Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Milton, Delaware USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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Bottle Date February 2008; Sampled February 2008
Pours with an almost three-finger thick, light brown colored head. The beer is a deep, burnt amber, dark brown colored head. Despite being a clear, rich brown color as I pour this beer, it is completely opaque when held up to the light. Aromas of vanilla, interesting spicy wood that is not the same as from oak (slightly peppery, cinnamon and a touch of fenugreek), candied caramel malt, almost a bit of smoke, . A substantial fruit character provides notes of cherries, raisins and red grapes mixes very well with the wood aromatics. The alcohol is hidden quite well, especially given the 12% abv. Supporting, toasty malt notes, with ample browned bread and biscuit notes and a hint of roast character; really the toasty, browned bread crust like aromas of this beer are quite distinct if you dig around in the aroma for them. This has a very interesting aroma, the use of the Palo Santo wood definitely adds a unique dimension that is a derivative, but still uniquely distinct from, the more typical oak.

Thick and viscous, though not nearly as sweet as I was expecting. A creamy, velvety mouthfeel couples with flavors of vanillin, chewy toffee and dark fruit flavors. This is pretty well carbonated (with a nice prickle to the tongue at the beginning of each sip), but it is thick enough that it is not noticed as much as it would be otherwise. Concentrated fruit forward flavors of cherries, raisins and blackberries couple with a very light alcohol presence to contribute a Brandy like finish. This finishes with a toasted soda cracker note at times, but often this takes the backseat to the sweet, concentrated fruit notes that tend to linger on in the mouth. The wood components are a bit more subdued than in the aroma; it does provide a spicy backbone as well as a bit of tannic astringency, both of which provide a sharp note in the finish that provides balance like hop bitterness would.

As the beer warms up a bit, the aroma really starts to pick up a complex mix of cherry, mace, and distinctly sweet spices. The aroma of this brew is a bit more intriguing and interesting than the flavor, though that is by no means a dud. The malt and brown ale character seems to come through more in the aroma as does the wood. With the added wood component this is one of the more complex, even balanced big beers from Dogfish Head.

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Dark black pour released every aroma in the bottle into the room. The gravity is almost too smooth, as a person could drink one down before they knew what they were doing! Rich character and a fine finish mark this as the next age of brewing, just like the bottle says :)

Drank from a 12l ouncer. Poured to a deep chocolate brown, almost black in color. Nice roasted malty taste with subtle burnt wood as well as vanilla and raisen flavorings. Very sweet at the top, but very enjoyable. Tasted like a fine porter.A very smooth and well balanced ale.

Third beer at the Bottleworks Cellar Tasting for Seattle Beer Week. Batch 1. Pours black with no head. Smell is toffee, coffee, licorice, tobacco. Taste is wood, nutty, coffee, roast. Amazing to get two different beers in smell and taste, completely masks the 12 percent. Great beer, aged or not.

Tap. Very dark with cocoa dissipating head. Smells very syrupy and a little chocolaty and warm. Liqueur like- sweet. Thick and warming.

A - Pours a dark brown-black color with a finger of frothy chocolate colored head. The head fades down fairly slowly leaving behind some nice lace. S - Aroma is a mix of molasses, vanilla, smoke, roasted chocolate and caramel malts, black licorice, wood, a touch of dark fruit, and a bit of booze. T - Starts off with some molasses, vanilla, roasted chocolate malts, and a touch of sweet dark fruits. Through the middle, some smoke and licorice come through with some wood and some more roasted chocolate malts. The finish is a mix of smoke, licorice, vanilla, wood, cocoa, coffee, dark fruit, and a touch of booze. M - Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feel smooth with a slightly thick sweet, smoky, and warming finish. D - Very drinkable. Different and excellent take on a big brown ale. I like the smoke and wood flavors in the beer with the complexity of the rest of the flavors.

dark brown with small head. sweet and boozy. there is quite a bit of flavor, but unfortunately, most of it is alcohol. harsh.

355ml bottle. Pours a very dark brown, with a brown head. Massive aroma, chocolate, coffee, tobacco, licorice, tar, smoke. Sweet, full bodied, high bitterness, creamy CO2. Solid, rich taste, licorice, dark chocolate, spices, coffee, ashes. (2012-05-05)

Pours thick and viscuous. Opaque brown with a tan head. The barrels are evident on the nose showing a nutty aromatic. Full bodied with tobacco and coffee flavors. Too much heat on the finish.

Over a year old bottle. Poured a dark brown, bordering on black. Thin dark brown head, went to a thin film and collar. Nose is wood, vanilla, carmel, dark fruits, and sweet malts. Port like nose. Taste follows nose but the brown ale does appear more. Just more beefed up. Medium feel and heavy body. More port or sherry like. Dry wooded finish. A bit too sweet but nice. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

12oz bottle poured into a large Duvel tulip glass. Had this stashed away for the last 9 months or so. Pours a dark stout like black with a cocoa colored head with a slight hint of lacing. Aroma is wood, cherries, yeast and some caramel. Smooth taste along the same lines as the aroma with a hint of chocolate. No alcohol burn at all, at 12% abv this can sneak up on you and put you out.