Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Traditional Ale
Milton, Delaware USA

bottle thanks to the fw flying saucer. gold color with a thin white head. nose is honey, flowers, herbs and light alcohol. smooth on the palate with a flavor that reminds me of a mead. honey, spices and flowers with a slight alcohol burn in the finish.

(22oz bomber courtesy of FW Flying Saucer) Pours a pale yellow with very low head/bubbles. Nose of jasmine, juniper, pale malts and alcohol. Taste is fruity, alcoholic, sweet, cinnamon with a crisp bite and nice finish.

1 pt 9.4 oz bottle. Pours amber gold with a small white head. Smells of corn malt, floral, and slightly citrusy. Tastes tangy sweet, hints of white grape, lots of honey, somewhat citrusy, and a sweet finish. Alcohol flavor is more apparent as it warms. Pretty good beer.

A golden beer with a 1 finger disappearing head. Aroma of slightly sour fruit. Taste was fruity, grapes, & was quite smooth. An overall good beer that is similar to Midas Touch but seems smoother & a better beer than Midas.

Bottle thanks to st.fun. Pours with a murky golden body with a fading, off-white head over it. Aroma of barley, grapes, honey, jasmine, alcohol and a touch of sulfur. Taste is sweet and malty with caramel, honey, and a touch of light sweet citrus that I can not identify. Some alcohol and the typical, DFH malt bill. Some apricot might be part of the citrus I am thinking of. Light carbonation but feels a bit thin.

On tap at Tria 8/11/09. Pours nice gold, touch of amber. Bubbly one finger head that didn’t last long. Nice aroma of honey with touch of citrus. Tast was sweet up front, then an interesting sake flavor (from the rice?), then a very solid sweet honey finish, resembling a mead. Aroma was much better as it warmed, and an INCREDIBLY COMPLEX beer. I wish I could appreciate it all, but really, it was a bit too much for me. Would like to give this another go, though.

Bottle obtained at Friendly Mini Mart. This sure is one attractive brew. It has this classic copper color with a quickly hiding foam aloft. (I like saying aloft, it makes me feel like I’m in a Monty Python Movie.) The aroma has this nice sugary aroma, the honey shines through somewhat, but the rest is this amalgamation of flavors ranging from brown sugar to ginger to caramel to clove. It doesn’t touch on any one note too hard, so it remains rather complex. The closing note is a fitting one, it has this grape scent, almost reminiscent of a sweet white wine. The flavor has a good kick to it, part carbonation and part crispness of flavor. It really has a good transition from a beer that smells similar to many a sweet-spiced-American-style-Belgian into a oddball fruity-winesque-fruity-hot-mama. Does that make sense. It really comes off as a beer from the aroma, the notes of the grape are there, but it comes through with some more Belgian notes as well, but the flavor turns it all on its head. It isn’t quite a beer or a wine flavor, it is a nice middle of the road sort of thing. After each sip (or gulp) I like this beer I like it more and more. No, it sure isn’t the top of the line model, but seriously, it doesn’t break the mold of craft brew, but it sure does put a few dents in it. Which is really what DFH has been doing lately. So cheers to them for another very complex and enjoyable brew.

First, congratulations is in order for what is, by far, the most impressive and artistic label in the Dogfish Head line-up. Edgy, modern, stylish, and the beer’s pretty good too. The Chateau Jiahu spreads out a thick, foamy aspen colored head from it’s clear and honeyed base. A lively crowd of carbonation gives the brew some staring appeal, buying it some time to spread it’s sweet yet unctuous arom to the nose. There, strawberry soda, honey, cotton candy, Fuji apple, a modicum of hops, champagne grapes and sparkling cider mingle to produce a thick but bright, serrated sweetness. After this cutting experience, the flavor seems somewhat gagged - muffled and suppressed. It’s sweet, but much more mellow, which I rather like. It immediately tastes of honey, and reminds me of a sweet mead. Strawberries and apples outline the heavier honey sugar, and the aftertaste introduces malts and caramel in moderate quantities. I know these sort of beers usually fall out of vogue soon after their release, but the Chateau Jiahu can quickly dispatch a craving for dessert with an air of sophistication that I didn’t know could come from beer.