Dogfish Head Raison D Extra

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Milton, Delaware USA

Wow- STRONG! Don’t let the 18% ABV fool you though; although the warming effects of the alcohol are present on the palate, it won’t wreck the tasting experience. Packed with complexity that will you keep you sipping, so this one will surely sneak up on you. Excellent choice!

Pours deep red/brown with off white head, aroma is big dark fruit including dark fruit and sweet caramel malt. Taste up front is big and complex, with lots of dark fruit with some belgian fruits and lots of raisin flavor that finishes fairly smooth and sweet. How there is 18.5% in this is beyond me, none of that comes through. Awesome brew.

12oz. bonused in a trade with phaleslu, thanks Peter!!! Pours a lightly hazed ruby tinted medium brown with a thin, beige head that has decent retention, the beer leaves lacing of mostly syrupy liquid, with a few small bubbles when swirled. Aroma is huge on the raisins, candied yams, fat chunks of chewy caramel, light toasty maple notes (like maple sap half boiled down to syrup), apple skins and sweet roasted nut notes. Flavor is again, big raisins, huge caramel, awesome maple syrup, toasted nuts, lots more sort of toasty nutty and woody notes, definitely some ethanol in there, but at around 20% it’s well hidden, sweet white bread crusts, each sip eems to bring out more flavor notes. Finishes with raisin, candied yams, molasses, roasted nuts a touch of cough syrup and banana bread. Palate is of course quite heavy, it has a somewhat slick feel throughout that dries out a bit toward the finish, there is definitely a bit of alcohol burn in there too. Interesting stuff for sure, smells great and other than the little bit of cough syrup, tastes great as well. I would love to see a version with all the flavor, minus about half the alcohol and a good chunk of the sweetness. It looks interesting too, once the head fades away it could easily pass for some sort of liqour.

Dogfish Head Brewing Company--Dogfish Head Raison D’Extra--2005 12 oz. Bottle. 21.00% ABV--41 IBU’s. Fruit Ale--Raison? Aging Three as of 3/8/2010. Rich and needs smoothing.

Has a great big aroma of raisins, barley, and maple. The ABV is pretty intense, sip with care. The flavor really sits on your tongue well. You can really pick out every single flavor.

Thanks Adrian! Remarkably fruity, raisin aroma with a touch of cheese, some alcohol too. Flat brown pour. Cool old drawing on the label, like on other DH 12 ounce releases - and is that Hank Williams there with his guitar? (He was a drunk, but not a beer guy if I recall correctly).. Super sweet, raisiny belgian taste. Is this a Belgian quad? RB says American strong ale. And the alcohol is 18.5? It doesnt say that on the bottle! This is very much a dessert beer, almost like a dessert wine. A hoppy finish with an alcohol tingle. Dave says this is a unique brew, and I agree. Another exciting DH release.

Thanks to Cornelia for sharing a 2002 750ml at Pre-Sex! Still, dark, and ominous pour. It looks like brine or something cooked down or distilled. A deep murky brown, it’s got a nose that is like pure candied sugar set on fire. If you try very hard, you can certainly detect some raisins as you sip. But I can almost imagine that they’re screaming, trying to escape the sugary, hot mess. Night Train.

Bottle. Bottled March 15, 2007, so close to two years on it. Definite sediment in the bottle. Pours a slightly murky ruby brown with a thin white head. Big chocolate, caramel, plum, vanilla. At first I think this will be pretty tasty as the aromas are solid. Medium bodied, a touch of metal, a bit spicy, huge booze. Lots of caramel, even more booze on the finish, and a touch of sweetness… sort of like granola. Guess maybe it needed another 2 years. Too boozy to drink. Really hot.