, grape flavors but considerably more thick and syrupy than wine.

12 oz bottle-pours a nice golden hue with white head around rim of snifter. aggressive carbonation. Fruity aroma, slightly like a belgian brew. apples, ripe grapefriut (sour), grapes and belgian candy sugar. Lots of fruits on the flavor but fade fast and the beer has very little finish. thin body and boring mouthfeal. Thanks Npdempse for the bottle.

Cloudy Orange, big white head that dissipates quickly. Grapy, peachy aroma Berry, fruity flavor. very dry finish. It seems to sit kinda heavy on the tummy. Just slightly underwhelming.

Pours with a one-finger head that fades quickly to a ring leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Good carbonation. Nose is not distinguishable. Looking for the currant taste but it isn’t there. Sweet, fruity and different from a Belgian strong pale. Medium bodied. $2.50 for a 12oz bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

Pours a crystal clear rich amber color with a very small white head. Aroma is very sweet and candy like. Flavor is sweet but not as much as expected. Really don’t pick up on any currant notes but do taste some fruity flavors of some kind. Slight fruity pebble aftertaste. Body is really nice and rich. Dry finish.