Oct 7, 2010

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew

In honoring the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis’ genre changing jazz album, Bitches Brew, Dogfish Head has concocted a blend of four different “threads” — essentially four different beers — in hopes of creating their own revolutionary fusion. Three parts a variety of imperial stouts and one part an African beer made with honey and gesho root, the brewery’s version of Bitches Brew is a tasty and unique brew, but I’m not sure it’s going to be as influential or as life changing as the album of the same name appears to have been.

I purchased this big imperial stout (9% ABV) the same time that my buddy, Jay, picked up a six back of Bell’s 25th Anniversary. The plan was to enjoy it the weekend of his visit, but for some reason I complete forgot about it.

The wife and I ultimately broke it out the other day on a fairly cool evening to enjoy out on the back deck while I grilled up some burgers for dinner. The roasty nature of the brew was perfect for the moment as the ambient scents of charcoal and cooking ground beef wafted through the air.

Appearance

Bitches Brew pours thick and black as night with a late forming, dense cap that was dark mocha in color. The head faded pretty slowly, but once it was gone, there wasn’t much a trace of it to be seen.

Aroma

Damn, this is a great smelling beer. Dark roast coffee, subtle chocolates, a light honey presence and an interesting earthiness that I can only assume was the gesho root. It’s not an overly sweet smelling imperial stout and I didn’t pick up as much honey as I expected, but it’s subtle nature was spot on for my own liking.

Taste

After drinking this one, I’m very curious to try out each individual thread that was used in it’s construction. As a whole, the four parts come together wonderfully. It’s a smooth beer with plenty of roast, chocolates, coffee and a little something that I presume to be the gesho root. It’s a unique taste that imparts an earthy character to the beer that really works with the honey that makes more of an appearance than I found in the nose. The beer has a full mouthfeel and a smooth finish. There’s not much an alcohol presence on the tongue, but we certainly felt it by the time the burgers were ready.

Overall

As a one-time release, this is one of those beers that you just sit back and savor all that it has to offer. It’s a unique take on an imperial stout, but I wouldn’t call it revolutionary, at least not in the terms that we are accustomed to when speaking about Dogfish Head. I would love to find another bottle of this one and set it aside for some time to see how the gesho root changes the beer, but it was hard enough just trying to find this one bottle.

Rating: 4/5

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