Dogfish Head Black and Blue

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Fruit Beer
Milton, Delaware USA

This one poured a deep maroon color with a medium foamy pinkish white head that left nice lacing in the glass. The aroma was of tart fruit, dark berries, spices, and a hint of hops. The taste is similar with the dark berries at first, mostly blueberries, then followed with a tart flavor and some malts. There is a good amount of cinnamon and spices and a hint of hops in there as well. There wasn’t as much berry flavor as I was hoping for, but I still enjoyed the taste. The flavors combine really well and mask the alcohol really well, which could be dangerous. This was medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. It had a nice dry spicy finish with a little bit of warmth with it. I enjoyed this one, but the lack of berry flavor seems to hold this one back a bit from being really good.

Aroma of tart fruit funk. Disappointing pour: was expecting a more persistent, sturdy head. Color is deep and like a blood orange, not like black or blue berries. Flavors start off fruity and inviting but then thin out at the end into an alcohol-tinged neverland. Tastes salty. Needs more depth and complexity, and/or more cake/breadiness.

8th Big Beers, Belgians, and Barleywines. Blah! Pours clear light ruby with a small, fizzy, white head, diminishing with fair lacing. Aroma is average malt (grain, hay, straw), average hops (flowers), light yeast (dough) with notes of blueberry and blackberry. Light bodied, thin texture, soft carbonation, and a chalky finish. Average duration, light sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. What a disappointment!

(bottled 2/12/07): Pours an amber brown-red color. Huge foamy white head, good lacing & lasting. Fruity sweet aroma, some blueberries. Some dark fruit but not too strong, some raisins. Floral sweet aroma, sugary like a belgian. Some malty taste, blueberry or blackberry, fresh. Hides the alcohol pretty well. Light and pretty easy to drink.

Bottle: Deep amber, slight purple hue, large frothy head, off-white, light carbonation, spotty lacing.   Nose is somewhat mealy, very soft fruity aspect.   Kinda seems like a Raspberry spritzer.   Fairly malty on the tongue, cereal, hot fruit.   Very warming, but not as fruity as I would have thought.   Fairly full bodied, decent mouthfeel.   Fish is pretty mealy & cereal oriented.   Tiz okay, but not fruity enough for my tastes.   Thanks to jayg for the bottle.

This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a large sized head of foamy fine to medium sized off-white colored bubbles that were long lasting and left behind a transparent typically carbonated and a good lacing. The aroma was malty and farmhouse. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish. The flavor contained notes of farmhouse malt and mild brown malt. An OK brew just nothing special.

Tap at Barcade. Deep purple tinted beer with a thin white head. Aroma is lightly fruity with a light blackberry aroma. Some blueberry sweetness as it warms also. Wheaty spicy backnotes. Fairly clean yeast but with a light fruitiness. Short finish. Quite refreshing, especially for the size. Lightly sticky mouthfeel, despite the short finish. Fairly fruity and juicy. Better than I expected.

Pours a nice red with a bubbly top. Smells and tastes like a berry pie. It was nicely done and covers the high alcohol content nicely. It is even drinkable when warmed.