Dogfish Head Raison D Extra

12oz bottle. A little more than a year after bottling. Aroma is very sweet malts, dark fruits (def can smell raisins though its not the only fruit), alcohol and a tad yeasty. Flavor is initially very sweet and intense and as the beer warmed I really enjoyed its affects on my palate. Served this alongside a dessert my mom picked up at whole foods called "chocolate butter bars." Wow. What a combination. This no-holds-bar sweetness of the brew complemented so well with the bitter chocolate notes. De-lish. Nice job with this one, Sam. I enjoyed this much more than the D’Etre.

Poured from the bottle with barely any head at all. Aroma of fruit, yeast and alcohol. Flavor was dominated by fruit and alcohol, more like drinking a liquor. At first I wasn’t sure about this one, but as it warmed (and my body warmed with the intense akcohol content) I began to enjoy and appreciate the complex flavors and numbing effect this brew had on me. So after drinking this and becoming comfortably numb, I am not sure if I enjoyed the flavor as much as I enjoyed the buzz. And I don’t care either. Try it.

Beautiful clear oxblood color with thin white head, this product has a nice figgy aroma. Sweet and rich, but not cloyingly so. Very smooth taste which hides the alcohol, but there’s no mistaking the warmth on the way down. $8/12oz (nyc)

(12 oz. bottle from Julio’s Liquors (MA), cellared for 6 mos. after purchase) Pours a fairly deep burnt orange with a bit of a haze. Very thin head disappears quickly to ring around edge. Aroma is strong sugary candy sweetness with touches of prunes and raisins. No lacing. Palate is smooth and sticky, almost syrup-like. Flavor is sweet as hell but not undrinkable. Maybe the cellaring mellowed it a bit. Much like cream sherry. Sweet rock candy with fermented raisins. Finishes with some alcohol burn. Reminds me of a barleywine. Very potent. Less medicinal than the Raison D’Etra.

Cloudy copper color. Smell of alcohol, malt, rasin, prunes, cinamon, clove, hops and rum. Taste like a handful of rasins soaked in alcohol. Very sweet with some hops and malt. Dry, over powering alcohol bitterness at the end. This warms you up in no time.

Pours a nice amber with no head. Has a huge raisiny, plummy acidity and a touch of alcohol in the aroma. Extremely syrupy sweetness. In my opinion overly sweet. It’s almost like a molasses. The raisins shine through the sweetness and leave a sweet coating on the lips. There also a slight caramel aspect in the finish. Nice warmth, and I’m surprised you get any flavors past that dominating syrupy sweetness. Too sweet in my opinion, but still a decent and quality beer.

This beer could easily be confused for brandy at a glance. If it wasn’t for the few bubbles hanging out around the rim, I would be none the wiser. Smells like prunes, lemon zest, a bit of brandy and a powerful smooth alcohol. Way too much alcohol in the nose for my liking. DFH does such a great job of hiding the aroma in their other big beers, why not this one? Fortunately, the quality totally redeems itself with the flavor. There are some huge red and green grape flavors with some dark fruits, sour cherries and figs that fades into a molasses, coffee and peanut butter sticky sweetness. Finishes surprisingly dry with a surprise appearance of coffee and a lingering caramel sweetness. One flavor that really comes out here is a baked raisin, much like the raisins protruding from a cookie that get caramelized in the oven. That’s a unique and very delicious flavor, I must say. The mouth feel is medium bodied but syrupy with a very light carbonation. This is an easy sipper, or perhaps a “self regulating sipper.” I wouldn’t want to even think about drinking this one fast. Take this one easy and enjoy the ride. There are some great fruit flavors going on here and the drop-off from fruit to sweet malt is phenomenal. The dry finish after the big sticky flavors is nothing short of amazing.

Hazy mahogany pour with a small tan head that vanished as if by magic. Sweet vinous aroma, dark fruits, no detectable hop aromas. Velvety smooth and rich texure with a full body, almost still , but with the faintest hint of carbonation. Sweetness dominates with dark brown sugar, dark fruit, and a little non distinct bitterness in the background. Finishes quite sweet with some stickiness. Alcohol is well hidden in both the aroma and the taste, but it sure packs a big wallop. A good after dinner sipping beer which would make fine substitute for sherry or cognac. A fine demonstration of brewing skill.