Dogfish Head Zwaanendale

Formerly brewed at Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Dunkler Bock
Milton, Delaware USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Snifter

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Bottled on 4/14/06. Thanks to Chris for the bottle. A glassy, too-clean bronze appearance and a thick crown. Maple syrup and pistachio aroma; basic and sugary, with a very slight herbal bitterness that grows more and more green as it breathes; like fresh basil leaves when it gets really intense, weirdly.

Flavor is pleasantly bitter with rye and herb tastes that develop slowly after an initial surge of plain, maple-y sugar. It has a bit of a perfume quality about it too as the alcohol plays with the surprising pungency of the spice characters; mostly seeming to be cinnamon, nutmeg, and occasionally lavender. It’s really big and sweet most of the time, though. Oxidation has settled in a little bit, but the dried caramel-wood note it provides serves to temper the sugariness a little, and so to let the spices through a little more, and that works well.

The palate is of medium texture, syrupy and prickly, feeling like a heavy fruit soda, that’s been thickened with honey. A balsamic vinegar note gives a little dark twang at the finish. After swallowing, the oxidation really sits heavily, and the sugar coats the mouth, awkwardly. I don’t like it now.

Still, it’s hard for me to recall having something that’s gotten so old while not being intended for aging, that’s turned out this positively; while very sweet, it was not obviously dead yet, and even offered some nice and dare I say subtle nuances. So, sure. It was a pleasant surprise.

2006 Bottle shared from a friends cellar. Pours a hazy amber in color with a fluffy white head. Amazingly light smokey nose with some sour fruit. The flavor is mellow fruit, pine, and some smoke.

(750ml bottle from Susan!!!) This was a big want of mine! Pours hazy orange/light ruby. White head with little carbonation. Aroma is caramel, candied sugar. Taste is sweet with a bit of bitterness, but not much. Medium bodied with sticky texture. This is smooth. Many, many thanks for this surprise. A nice surprise.

outstanding! can’t say enough good about it! raisiny flavour common to higher abv beers but this is mellow and very smooth. released april 2006, i bought it in june 2006 and left it in storage until jan 2009. it was almost three years old when i drank it and i wish i had more!

20th March 2009
Hazy amber brown beer. Creamy off white head. Very soft palate and a very sweet beer! Sweet malt and caramel. Soft ending with a hint of aniseed. A simple beer but very very drinkable.

Tasted from a 750mL bottle purchased at Lush West Town in February. The date is smudged, but I can read that it was bottled in 2006. The pour is crystal clear amber-orange with a thin beige head that leaves a solid lace collar. The nose is still very much alive with sweet rye maltiness, a lot of caramel, with cereal, cinnamon bread, and light underlying orange notes. The flavor is not quite as lively. It is dominated by very sweet malt with underlying cinnamon, allspice, and orange. The body is medium with light carbonation and short sweet baking spice finish. If anyone out there is still holding onto this, drink it now. This beer is not going to last a whole lot longer.

In the bottle at Bill B’s 2010 summer beer tasting party. Bottle dated 4/14/2006. Pours a hazy dark amber with a medium off white head. Slightly oxidized aroma and a bit of fusel alcohol. Mostly rye though. Perhaps a bit of cheese to the aroma. Serious sweetness with lots of honey and maple sugar. The rye flavors have blended very well. My best flavor description would be marzipan! Aging has worked very well for this beer.

2006 bottle via trade thanks to truehumand on BA, shared at a tasting surrounding the Bruery hoopla. Pours a somewhat hazy dark amber color with a nice off-white head and some decent lacing. Aroma is sweet, malty, and very dark fruity. Caramel, toffee, plum, and raisin stand out. Flavor is also loads of dark fruit - plum, raisin, and fig mostly - very sweet, with caramel, toffee, maple syrup, and wood. Some mild sherry-like oxidation going on. Medium-full on the body and somewhat syrupy with fairly soft carbonation. I like what they did here overall, even if it’s not a standout.

From the Bottle at the Falling Rock Tap House, Denver 27/09/2009 Big malt aroma. Golden amber coloured rich on the palate and strong in alcohol with a crisp and slightly dry malt finish.

Honestly, no, I don’t have this beer in front of me right now, but I wasn’t able to rate it when I last had it. I had the urge to rate it now because I don’t know if I’ll ever taste it (or any other flavor so wonderful) again. This is a really delicious beer. The bottle I had was a few years old: probably ’04 or ’05. I remember that it was pretty dark, lots of dark malts, dark fruits, with hints of rye and just a touch of funk. Sometimes I come down a little hard on Dogfish Head because I hold them to such a high standard. This beer is one of the reasons why.