Smothered in Hugs
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

On tap at Cask and Vine.
Inky black color with a good one inch of bubbly frothy tan head that shows great retention. Light roast but lots of fudgey chocolate vanilla and light berry notes. Light warming alcohol. Nice sipper.

 

 

On tap at Novare

 

 

On tap.

A - Pitch black pour with thick, creamy toffee colored lacing.

S - Chocolate, raspberries, Espresso, vanilla, and some light char.

T - Chocolate roast, Espresso, vanilla, cocoa, fudge brownie, and very boozy.

M - Thick, slick, full bodied, and sticky on the lips.

O - This is a great dessert stout. Lots going on and wish I had more available to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 ounce prowler into snifter, filled on 12/1/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, juicy/tart raspberries, fruit skin/seed, coffee, roasted nuts, vanilla, cream, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, smoke, charcoal, raisin, prune, fig, date, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, raspberries, vanilla, cocoa, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, juicy/tart raspberries, fruit skin/seed, coffee, roasted nuts, vanilla, cream, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, smoke, charcoal, raisin, prune, fig, date, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, grassy, peppery hop; roast/char bitterness; and light fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, tart raspberries/skin/seed, coffee, roasted nuts, vanilla, cream, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted dark/brown bread, molasses, licorice, smoke, char, dark fruit, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, raspberries, vanilla, cocoa, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with an awesome roast/hop bitter/sweet, and tart/tangy fruit balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky/acidic/tangy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 10%. Overall this is an amazing fruited Russian imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, raspberries, vanilla, cocoa, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/charred/drying finish. Amazingly balanced rich malts, jammy raspberries, cocoa, vanilla, and earthy hops against sweetness. A highly enjoyable offering as expected. Spot on RIS and dessert stout at the same time.

Well crafted rich decadent Imp stout. The usual big black, tan, no head , decent lacing. Taste and nose similar. Robust espresso and dark bakers chocolate for richness and bitter offset commendably with vanilla and a big raspberry wet kiss. As beer warmed fruit stood out even more. Definitely a fruity dessert stout. Only real drawback for me was a bit too bright on the carbonation. I like my big stouts smooth and velvety. This was a slight bit of a tongue burner. Overall a very decent big stout.
Worth a try.

L: Had this beer on-tap at Capital Ale House - Innsbrook, poured into a snifter glass. Had a jet black color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was an inch of tan-colored, foamy, long-lasting head. Excellent lacing.

S: An incredibly enticing aroma of chocolate, raspberries, malt, coffee, and vanilla.

T: Tasted of a bit of espresso (just enough), a decent bit of vanilla, tons of raspberries (quite sweet), light hops, some malt, and lots of chocolate. This is a rich, complex, well-balanced flavor. DFH bills this beer as being dessert-like, and that's a good descriptor. The chocolate and raspberries play so well together. Delicious.

F: A fair amount of carbonation with a silky smooth finish. Full-bodied.

O: An incredibly enjoyable beer. Definitely drinkable.

 

 

Tried this little number out at Dogfish Head's facility in Milton after a tour. At the time it was still in the beta phase, but it was easily the best beer I tried that day, so hopefully larger batches are yet to come.

L: Black, with a creamy off-white white head that left heavy lacing on the glass.

S: Some lingering floral notes hiding behind strong, almost overwhelming toasted malts. Absolutely no alcohol on the nose.

T: Tasted initially like a s'more. Toffee and Chocolate were the main characters, but the supporting cast is what really made this beer. Tart berries rounded out the profile of the beer to complete the flavor sensation, and they also added another dimension to the aftertaste, which is otherwise a bit yeasty. Superb! The balance of ingredients leaves you wanting more.

F: Very warm. This beer mellows you out. It's definitely heavy, but unlike some stouts it's still drinkable. Has the smallest hint of that addicting tangy feel in your cheeks that makes you want to savor each sip.

A good addition to a style that is easily saturated with much of the same. With so many mediocre chocolate-based stouts, it was exciting to try something that was so warm but still so refreshing. Dogfish Head definitely nailed it. I certainly felt "Smothered in Hugs," but I didn't get tired of it, and I wish I could have had another one. Well done.