Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

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

There must be lots of fruit in that Palo Santo wood because this is fruitier than a mofo. Got some kind of mixture of raspberry and strawberry to this. It TASTES a deep dark purple, on top of all the visual hints. (The look is of an imperial stout.) Goes down very bubbly and fruit-sweet.

Pours black with small dark tan head that quickly becomes a thin ring. Aroma is of sweet dark fruit, vanilla, smokey wood, and alcohol. Flavor is very complex, but mostly consistent with aroma, emphasizing the sweetness and wood. The wood taste mixed with slightly bitter hops and alcohol warmth linger awhile.

Pours almost black with about a 1 finger tan head, not much carbonation. For a 12.7 ABV it goes down smooth with a taste of scotch ale, chocolate, malt. Great beer to sit and enjoy.

Complexity for days. Take a sip and let it sit in your mouth for a couple minutes. What does that taste like? Thats happiness. Caramel, roasted, burnt sugar, sure why not. This is one dark liquid. An absolute home run.

On tap at Toronado, San Francisco, with Phyllis, 24th Mar 09. Black. Fruity. Alcoholic. Sweet on the tongue with lovely raspberry hints and perfect smoothness.

Bottle. Pours an opaque, dark burgundy. Only the thinning edges allow light to pass through. The dark tan head isn’t too abundant but very long lasting. There are lots of sweet aromas going on here, caramel, tons of molasses, dried and candied prunes and other darker fruits. Cacao is also evident. There are some less prevalent smoked, woody qualities as well. The mouthfeel is syrup-like with some very light carbonation. The initial flavour is of the candied and dried prunes and other darker citrus. The drier wood and smoke qualities quickly surface and overpower as the brew sits on the taste buds. Passing the tongue, the sweeter molasses and caramel and candied notes dissipate as smoke and wood attributes amplifies. Even amplified and overpowering the other flavours, however, the smoke and wood is actually quite mellow and well-rounded. The darker citrus remain, stripped from its dried and candied qualities of earlier. Cacao now becomes more apparent adding to the dryness of the flavour. Alcohol is quite evident as it creates a nice warming sensation in the chest and a bourbon-like flavour. The finish is lightly bitter and mildly dry with cacao, mild smoke, some wood, and dark fruits to round it off. Molasses, caramel, and the other sweeter notes hardly exist in the finish. Alcohol adds a nice kick to the finish and definitely to the senses! This is very enjoyable!

very dark brown/black with medium head. aroma is semi sweet or dark fruit and earth. drinks rich and sweet with a nice roasted malt and earth characters i assume are from the wood. almost has a bourbon taste/warming from the alcohol. flavor lingers long after your done. i quite like this one.

12 oz bottle
At $5.99 a bottle this was a reasonable price. I am usually leery of Dogfish Head’s big beers because they seem to mess something up. However this was actually not bad. Once again Dogfish Head has me confused. Give it a shot if the price is right.

Aroma / Appearance - The dense foamy head suffocates the thick black body below. Black cherry, anise, creamy vanilla, and banana make it a nice blend of flavors. I don’t know what palo santo smells like but whatever it is I like it.

Flavor / Palate - Warm and boozy the heaviness sticks to the throat and tongue. Rick chocolate, banana, and licorice travel as a group between the throat. It reminds me of a tropical interpretation of a stout. Were the price more affordable I might give it a shot again.