Dogfish Head Immort Ale

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Milton, Delaware USA

Indeed a complex brew. Does not taste like the 11% that it is. Taste too "peaty" for me, perhaps I need to age it a bit. I did not get all the flaovrs Dogfish says I should have gotten. I have another bottle that I am going to hold for a few months in hopes that the true flavors come though.

12 oz bottle, bottled 4/09/2007. Pours a deep burgundy, slight frothy head recedes to a uber-thin white ring with small constellations afloat. Nose predominantly of treacle, slight currant type fruit and unusual barnyard mustiness. Initial malt sweetness on the tongue gives way to fruity undertones, slight alcoholic warmth, minor hop bitterness on the back of the tongue after a few seconds. Tasty, and hews pretty close to traditional style with enough dogfish zaniness to make it unique. Can’t wait to see what age does towards mellowing out the flavors.

This is the best tasting, and well rounded beer i have tasted in a while. There is a harmony of dark fruit and deep barely flavors. It ends on a vanilla maple note. The density, head, aroma, everything about this beer makes my mouth water

12 oz bottle. Pours amber with no head. Smoked aroma, slight malty and rubber. Thick mouthfeel. Clearly fullbodied. Sweet raisin malty, syrup and oak hints. I don’t sense the vanilla, but the beer has a certain flavour smoothness. Good bitterness in the finish.

$15 -4pack..."An american barleywine has never been so delicious to me! Very smooth! love that the hops don’t murder this beer, Very balanced for a US style barley...colour is of deep rust, lacing damn fine for 11%....success, A aggressive american barleywine that doesn’t ruin itself! the smoothness and taste just shiiiine!! love it love it love it!!"

12 oz bottle. Pours a hazy reddish brown with a smallish creamy off white head that dissipates to a thin film that leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is peppery leather and smoke and some vinous fruits.

The flavor is sweet sugary caramel and maple, dark fruits and peppery smoke with an alcoholic bitter finish. As it warms, the sweetness get a little cloying. The mouthfeel is pretty full and creamy with slightly sharp carbonation.

Overall, an interesting and pretty unique beer. It’s not quite up my alley though - a little too sweet and the blend of flavors didn’t do it for me. It’s very complex though and well worth a revisit.

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter. This barley wine poured a slightly hazy, deep amber color with a thin beige head that slowly dissolved. Some nice, thick lacing was left behind, but it slowly slide down the sides of the glass due to some oily legs. The aroma consisted of maple syrup, juniper, rock candy, a hint of caramel, and some sweet malts. I could smell the juniper berries from about two feet away. Almost overpowering. The flavor was heavy on the maple syrup. Almost buttery creamy. Nice. You could also taste some vanilla notes, and a bit of candy sugar. There was also a subltle smokiness showing up at the finish. The mouthfeel as mentioned earlier, was very thick and creamy. Very little carbonation. Slightly warming alcohol at the finish, very well hidden. The combination of the creamy mouthfeel and the flavor was brilliant. This is what a barley wine should be! Truly top notch!!!

Immort Ale is a hazy, raspberry red ale with a sand colored head that mostly diminishes. Dark wood, Band-aids and medicine, a touch of sour and perhaps some banana: all are present in the aroma. Immort is full bodied and smooth. Thick and syrupy with soft carbonation. It’s a bit dusty in the finish. It’s very sweet and quite bitter. It starts out sweet, turns sour, and then turns bitter right about the time the alcohol hits. Sweetness and perhaps juniper linger for a good while. It’s a bit sweet for my taste. This might be a good one to sit around in the cellar for a year.