Chateau Jiahu
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1pt 9.4oz bottle into a pint glass. bottled 1/12/15, so 3 1/2 years old here.

looking pretty good. faintly hazy golden amber body with small bright white head which persists in some form leaving very nice lacing. good consistent light carbonation.

somewhat of a dry white wine aroma.

elements of dry white wine in the taste. also, some sweetness from the honey, and has a bit of a saison feel to it. the diversity makes for an interesting enjoyable drink.

mouth close to full. manages to be both slightly dry and slightly sweet on the finish.

overall, love the idea of Dogfish Head's ancient ales. this one is a very worthwhile drink. Started to feel the abv about halfway through, so some respect is advised.

 

 

 

 

 

Got this in a flight of 4 aged beers at dogfish head
Bottled 2013 drank 2017
Look - golden color
Smell - smells like mash
Taste - like I'm brewing beer and I try it before I add any hops but honey has been added
Feel - medium body and no real carbonation
Overall - I'd say this is like a beer from a long time ago. I wouldn't expect china, don't really taste the sake

Pours gold. Foamy, medium, white head lasts shortly.

Smells sweet fruit,, light fermented fruit, honey and caramel.

Tastes grape, Honey, citrus hints, light pepper and alcohol. Finish is semi sweet with a honey and fruit linger. Medium body and lighter bubbly carbonation.

From notes taken 04/12/17:

Honey-amber, a little orange in appearance, barely clear with swirly cloudiness and plenty of specs and chunks. Head is a delicate, off-white foam, film-forming but with otherwise lower retention. Smells at first like white grape juice and honey, which are two of the ingredients so no great surprise. Mellows a little to something slightly more grassy and herbal, close even to citrus and coriander like a white ale. Maybe a few fumes from the booze in there as well. Palate is at once more well-rounded and all the more boozy for it. Dark honey, alcohol, vinous qualities ranging from fresh grape to artificial grape candy to dry and sweet wines or vermouth, semi citric/spicy notes from I have no idea what, and also some berry-like notes you might expect from something involving grapes and fermentation and then, in this particular case, aging (it was bottled in January of 2015, and I am enjoying it more than two years later, although it has been almost exactly two years to the day since my actual purchase). Moderately dry and fairly clean finish as a result of the mouthfeel more so than the flavors. Overall, tastes about halfway between a Braggot (especially if it has fruit in addition to honey) and a Tripel, it’s quite good. Medium-bodied, extremely effervescent (very fine, somewhat sharp) but not at all overactive (it fizzled crisply when I cracked it open, but certainly didn’t explode), making for deceptively light drinking. The booze is a double-edged sword here. One the one hand, the heat of it serves to balance the otherwise light qualities of the mouthfeel, but then those qualities make for high drinkability so self-control is required. It feels more like a Tripel than a Braggot, I suppose, in spite of it’s relative closeness in design to the latter. Not as syrupy, but that could be the aging. I really love this beer. I’m sure I’m going to “overrate” it but I really do not care! Okay, I do, but it can’t be helped, I like what I like!

 

750 ml bottles (2nd in July 2018).
Pours with a hazy light copper body. Fine textured white head with good retention and excellent lacing.
A lot of effort and trouble went into making this beer which I was eager to try out of curiosity. To my surprise, it's a pleasant beer in every respect, with a particularly good mouthfeel. Lively, medium-high but soft carbonation. Refreshing, lightly spicy and fruity but without musty grapes.
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