Mixed Media
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Poured from 12oz bottle into a tulip.

Appearance: straw-golden hue with a dash of haze and a thin layer of white foam. Lots of apparent effervescence, though, which is nice.

Smell: very smooth and Belgian-ey with a great orchardy, peary character to the aroma; kind of surprising, given that it's made with grapes. I really like it.

Taste: sweet and with more of that peary character; there's a little vinous element here as well but it's not especially pronounced to my palate. Overall, this reminds me of a fruity Belgian pale or even a tripel. I dig it.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a moderate carbonation and a nice enough creaminess.

Overall: I'm enjoying this beer a lot. As I drink through it, a little more of the vinous character (and even a hint of tartness) start to sneak through. It's a tasty and interestingly complex beer.

Golden color. Thin, white head. Belgian yeast, fruits, grape musk in the aroma. Sweet, yeasty taste. Good beer in general, but hardly a saison in my opinion.

 

 

Clear, golden-hued, slim white head.

In the nose: Lightly tart, slightly sweet, fruity. Quite pleasant. Very musty.

In the mouth: Light bodied, delicate, with high fruit. Just the right amount of sweetness and the correct dose of vinosity. (I may have made that up.)

Sweet turns to dry on the palate. Grape and melon notes abound. Rounds out nicely. Light hops, minimal malt. Tasty treat, this one. I can dig it.

 

Despite other bad reviews I enjoyed this vino-esque ale. It is basically wine but it's tasty and clean.

If you like the grape you like this

 

Bottled 6/1/18

Pours a perfect clear gold into a snifter with absolute minimal head, a gorgeous looking brew

A very strong melon presence in the nose with lesser notes of honey and grape

The taste is similar to the aroma, but more dialed down while the malt character is driven up. I enjoy the sweet malt here, but it can be a bit overbearing with the white wine character

A beautiful feel on this brew, light carbonation dances on the tongue and finishes quite dry

This is the first beer/wine hybrid I’ve ever had, and I’d be open to trying more. Maybe this would have been better fresh, but I found it on the shelf about 15 months after it was bottled. I wonder how this would hold up in the long run given the wine characteristics

EDIT 6/2/20: 2 years and 1 day on this bottle now, and I think I like it a bit more now. Things have started to get a bit more tart in aroma and flavor, allowing for more balance with the malt that was previously quite heavy. It still feels the same. Bumping up some ratings to reflect this, and I look forward to opening another one next year

EDIT 5/31/21: 1 day shy of 3 years after bottling. This one cellared out of shear curiosity because of the wine characters. I still have one more waiting for 5 years. Anyhow, this one seems to have come back around on the sweeter malt in taste, with raw wildflower honey dominating the aftertaste. Mostly the same otherwise and I won’t adjust the ratings
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2018 vintage consumed 2/27/24

The years have turned the beer darker and opaque, now a murky deep gold with a finger of soapy off white head that fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing. It’s surprisingly bright in the nose, I wasn’t expecting that at all and I really dig it. Lots of white grape, orange blossom honey, raw grain, lime zest, green tea, grass, and petrichor. Unfortunately the age is much more evident in taste, it’s sweet and pretty bland. It shows its age a bit more in taste, but it’s still nicely balanced and has a kick of bitterness on the back end. Up front it's wildflower honey, toasted grain, brown sugar, overripe cantaloupe, and white grape skin. The swallow presents orange blossom honey, toffee, raw grain, white grape, and peach. Medium full body with gentle carbonation and a slick finish. I’m actually rather surprised that this one held up decently well, but it's obviously well past its prime

2018 in 2024:
3.67/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

Look: It pours light gold with a white head. Head retention is moderately low.

Smell: There are aromas of an earthy nature. In addition there are white grapes with some floral and a bit of grain.

Taste: It has grape flavors with a bit of tartness and earthen elements. There is also a bit of spiciness and floral elements.

Feel: It has a moderate body with with a dry and tart finish.

Overall, has a wine like element to it with tartness and dryness.

 

Pours a very clear golden color. Minimal head, and the retention of what's there isn't good.
The nose is, well, an extremely funky, malty, slight grape aroma. Not too sure I'm digging it.
Taste - Well, it's a whole lot better than the aroma. It has a crisp flavor. I do get some grape in it. It almost tastes like it has some Brut yeast in it, it is so crisp. Not too tart, but just a slight tartness to it.
Bubbly feeling. Crisp. Decent body.
I was expecting a drain pour from the aroma - it was so off putting. At least the flavor really made up for that. I don't think I'd try this again, but it ended up better than expected.

Not a favorite of mine

 

 

 

 

Pours a light, straw gold. No lingering head to speak of. Aroma of white wine grapes (which they were obviously going for). Mouthfeel is spritzy; the beer isn't overly carbonated, which works in its favor. As far as taste goes, LOTS of white wine characteristics (especially Chardonnay). No hop or malt character.
Overall, this beer didn't really click with me. Even though I'm not a huge fan of white wines, whenever DH comes out with something new I have to try it. I definitely support the creativity.

As clear as can be with color. Nose does have a grape smell as described. Taste is also alit like wine, but with a distinctive tart. Almost like a stale wine.