Commentist Beer Barrel: Dogfish Did It

Image credit: twitter.com/dogfishbeer

Yesterday, I walked into a bar, sat down, and ordered a beer seasoned with chocolate, basil, and lobster. It’s important to me that I record this event so that if either I or the American craft beer industry as a whole are ever charged with a serious crime, we will each have an airtight defense of insanity. And hey, it was good, all right? It was fine. It was ridiculous, but it was good. And of course, as with just about all the weirdest beers in America, the lunatics at Dogfish Head Brewing Company of Milton, Delaware were responsible.

Back when I used to homebrew more regularly than I do now—okay, okay, back during that eight months when I made the only three batches I’ve ever made—my friends used to try to suggest weird stuff for me to put into a beer, and my answer was always the same. Melon? Dogfish did it. Tomatoes? Dogfish did it. Entire loaves of bread, for Christ’s sake? Dogfish did it. That’s Dogfish Head: The Simpsons of weird beer. No one throws more stuff you’d never expect, and in some cases have never heard of, into their beer, and this approach has produced a lot of complete goddamned messes. It’s also produced some works of absolute genius, like their Miles Davis tribute Bitches Brew (with honey and gesho root), or the massive brown ale Palo Santo Marron (aged in palo santo wood tanks the size of, like, the entire Delaware).

Dogfish Head Higher Math is the adventurous brewery’s 20th anniversary beer, an intimidating 17-percenter flavored with cocoa nibs and sour cherry juice, which for Dogfish Head is a remarkably modest list of additives. The label will tell you this is, at base, a Belgian strong golden ale, but it pours more red than gold with a very thin white head that quickly fades into near-nonexistence. That second bit is to be expected; this is a strong beer, and a beer with fruit juice added, and these are not favorable conditions for head formation. The nose is spicy—sorry, check that. That’s not spice, that’s ethanol, and lots of it. I can’t emphasize enough: This as strong as three ordinary beers. It’s boozy as hell. Don’t buttchug it. It’d be like shitting hot wings in reverse. There’s cherry here too, but the combination thankfully doesn’t come off like cough syrup. The flavor’s something else entirely. When you smell this beer, you barely get any chocolate, but the taste is all chocolate all the time. This is a big, sweet and hearty beer that does a surprising job of hiding all that alcohol in a big ball of chocolate and cherries and malt. Of course, hiding a thing doesn’t mean it’s not still there; I was feeling pretty good by the time I finished my ten ounces. This beer really impressed me overall. The ingredients they chose work together and with the base beer brilliantly to produce a rich, luxurious beer that’s perfect for sipping slowly on a cool late autumn day.

lady snow says: It’s kind of a bit nutty, on the first sip. Like peanut butter, maybe, but not salty. And then there’s that burn on the finish. Not a bad burn, but it’s still warming my throat.

make it snow says: Do you want to say anything that doesn’t make this sound like a huge pile of innuendos?

lady snow says: No.

Grade: Better than cough syrup. Even better than the Canadian cough syrup, the stuff with codeine in it.

make it snow is an alot of beer. He drank ten ounces from a twelve-ounce bottle of Higher Math for this review; lady snow drank the other two ounces because she had work to do. He thinks Northwestern is looking pretty good right now!

Featured image credit: twitter.com/dogfishbeer

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makeitsnowondem
make it snow is an alot of beer. He is also a Broncos fan living in Denver.
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JerBear50

Dogfish’s Red and White is really damn good. It’s a Belgian wit fermented on pinot noir juice and then oak aged. It’s one of the few DFH offerings I’ve ever tried and I was really impressed with it. http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/32435/

WhyEaglesWhy

I love chocolate and I love sour cherry, and this beer sounds amazing. I probably have zero chance of finding it, as well. FUCK EVERYTHING.

Cuntler

Cherry Kreik by Strange Beer Company. Similar concept, and also very good. I have a feeling they don’t distribute outside of Denver. If you ever go to Mile High, though, they are a walk just to the south of the stadium: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23081/68970/

jjfozz

20 years ago, when Dogfish Head was just starting out, I was hanging at my favorite OC, MD bar. They were having a promotional there for Dogfish. I got drunk as shit with the rep who was running the thing.

Love their beer.

Spanky Datass

I will endeavor to pit the two local booze barns against each other to encourage them to stock Higher Math. Yes, I live in the sticks and don’t like my chances of ever seeing this beer … AND I WANT IT NOW!

I must have been lucky because I can’t remember getting anything from Dogfish Head I disliked. Even that fucking raisin one was nice! I think I’ll have a few Burton Batons tonight.

Cuntler

This one wasn’t very good for the price ($16.99 for a bomber): http://www.dogfish.com/files/imagecache/mainBanner/billboard/261/images/GD2015.png

Would not recommend. Stupid rose-colored hippy glasses.

Brick Meathook
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
SonOfSpam

I had my very first Dogfish Head brew last night at a restaurant (don’t stuff me into a locker). The 90 Minute IPA was quite good. I wanted another, but I was driving. No lobster in the beer.

Currently having a Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale. Sam Adams brews aren’t crazy, but I’ve never had a bad one. Cheers to you all.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Not sure why people rag on SA; they are bigger than any of craft breweries, but way smaller than the giants. They are at 1% or so of the US market. I’m not a big fan of the big ones so for me there has been a lot of places where SA was the only craft for sale. IMO far superior to Bud, etc.

+

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
WhyEaglesWhy

I always enjoyed the Old Fezziwig at Christmas time. I miss Christmas beers. They’re not really a thing here, because it’s usually about a million degrees on Christmas and nobody wants a heavy, spicy beer.

Senor Weaselo

But for real, I’ll eat/drink a lot of things with sour in them, so this does sound like a worthwhile thing to check out if I can ever find it. Can you taste the difference in the sour cherry juice than if they had just used not-sour cherry?

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Agreed; beer has it’s own sugars. I’ve had a couple of local cherry beers that were not bad; interesting. I really like cherry, but prefer them separate.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

On a much lighter note, here is one for those of your party who don’t like IPA or big stouts, etc.:
Very light and smooth, I don’t really think Irish, but it is good. Maybe a hot day beer.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/rogue-irish-style-lager/588/

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/132/6314/

Almost the opposite of usual; rated much higher here:

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

For the stout drinkers; here is one you’d like, but I think only Cuntler would find it; I really liked it. it had a strong liquor barrel taste that was balanced by the stout.

Only one review.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28551/183090/

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

A few more reviews here; generally liked less than I did:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/river-north-fancy-effing-stout/358481/

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
...

I’ll throw a roasted wrench into this by saying I’ve had barrel-aged coffee too.

What I’m saying is that I, for one, welcome our new barrel overlords.

Cuntler

Love River North! Haven’t had that one yet. I am a big fan of their Avarice.

http://www.rivernorthbrewery.com/#!avarice new.JPG/zoom/c24i2/image_21px

Did you hear that they are homeless right now? They closed the shop on Blake, and are opening up much further north. At least they still sell it in stores.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Yes, read it on the website. It is expensive rent downtown and the market is very crowded. I believe they’ll have a tasting room in the new digs; for some of these smaller guys maybe it is a better BP to go to a neighborhood and sell distribution more. You get a forgiving local crowd to experiment on and your margins for product are better.

ballsofsteelandfury

To be clear, Higher Math does NOT have lobster, right? I mean, it doesn’t sound like it does, but I’ve seen Dogfish do weird shit.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I’m never going to stop this; I never want to stop this.

Needs more butter.

ballsofsteelandfury

I don’t want you to stop it. I think it’s hilarious!

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I can’t quit you, man…….

or for that matter Cephalopoda.

ballsofsteelandfury

Excellent! I will look for it as I like malty sweet beers.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I’m a little more traditional I guess; I’ll try stuff, but probably wouldn’t buy a LOBSTER beer.

Would buy a lobster a beer tho.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I’ve had it before and I like it; I think it is delicious; rated pretty good here. My poor had a big head that is not described here;
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/132/43969/

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Some of the raters in there I’d give a 4.78/5 douchebag rating, but it is the internet.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

This is a bit closer to how I’d rate it; not blow away IPA, but very good, balanced, rough around the edges like I like women and IPAs.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/rogue-yellow-snow-ipa/34254/

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I like the graphics; it has a dog in it.

Don T

Cherry juice and cocoa and high alcohol sounds great. Consider my interest piqued.

¡Cotto Cotto Cotto Cotto!

BrettFavresColonoscopy

I would like to subscribe to lady snow’s newsletter

Horatio Cornblower

I’d like her number, just in case make it snow drinks another of those 17%’ers.

On a more serious note, what of the lobster? Your opening sentence is “Yesterday, I walked into a bar, sat down, and ordered a beer seasoned with chocolate, basil, and lobster.” and then there’s not another goddamn word about lobster. This sounds like a combination I would run screaming from, which sadly is something I’ve taken to doing to Dogfish Head in general because, as you say, they make more hot messes than I write run-on sentences and that’s saying a lot, but I must know more about what beer seasoned with lobster tastes like.

Horatio Cornblower

The brewery down the street from me does a really good oyster shell stout so I will check a bottle of the Chocolate Lobster out if I see it.

Honestly other than Dogfish Head 90, which is really, really good, I try to avoid them. Too cute for their own good.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Although they do a really good job with the 90 and other “traditional” beers IMO.

Senor Weaselo