Dogfish Head Black and Blue

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

As with the Red and White I really wish this was a bit more carbonated and crisp. Good flavors but seemed lifeless at times. The berries give a good complexity and warms you up quick with the high abv. Tart and flavorful from start to finish. Pours deep cherry/purple color with a soft pink head. A little sourness and some acidity would give it more of a lambic edge.

Pomegranate colour. Almost no head. More tannins than juicy fruit in aroma. High alcohol, low fruit taste. Dry, wine-like and mouth drying. Not a lot of beer-joy.

The first whiff yields a funky detergent (Yeah like Tide) aroma with lots of random mushed up dark fruit baked at low heat. The body is a purple/red with a lazy wisp of purple tinged head. The first sip gives you grainy notes with a full on fruit accented malt flavor. It’s kind of creamy and has a decent feel but the flavor is narrow and muddled and while I can’t say I have tasted anything like it, I can’t say I like it.

The body is a deep, brilliant red with a touch of violet and pink. The head is thin and off-white, also with a touch of pink. The head fades to nothing and leaves no lace - leaving the beer looking like a still rose wine. The aromas are dominated by malt with sweet caramel. But the nose also detects some alcohol, some acid (like from a sour pear), and some fruit (though not particularly like blackberry or blueberry). The flavor starts off malty and fruity. It is quite sweet. The middle of the tongue detects some sweet berries - much more blueberry than blackberry. There are also flavors of yeast with hints of spice. The finish is full-bodied, sweet, and full of yeast and spice with just a hint of berry. The mouthfeel is full-bodied with a tingle from carbonation that complements the spicy yeast flavors. As the beer warms a soft, earthy hop bitterness can be discerned in the middle and finish. Also discernible is an almost wine-like, dry fruitiness on the back of the tongue. Overall, not bad - but nearly as special as their other beers (like the similarly-named Red and White).

Big thanks to Quake1028 for sharing this brew.

Pours plum wine in color with off white head. Fruity aroma notes and some sweetness. The aroma is kind of light and tough to discern. The taste has fruitiness all over the place that seems both sweet and berry like. I also get some wine grape notes as well. Pretty good and pretty sweet too.

Medium sized offwhite head, fair retention and minimal lacing. Hazy dark amber hued brew, light red glow. Nose is light berries, light malts ,maybe some caramel. Body is medium, a touch coa5ting on the palate. Faint berry flavors with a medium sweet maltiness. Flavors remind me of the Zwaanendale(sp?) more malty than anything. Alcohol is not noticeable. Finish is sorta sweet and lightly fruity. Berry beers dont do much for me even at a 10% alc. level.

Ruby-toned amber body with a receding, sudsy white head. Sugary DFH signature yeast characters, with plummy raspberry notes in the nose. Notable alcohol, like a liqueur. Medium-high sweetness with ample, underlying vegetal, fruit characters. Syrupy texture on the palate. Okay beer, but fails to achieve.

Bottle. Pours amber with rose highlights. Pretty! Quickly disappearing white/rose head. Struggling to find any complexity on the nose. Vaguely reminiscent of a dry rose wine. Creamy with decent carbonation. Malty on the palate. Hint of blueberry. Dry. Hides the 10% well. Slightly disappointing.