Campfire Amplifier
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

 

 

pours the typical motor oil color of a stout along with a small head that vanishes quickly. nose; burnt toast, graham crackers, vanilla, light milk chocolate, lactose/creamer, & light hops. taste; exactly like the nose but with a touch of bitter cinnamon & cocoa. surprising lack of malt; medium carbonation & mouthfeel. doesn't have much of a backbone, so it starts to read like a watered down stout after a bit. all of the ingredients listed on the bottle can be discerned, but it still manages to be boring somehow. maybe next time!

Very dark opaque brown with a substantial creamy tan head that stays around and produces some nice lacing.
The aroma is dark roasted malt, smoke, a hint of chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon.
The taste is also dark roasted malts up front, then smoke and a bit of lactic sweetness, cocoa vanilla and a touch of graham cracker. The finish is fairly dry with a touch of spice - cinnamon?
The body is medium, moderate carbonation, very creamy and very drinkable.
Altogether this is a very tasty and enjoyable brew, great for a cool fall day. Very nice.

 

 

Black carbonated body with a thick luscious beige head that lasts and sticks around, Tastes smoky, with an extra bit of smokiness on top of the regular roasted malts of a stout. Lactose takes a back seat but there's plentiful cocoa powder. The marshmallow and vanilla certainly comes out a bit as well.
It's nothing crazy on the flavoring side but carries just enough to make it interesting. I'm not the biggest fan of the feel on this one, it can't decide if it wants to go full nitro or not and so isn't as carbonated as expected but someone who likes creamier stouts may enjoy the consistency.

 

 

 

Poured out of a 12 oz bottle into one of my pint glasses, this beer pours a very dark brown color that's not interested in letting in any light. Has a light brown/tan head that's very creamy/frothy looking when poured, as it is well over an inch thick when first poured. Settles eventually and after a few sips to a thick surface coating along with a tick foam ring lining the inside of the glass at the beer's surface and some pretty good lacing too. Aromas of roasted malts, cocoa, vanilla, and some nuttiness here. Also a bit of spice. A very similar flavor profile, w/ the aforementioned roasted malts, cocoa and vanilla hints, nuts, and a bit of spice. Also some hop bitterness. I feel the amount of roast from the malts is a bit too strong for a beer of this style, and this combined with the nuttiness diminishes the rest of the flavors from really coming out as they should as as they likely would be otherwise. Other than the roasted malts and nuttiness, the rest of the flavors just aren't prevalent enough for my liking. And I get barely any hint lactide/milk sugars. I really have to go out of my way w/ my palate to search it out, and even then there's only a very faint trace. Has a fairly crisp, yet smooth, somewhat frothy, also slightly oily and just slightly gritty, medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Has a dry, roasted finish and aftertaste. Not bad, but could use some refinement.

Eric

Yeah, I'm having a second tonight. Screw it. Sometimes it's necessary. Word of warning, this bottle is a bit old at this point, but I have had this beer several times before. 12 oz poured into a pint glass.

At the outset, I get the deepest brown with about two fingers of tanned head. Good retention. Not much lacing to speak of. The smell is smoky, suitable to the branding - of course, it's a stout, it has an advantage in that department. It has a sort of milky, marshmallowy quality on top of the malt.

It tastes quite smoky and malty and reminds me of a campfire. It's more bitter than expected from the cocoa. The vanilla comes through, too. It's rather thin, a bit chewy, a bit creamy. It's a good, enjoyable, end of the day stout. Nothing crazy here.

Fun fact, the first time I had this was as a taster at a tasting at the beginning of the pandemic. The other beers? Costumes & Karaoke, 120 Minute IPA, and Utopias. Yeah, seriously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Nox Cocktail Lounge in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like milk chocolate, vanilla, roast, and general spicing.

I certainly do not get all of the different adjuncts in this one, but there's a nice vague spice on the end, and a very chocolatey and nutty base stout.

This is lighter bodied and kind of thin, but still pretty creamy and very drinkable.

I want a bit more oomph in body and flavor on this one. I stil enjoyed it, though - I've just had better from DFH.

Bottle Date: 8/6/15
Palate Contaminants: sweets an hour before

Really dark brown, about one step back from the darkest brown. Briefly enough head to cover the surface, but no lacing.

Sugar and nuts for the scent. I'd even stretch to say macadamias, to go along with Brazil nuts and almonds. There are also burnt sugar and vanilla scents underlying it all nicely and subtly. So pleasant.

Vanilla absolutely dominates from the front to the back. There's a bit of toasted almond and hot chocolate mix in there, but it keeps coming back to vanilla. And I don't mind one bit. This actually makes a pretty nice dessert brew. The moderate sweetness spearheaded by vanilla, with a bit of toasty flavors peering in from the edges. I like it.

I thought carbonation was a bit light, but it really just takes some agitation to really bring it out. It's fine and foamy. Weight is slightly thin, ironically. Alcohol is present, but not detrimental. Vanilla is, of course, in the aftertaste, but toastiness has an increased presence.