Dogfish Head Raison D Etre

BOTTLE: red/amber pour with a medium whitish-head. Aroma of malt, caramel, and dark fruit. Taste is dark fruit / raisin, caramel, and some alcohol. Very tasty.

Bottle from Catskeller on the UC campus. Pours a slightly cloudy deep red amber color with a medium off-white head. Aroma of dark dried fruits, caramel, wood, alcohol, tea, sugar, and a little roasted malt. The raisin flavor is more obvious as it warms, as is the alcohol. Light-medium bodied, rich, sweet, and smooth. Well-balanced. Very good, and I’ll eventually have to compare side-by-side with the d’Extra.

This brew has a very amber color that produces yet another fine, off-white head. Though it disappears quite quickly, it leaves a nice film on the edges and also reappears quickly after a thorough swirl. This beer is also very transparent so it’s evident it will be, technically, a light ale. At first taste, you get a fine hit of fruit. You can get an essence of the raisin in it and other various fruits in the brew. This produces a very sweet-smelling brew. The taste is very reminiscent of a heavy wine. You get a nice taste of raisin and the other fruits that went into the brew. Also, you get the pleasant taste of hops and barley. This brew tastes much less alcoholic than any other high-percentage brew I’ve had. This beer goes in smooth, swells to a sugary taste with a hint of the hops and it goes down smooth and leaves behind a pleasant roasted barley spice.

Pours a brownish amber into a pint glass. Thick head. Big alcohol taste, very sweet. raisin, alcohol, clear, brown, amber, average carbonation, full body,

Pours a deep reddish brown with a frothy cream head. Aroma is malty with a touch of sweetness. Taste is similar to the odor. I didn’t initially taste the raisins, but as the beer warmed up they came out.

Poured from bottle into Snifter. Orangish-reddish-brown, reminds me of some Scotch Whiskeys. Turns a bright mahogany in the light. Not much head once the active bubbles subside. Looks nice, but not sure it looks like a beer. Aroma of dark sweet fruit, rum, slight banana, trace of alcohol. Not as fragrant as many strong Belgians. Mostly sweet alcohol with notes of molasses and raisins. Doesn’t seem very Belgian, and not as much taste as I would like. Somewhat full body, fairly flat, syrupy, with some chewiness and definite warming sensation from the alcohol. Slow sipper, but not really the type of beer I want to sip all night long. Way too alcoholic, especially since it is only 8%. My first disappointment from DFH.

Aroma: light coffee, malt, raisins. Appearance: nice dark mahogany color, with a nice but quickly fading head that leaves moderate lacing. Flavor: raisins, light coffee, brandy, malts. Palate: medium body, creamy, average carbonation, with alcohol on the finish. Overall: this is a good beer but not in the league with the "tru" Belgians, but then the price isn’t insanely high either. Nice balance and it leaves a nice warm feeling in your stomach on those cold winter nights. Good beer, would buy again.

Pours a fizzy dark red with a quick to fade white bubbly head. Aromas of raisins, yeast, oak, some liquor, and candy. Malty flavors of raisin, roasted malt, and touch of cherry. Slightly rich, sweet, and bitter. Pretty tasty and different.