Entry 91: Dogfish Head Immort Ale

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 


Immort Ale


Style: American Strong Ale
Availability: Limited - Spring
Format: 12oz
ABV: 11%
IBU's: 50


Bottle text & Info:

Vast in character, luscious & complex. We started brewing Immort Ale at our brewpub in 1995 and began bottling it in 1997. For this beer, we use maple syrup from Red Brook Farm - Sam's family farm in Western Massachusetts, peat-smoked barley, juniper berries, and vanilla.Immort is fermented with a blend of English & Belgian yeasts, thenaged in the big oak tanks at the brewery.The sweet and earthy flavors meld magnificently in the Immort Ale. But, be warned the abv is 11%, so after 1 or 2 you may start feeling immortal (even though we promise you won't be).Immort Ale is released each and every spring (after the sap starts flowing). For more on the Immort Ale (including a bit about the artist who did our 4-pack artwork), watch Sam's Quick Sip Clip: here!

Tasting Notes:

Pours surprisingly light. A clear ruby colored body with a cream colored quarter inch head that floats on the top in silky waves. An unbelievable nose on this guy. Oak all over the place which could be from the vanilla beans just as well as the oak aging. Oak characteristics intermingle with distinct juniper notes and some warming smoke on the back. Excellent creamy mouthfeel with mid to low level carbonation, almost cask-like in that regard. Sweet vanilla upfront, followed by a huge maple mid-section, then some subtle tobacco, clove notes ending with a long peat smoke finish. Overall, this one if right up there with Burton Baton as one of my favorite offerings from Dogfish, and like Dogfish, I swallow my adam's apple when i buy a $15 four pack. C'mon Dogfish. wtf. Regardless, I think this one will age like a gem and solve that messy, off putting maple syrup mid-section. If all the piece meld and become balanced then this one will become world class. For now, its a very solid offering.

Day 78: 03.19.10 Dogfish Head Aprihop

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware


Aprihop


Style: Fruit
Availability: Seasonal
Format: 12oz - 4pk
ABV: 7%
IBUs: 30


Bottle text & Info:

Aprihop is our fruit beer for hopheads! It is an American IPA brewed with Pilsner and Cystal malts massively hopped in in the continuous fashion. The flavor is complimented by the addition of Apricots. After fermentation the beer is dry hopped with irresponsible amounts of Amarillo hops. The beer is hoppy in the aroma with the apricots playing a supporting complimentary role. The flavor is rich with late hop flavors and it's bitterness is tempered by just the right amount of malt sweetness and fruity undertones from the apricots. This is one of our most popular seasonal beers and we've been brewing it each spring for quite a while now. We release the beer each March and you should find it on the shelves through May. For a video clip on everything you need to know for this year's edition. go .... here!

Tasting notes:

Pours sort of a tawny, light amber color with a half inch cream colored head that quickly recedes. A slight whiff of high alpha hops with dominant fresh apricot on the nose. Quite amazing how this smells, like someone is standing next you halving apricots. Light, but creamy mouthfeel with apricot/mango on the front held together by some light, sweet caramel malt, finishing with some nice spruce/pine notes. Thank god, they've returned this beer to its former glory. Dogfish made a concerted effort to bring the hops back this year after last years last then stellar version. Gone is the spritzy, apricot syrup that was last year - and in with a superb ale with great hop additions and masterfully balanced. Over the years, this one's a bit inconsistent. This year is a good year to pick it up. Smuttynose should pay close attention, maybe rethink that Hanami mess they have going on.

Day 77: 03.18.10 Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware


Burton Baton


Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale
Availability: Limited
Format: 12oz - 4pk
ABV: 10.0%
IBUs: 70


Bottle text & Info:

This is a blended beer that we've been brewing for the past several years and it's recently been gaining in popularity. For Burton Baton we first brew two 'threads' or batches of beer: an English-style Old Ale and an Imperial IPA. After fementating the separate beers in our stainless tanks, the two are transferred and blended together in one of our large oak tanks. Burton Baton sits on the wood for about a month. When enjoying the Burton Baton, you'll find an awesome blend of the citrus notes from Northwestern hops melding with woody, vanilla notes from the oak. The wood also tends to mellow the 10% of the beer - so tread cautiously! Burton Baton is brewed and released three times per year. For all the info you could want on this guy, plus a video click....here!

Tasting Notes:
Pour a bright, clear ruby with a quarter inch, pure white showing some soft bubbles within some silky suds. Barleywine-like prunes on the nose with some booze, pine and the softest touch of oak.  Nice, medium body, a bit sticky but that's 90 minute for you. In fact the flavor profile is primarily 90 minute: pink grapefruit, a touch of pine, bready malt showing through and then some oak showing through on the finish. Not a whole lot of vanilla-like notes that you'd expect from something oaked, but more of a dry, woody note. The oaks greatest asset to this ale is that it totally mellows the ABV. This is one sneaky 10%. This is one of my favorite Dogfish releases and I always feel fortunate when I can get my hands on some. I've had better batches (hops seemed a bit mellow in this one), but still a top notch ale.