Dogfish Head Black and Blue

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Fruit Beer
Milton, Delaware USA

Bottle tasting @ danish beerhouse, copenhagen Beerfestival 2007: Pours ruby / brown with a small white head. Very sour fruity, warm & peppery taste. Fruity (blueberry), spritzy & fresh. This was one of last samples and remembering it to be quite violent towards me - a bit rough/harsh. OK

Capped 750 ml. bottle, bottling date on the shoulder of the bottle (02/12/07), sampled in a wine glass. L: Burnished red orangey copper with a creamy head of beige foam that slowly settled into a sudsy layer. Light amount of lace circles the glass. S: Blueberry juice and a light tartness of raspberries, earthy spicy yeast, bare traces of floral, spicy hops and toasted pale husky grain malts, I like the restrained berry fruitiness, to me, it gives the aroma a nice balance. As it warms a subtle banana-like fruitiness comes out, along with traces of powdery yeast. F&T: Creamy crisp moderate body, a nice rounded feel in the mouth. Where I liked the restrained fruitiness in the aroma, in the taste the berry flavors are a tad too restrained. There is a perceived tartness from the black raspberries without much of their pungent taste, the natural sweetness of blueberries with just a generic tasting berry juiciness. The yeast and malts play the major role in the taste, the earthy spiciness of the yeast, caramelized sugar and toasted husky grains from the malts. A light lemony hop taste before turning spicy in the end. Quite dry in the finish, lingering tastes of the generic berry juice, earthy yeast and malty grains. I didn’t find this as enjoyable as the Red & White, but still it is pretty decent and obviously well crafted, well worth trying.

Bottle. 2007 vintage. Pours a deep, clear ruby. Small, thin, white head. Aroma of dark fruits and wet straw. Body is a bit overly carbonated. Flavor is funky. The fruit taste is really muted and wheaty, bready malts dominate the back end of the taste. Finish is dry and peppery. Alchol is well hidden throughout, even as the beer warms up.

This one poured a deep maroon color with a medium foamy pinkish white head that left nice lacing in the glass. The aroma was of tart fruit, dark berries, spices, and a hint of hops. The taste is similar with the dark berries at first, mostly blueberries, then followed with a tart flavor and some malts. There is a good amount of cinnamon and spices and a hint of hops in there as well. There wasn’t as much berry flavor as I was hoping for, but I still enjoyed the taste. The flavors combine really well and mask the alcohol really well, which could be dangerous. This was medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. It had a nice dry spicy finish with a little bit of warmth with it. I enjoyed this one, but the lack of berry flavor seems to hold this one back a bit from being really good.

Aroma of tart fruit funk. Disappointing pour: was expecting a more persistent, sturdy head. Color is deep and like a blood orange, not like black or blue berries. Flavors start off fruity and inviting but then thin out at the end into an alcohol-tinged neverland. Tastes salty. Needs more depth and complexity, and/or more cake/breadiness.

8th Big Beers, Belgians, and Barleywines. Blah! Pours clear light ruby with a small, fizzy, white head, diminishing with fair lacing. Aroma is average malt (grain, hay, straw), average hops (flowers), light yeast (dough) with notes of blueberry and blackberry. Light bodied, thin texture, soft carbonation, and a chalky finish. Average duration, light sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. What a disappointment!

(bottled 2/12/07): Pours an amber brown-red color. Huge foamy white head, good lacing & lasting. Fruity sweet aroma, some blueberries. Some dark fruit but not too strong, some raisins. Floral sweet aroma, sugary like a belgian. Some malty taste, blueberry or blackberry, fresh. Hides the alcohol pretty well. Light and pretty easy to drink.

Bottle: Deep amber, slight purple hue, large frothy head, off-white, light carbonation, spotty lacing.   Nose is somewhat mealy, very soft fruity aspect.   Kinda seems like a Raspberry spritzer.   Fairly malty on the tongue, cereal, hot fruit.   Very warming, but not as fruity as I would have thought.   Fairly full bodied, decent mouthfeel.   Fish is pretty mealy & cereal oriented.   Tiz okay, but not fruity enough for my tastes.   Thanks to jayg for the bottle.