RateBeer
Score
10093
OVERALLStyle
Serve in Snifter

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 719   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.93   SEASONAL: Special   IBU: 38   EST. CALORIES: 270   ABV: 9%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the original release of Bitches Brew, Miles Davis’ 1970 paradigm-shifting landmark fusion breakthrough, we’ve created our own Bitches Brew - a bold, dark beer that’s a fusion of three threads imperial stout and one thread honey beer with gesho root, a gustatory analog to Miles’ masterpiece.Featuring the album’s iconic artwork, created by the late Mati Klarwein, on its label, Dogfish Head’s Bitches Brew will be unveiled at SAVOR, An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, June 5, National Building Museum, Washington DC. Haven’t experienced the Bitches Brew album? Two 40th anniversary editions of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew -- a Legacy Edition and a deluxe Collector’s Edition -- will be available Tuesday, August 31. The newly created ale is designed, according to Dogfish founder and president Sam Calagione, "as the ultimate partner for chili or spicy curry chicken" and best enjoyed "sipped cool, not cold, from a snifter or red wine glass while listening to the Bitches Brew album." Calagione was drawn to the alchemical spirits in Bitches Brew right out of college, acquiring a copy of the album "within months of the first time I brewed a batch of homebrew in my apartment in New York City. I listened to it when I was writing my Dogfish business plan. I wanted Dogfish Head to be a maniacally inventive and creative brewery, analog beer for the digital age. You could say that my dream was to have Dogfish Head, in some small way, stand for the same thing in the beer world that Bitches Brew stands for in the jazz world. You can imagine how excited we are to be doing this project 17 years after I wrote that business plan." "There’s a spirit of innovation, of creativity and individuality, thats at the core of Miles’ music," said Adam Block, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Legacy Recordings. "Sam and Dogfish Head approach their art from the same place and consequently the marriage is an easy and cool one." Dogfish Head and its "off-centered ales for off-centered people" were the subject of "A Better Brew," an article in The New Yorker (Nov. 24, 2008) examining the rise of extreme beer. "Beer has lagged well behind wine and organic produce in the ongoing reinvention of American cuisine. Yet the change over the past twenty years has been startling," wrote Burkhard Bilger. "Dogfish is something of a mascot for this unruly movement. In the thirteen years since Calagione founded the brewery, it has gone from being the smallest in the country to the thirty-eighth largest. Calagione makes more beer with at least ten per cent alcohol than any other brewer, and his odd ingredients are often drawn from ancient or obscure beer traditions. It is to Budweiser what a bouillabaisse is to fish stock."


most recent ratings

4.2
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
Holy (817) - GERMANY - JAN 23, 2013
it will never be the same again now, after in a silent way and after BITCHES BREW. listen to this. how can it ever be the same? i don’t mean you can’t listen to ben. how silly. we can always listen to ben play funny valentine, until the end of the world it will be beautiful and how can anything be more beautiful than hodges playing passion flower? he never made a mistake in 40 years. it’s not more beautiful, just different. a new beauty. a different beauty. the other beauty is still beauty. this is new and right now it has the edge of newness and that snapping fire you sense when you go out there from the spaceship where nobody has ever been before.

4.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 18/20
Emeister84 (430) - Charlottesville, Virginia, USA - JAN 21, 2013
Aromas of cocoa, roasted coffee, molasses, and dark soil. Black with milk chocolate head foam. Light sweetness, but very dry overall, with licorice and soy flavors in addition to those mentioned in the aroma. Full bodied, creamy and smooth, carbonation is moderate to low, and the finish is dry and roasty with some herbal notes. I’m really hoping that this has become a permanent, annual release.

3.9
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
lukin (337) - Ontario, CANADA - JAN 18, 2013
bottle. Pours dark black, brown head. Aroma of roasted espresso, smoke, Taste has a nice sweet touch from the honey, thick mouthfeel. A good stout, unique. Still not really sure what gesho root is.

4.2
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
Strykzone (3810) - Wood River, Illinois, USA - JAN 17, 2013
Sampled at an esbls tasting. Black with a reddish brown ring. A fruity aroma with so much other. Wow, that describes the flavor, too. Chocolate, smoke. I like this a lotmore than expected. Amazingly interesting.

3.9
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
CampesinoTino (612) - Seattle, Washington, USA - JAN 14, 2013
750 ml Bottle. Pours black as tar with an inch of cappuccino foam. The aroma blends dark chocolate, roast malt and molasses with a bit of coffee. The flavor is heavy on the espresso and bittersweet chocolate upfront followed by notes of vanilla, honey, licorice and dark fruits. Also a moderately charred and smoky roasted malt presence throughout each sip. Mouthfeel is a tad thick and syrupy with soft carbonation and a dry, charred herbal finish. Overall, a unique take on the style with some added complexity from the honey.

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
jeremyh70 (344) - Missouri, USA - JAN 13, 2013
Opaque black with quickly dissipating tan head and decent lacing. Roasty aroma with some chocolate and hint of sweetness. Bitter chocolate and coffee taste. Earthy herbal notes. Full mouthfeel with high carbonation that scrubs all but the roastiness away. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.8
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
kambei70 (302) - - JAN 13, 2013
Pours dark brown to black with no head. Aroma is coffee with some root beer. Taste is coffee and some roasty earthiness. Some bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium with some alcohol burn. Good. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.6
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
Foxbush (984) - Richmond, Virginia, USA - JAN 12, 2013
Bottle, 750 ml This was a birthday gift. It is a special brew that pours a pitch black. The frothy thick beige head filled the glass. There’s lots of molasses on the nose, with coffee, chocolate, licorice and dark malt extract blending in. The medium body stout’s carbonation is average. The flavor was almost bittersweeet. Licorice, molasses, and chocolate are the dominate flavors. Overall, it’s certainly a unique beer with complex aroma and taste. Great aroma though.

4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
umich03jm (897) - Allen Park, Michigan, USA - JAN 10, 2013
Pours pitch black with a big, dark brown head that fades slowly and never completely goes away. Big foamy lacing on the glass. Aroma is somewhat faint but very nice. Roast, slightly burnt toast, berries, dark fruit, and raisins. Taste has a slight sweetness up front mixed with the burnt toast flavor. Finish is smooth and creamy. Raisins, soy sauce, and roasted malt lingers. Thick and creamy mouthfeel. Really nice Imperial stout but I doubt I will buy it again at the high price it is sold.

3.5
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
daleharshman (791) - San Diego, California, USA - JAN 3, 2013
750 ml bottle purchased exactly two years ago at Holiday Wine Cellar ($12.49). This is the original version brewed in 2010 and featured in the Discovery Channel series. Pours an absolute pitch black with a finger and a half of creamy dark brown foam. Aroma of smoky hard roasted dark malts, soy sauce, old leather, and a bit of dark fruit. Flavor of tarry dark roasted (burnt) malts, charred wood, smoky leather, acidic soy sauce, some chocolate, and finally some honey on the back side. Finishes with an acidic bite and some sourness. The high-ish ABV is well concealed here. I had expected/hoped for more sweetness and complexity knowing about the honey / mead aspect of this beer...instead the acidic sourness is a distraction. Fairly disappointing overall, especially after I had aged the bottle for two years. (661, 759)


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