75th Street Dantes Dream

750 ml bottle purchased at the Brewery. 2007 Special Reserve Collection. Pour is clear golden orange with an 1 1/2 inch slightly off white head. Nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of sugar sweet grapes, raisins and honey. Behind the initial sweet fruit in the nose, is some nice Belgian yeastiness. Taste is brown sugar sweetness with the raisins and honey. A bit of heat in the finish. Nice medium to full palate, which was nicely mouth coating. Nice effort from 75th Street. This one may improve with a bit of age.

750ml bottle at the brewpub. This special is poured into wine glasses and is a murky orange-amber color with a medium thick light tan head that burns away slowly. Rings of lace along with spots. Aroma of bananas and cloves, with a strong sweet malt base. Medium-bodied and soft on the tongue with flavors of yeast, spices and malt intermingled with sweet passion fruit. The finish is long and spicy, with an earthy malt and fruit aftertaste. Easily the best 75th Street beer I tried that evening.

Bottle shared by the brewers at the Power Plant Strong Ale Fest 12/8/07. This is the barrel aged version of Dante’s Nightmare fermented with Brettanomyces, and it is scheduled to come out in 750 ml bottles in a couple months. It looks identical to the draft version of its cousin: a murky dark chocolate brown with a thin, creamy, tan head. The nose is a big malty blend of raisin and cocoa with the new addition of a mild sour funk and a distinctly woody undertone. Medium-bodied with a nice dry finish, this version isn’t nearly as sweet, which IMO bumps it up a notch in flavor. The Brett and the dry woodiness in this version tone down the super-malty raisin and chocolate notes that were a tad too sweet for me, in the Nightmare. It’s an interesting brew and one that’s certainly worth trying, if not only for its creativity.