Dogfish Head Black and Blue

On tap at Cole’s Dogfish tasting: Light magenta color . Vinous, fruity berry filled aroma. Lightly tart with berry flavors, cherry pits and some metallic aftertaste. Fizzy and dry with some heat on the end...tastes every bit of 10% abv.

Tap @ Cole’s Dogfish Fest. Reddish orange body, no head. If there was a hairspray made with fruit & malt it would smell just like this. Flavor is berries, a juice character that reminds me of drinking Juicy Juice in 3rd grade. That Juicy Juice continues through to the finish. Blech.

Not a big fruit beer fan, but I decided to give it a try as I have been curious about berries in beer (except raspberries which are relatively common). Poured a very dark golder brown with a moderate head that had some staying power. The aroma definitely had the berry smell, but still smelled like a beer. I think in a lot of fruit beers the fruit distracts from the beer aroma and flavor for that matter. The taste was that of a strong ale. There is a little berry flavor on the front end of the taste, and through the taste the berry flavors take over are are most noticeable on the finish. The mouthfeel was as expected for a high alcohol beer brewed on fruit, and for a fruit beer I found it highly drinkable. Overall I am still not a fan of fruit beers, but this was pretty good.

I thought this beer was orgasmic. It was a nice silky malt base with a lovely fruit accent. Flavors of blueberry and blackberry are mixed in perfectly with a soft malt undertone. This beer does not however drift into the common pitfall of fruit beers "cough, Weyerbacher, cough" of becoming sickly sweet and syrupy like a bad icewine. The palate is crisp, yet lingering and not something to cling to your teeth. This beer is better than the Dogfish Head Red and White in my opinion.

POurs a reddish brown. Nose is sour grapes, unripe blueberries, sour berries, butter fruit skin. Flavor is bitter fruit, unripe blurberries, young berries, sweet berries, mild malt and yeast.

Bottle. Pours a rich, hazy amber color with a medium, frothy pure white head. Aromas of blackberries and blueberries abound, with hints of bananas and some hops. Initial fizzy mouthfeel that quickly mellows to a nice slick finish. Flavors of the berries are the strongest with a nice traditional Belgium finish. Very good beer although I think that for 2009 I prefer the Red & White a bit more.

From bottle. Pours hazy purpleish-yellow with a tiny head of tiny bubbles. Mouth feel is medium in body with a lot of carbonation. Flavor has a nice tartness without being overbearing. Blackberry is definitely in front with some funk and alcohol in the background. Finish is fruity with blackberry lingering on the tongue. As far as fruity beer goes, this one is very good.

On Tap at B-dubs Downtown. Pours a hazy golden with a slight purple tint. Nose is belgian, wheat and some dark berry. Taste is highly carbonated with a strong belgian flavor. Some puckery fruit pokes through as well as a very dry hop taste. Spices, wheat, alcohol, and some malt give this a well rounded profile. Interesting to taste once...I think the red and white was more up my alley.