Vibrant P'ocean
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Vibrant P'oceanVibrant P'ocean
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
 
Delaware, United States
Style:
Fruit and Field Beer
Ranked #68
ABV:
4.7%
Score:
86
Ranked #18,970
Avg:
3.82 | pDev: 7.85%
Reviews:
47
Ratings:
121
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 11, 2022
Added:
Dec 19, 2019
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  3
Collaboration with Brouwerij Rodenbach

Sour ale brewed with elderberry, elderflower, lemon and fleur de sel blended with 2-year aged Rodenbach foeder beer.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mvanaskie13:
Photo of mvanaskie13
Reviewed by mvanaskie13 from Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured into a small chalice: color is ruby red, great effervescence, one finger thick pink head that dissipates quickly and remains as a ring and wispy top.

Smell is muted when poured, limited amplification with warmth, presents with some light herbs, lactic acid.

Taste presents as quite pleasant notes of herbs, floral qualities, mixed fruity like character of cherry or raspberry, some lactic sourness, hint of saltiness.

Mouthfeel is moderate to strong carbonation, crisp presence on the tongue, lingering sourness but not tongue numbing.

Overall a unique spin of styles with subtleties of herbal/floral additions of elderberry, salt, and barrel and kettle sour notes.
May 23, 2020
More User Ratings:
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

3.59/5  rDev -6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
12oz can poured into a snifter

A- pours a vibrant ruby color with a one-finger off white head that reduces to leave a ring behind

S- nose is a bit muted at first. Some berries, lemon, light floral notes. Some vinegar-like acidity

T- light and fruity yo front with some berries. Mid-palate gives light lemon and a hint of acidic tartness. The finish gives a nice floral note before adding a hint of berries and lingering dry

M- light body with medium carbonation, foamy mouthfeel continues into a dry finish
Jun 11, 2022
Photo of daliandragon
Reviewed by daliandragon from Maryland

3.95/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I generally like most of DFH's more esoteric and experimental offerings, so I guess it was finally time to belly up to the bar for this one. Body is amber with scarlet highlights and almost no head after a minute. Nose is tart berries. Flavor is more subtle than I originally thought. Definitely grassiness, tart cherries and grapes and apple with heavy carbonation and grassy and medicinal hops ghosting in the background. Milder and more pleasing than I would have guessed.
Jun 05, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by ummswimmin from New Jersey

May 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

May 13, 2021
Photo of Beech105
Reviewed by Beech105 from Missouri

3.84/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a can into a tulip glass. A burgundy color with a pink head. Tastes of tart berries.. a little apple maybe. Love the smell, almost wine like. Not too sour, which is fine by me.
Apr 17, 2021
 
Rated: 3.89 by Lelampp from Ohio

Apr 05, 2021
 
Rated: 3.5 by hester7 from Texas

Mar 07, 2021
Photo of Franziskaner
Reviewed by Franziskaner from Missouri

3.83/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Amber colored with a fingernail of pink around the rim and covering half of the top. I’m smelling Elderberry and lactobacillius. I’m tasting elderberries and tart red berries. The mouth is dry and moderately carbonated.
Jan 15, 2021
Photo of Cylinsier
Reviewed by Cylinsier from Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12 oz can

Pours rosey pink, light pinkish head is fluffy and dissipates to a bit of lacing.

Aroma of grassy malts, white grape, apple, brett, and citrus.

Flavor is light tart citrus, white grape, floral and herbal notes, and grassy malt undertone, and a wine-like finish.

Medium body, bubbly carbonation.

Very pleasant and tasty. Not overly sour, good herbal notes. Drinks easy. It's got that DFH distinction of being wine-like and also reflecting their propensity for herbal adjuncts. I like it, probably won't be the last time I drink it.
Jan 06, 2021
Photo of dsa7783
Reviewed by dsa7783 from New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Six pack copped from Manalapan, NJ. Pours a golden, effervescent hue with minimal frothing. Mellow aroma replete with notes of grapefruit and citrus peel. Similar overall flavor profile. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.
Dec 20, 2020
 
Rated: 3.62 by Corkykab from New Jersey

Dec 12, 2020
Photo of mntlover
Reviewed by mntlover from Tennessee

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a ruby red small tan with hints of pink head. No lace.

Aroma is tart fruitiness, elderberries, light cherry and strawberry just very light Flanders notes do get some of the dryness.

Taste is like the nose fruity, lightly tart just hints of Rodenbach. Not great but not bad don't see the point of watering down a good Belgium Flanders really.

Mouthfeel is crisp and lighter but smooth.

Overall eh not bad, guess the light Flanders notes make it a bit better fruit beer.
Dec 03, 2020
Photo of burnstar
Reviewed by burnstar from Pennsylvania

3.64/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pours a dark red with a quickly dissipating head. Aroma is faint fruit and maybe a little yeast in the nose. Taste is sour but not bracingly so. Fruit thoughout- elderberry- a fruit I'm mostly only familiar with as jelly that my grandparents always had on hand. It's nice- it tastes like a combination of berries that you can't quite place. It's not a particularly distinct flavor but it's the dominant one here. Dry, almost salty finish. The beer is not very complex but it's pleasant and very easily drinkable.
Nov 01, 2020
Photo of feloniousmonk
Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

3.84/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
4.7 %, 12 IBU. Dogfish Head Brewing, Milton, DE, collaboration with Rodenbach, Belgium.
Clear, bright crimson coloring, slim and slightly pinkish head.

In the nose: Rosy, tart, fruity. Funky, fresh, sour.

In the mouth: Starts out with intense pucker, incredible tart. Cherries and berries, and plenty of oak. Very pleasant sour ale, but lacks the complexity of the regular Rodenbach. Definitely drinkable. Decidedly tasty. Sparkles on the palate. Yeah, pretty nice. Pretty nice, indeed. Good Belgian/American collaboration sour ale and you can drink it.
Oct 17, 2020
Photo of Snowcrash000
Reviewed by Snowcrash000 from Germany

4.09/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours a cloudy, deep ruby red coloration with a medium, frothy head. Smells of light doughy malt and tart elderberry, as well as light floral accents. Taste is a good balance of light doughy malt, a distinct, fruity and tart elderberry presence, some floral notes, a light saltiness and very subtle woody, tannic accents, all underlined by a mild lactic, citric acididy. Finishes with a light tartness and some elderberry and subtle tannins lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a light/medium body and medium carbonation.

This is basically a fruited Gose blended with Flanders Red Ale, and not a lot of the latter judging by the flavor profile. I think your enjoyment of this beer will depend heavily on your expectations of this unique combination. If you expect a Flanders Red Ale, you will most definitely be disappointed, because it totally lacks the complexity of that style, but when you start thinking of it as a Gose, it suddenly becomes a much more enjoyable beer. I think it's kinda fascinating how our expectations and understanding of a beer and the style it fits into can change the way we feel about it, especially with a beer that falls between two stools like this. It's not a very complex or full-bodied beer, but it is very fruity and refreshing, with a good balance of sweetness and acidity, while those certain woody and tannic accents, subtle as they may be, definitely add something to it as well.
Oct 12, 2020
 
Rated: 2.75 by chiefz1 from New York

Oct 08, 2020
 
Rated: 3.84 by WickedBeer from Alabama

Sep 26, 2020
Photo of JRed
Reviewed by JRed from New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Deep ruby in body with floating strawberry white head. Aroma of berries, cherry soda, sour notes. Tastes of sweet berries, cherries, sour notes, some fruit tang lingers. Light bodied with light carbonation. Would prefer more body but overall, refreshing.
Sep 05, 2020
Photo of Captain69
Rated by Captain69 from Illinois

3.35/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
refreshing sour great flavor not to sour
Sep 01, 2020
Vibrant P'ocean from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 121 ratings