Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

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

12 oz single bottle from Total wine in Tucson. Poured dark black with a very thin brown head, actually there was almost no head at all. It smells roasted, malty, slightly sweet with some sugar in it. The taste is sweet roasted malt. Alcohol is present, it burned by nose slightly when I held the beer in my mouth. You can taste the wood it was aged on. Very well made, interesting beer.

12 oz bottle from a 4-pack. Pours an opaque black. Even when held up to a light, the beer is completely black around the edges. The head is brown and small, and it dissipates quickly leaving moderate lacing. The beer has an oily slickness that prevents the foam from sticking to the glass too much. Smells of roasty malt, brown sugar, and rubbing alcohol. There is also a strange woodiness to the aroma. Almost like oak mixed with kava kava. In the back is a faint grassiness. The taste is dominated by a medicinal quality and alcohol. This could definitely use some aging. Underneath all that hot mess is a nice woodiness, dry roasty malt, and brown sugar. Dry wood in the finish. Aftertaste of wood and grassy hops. The body is surprisingly light, probably from the high alcohol content. It is slick and oily with a moderate amount of carbonation and a semi-dry finish. Palo Santo Marron punched me in the mouth with its intensity and uniqueness; however, it was pretty hard to finish. I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m going to age the rest of my bottles and come back to them.

Bottle. Ohhhh what a nice beer. It’s pours like a black hole in a glass. Light will not pass thru. Great dark tan head with decent lacing left. The strong malt, coffee, chocolate and alcohol aromas are a knock out combination. Awesome bite and a creamy mouthfeel that’s not at all overly sweet or syrupy thick. I really like the barley wine like flavor. I’d rate this higher than my favorte DFH head brew, Raison D’Etre, but cost per bottle holds me back. Still, drinking this brew is like having a religious experience.

On tap at DFH. I really enjoyed this: plenty of coffee and chocolate and a touch of warming alcohol. Rich flavor with a dry, bitter finish.

Black with dense tan head that left nice lacing. Smell of an English barley wine. Alcohol presence, sour cherries, roasty, malty, rich and dry. I was expecting more from this which doesn’t make this bad, but it reminded me of a Russian Imperial in the end. Perhaps when I try it in a bottle with lowered expectations I’ll have more promising thing to say. On tap and Andy’s DFH Promo night.

Dirty brown pour with no head. Nose of rich malts, coffee, brown sugar, vanilla, wood and chocolate. Flavor is well layered with some hops thrown in as well. Nice bittering finish after all the great flavors.

Intriguing! On draft at Hulmeville Inn as part of a sampler. Pour was dark brown with interesting fiery copper-red highlights. Small glass (4-5 oz) didn’t allow for head. Aroma was slightly out of the ordinary, alcohol present and an aged smell to it for sure. Even my mother correctly smelled/tasted it! Very tasty, and the 12% was not nearly as overwhelming as it maybe should have been ; )

Bottled from Cracked Kettle, Amsterdam. Very dark brown coloured, almost no head. Very complex nose, malts, liquorice, coffee, dark fruit, very nice. Unbelieveable flavour-development, initially somewhat fruity and malty, then the chocolate and coffee comes in, followed by a hopbitter flavour and finishing up with a lasting bitter finish. Although not really my thing this is a unique brew with an astonishing flavour development at every sip. Interesting.