Palo Santo Marron, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton Delaware

The Dogfish Head craft brewery likes to challenge with their interesting and often, strong beers. I picked up the Palo Santo Marron a while ago which is described on the bottle as "Malt beverage aged on Palo Santo Wood." (That is a Paraguayan wood.) At 12%, it is available in 12 oz bottles.

It pours opaque with a dark head.

The aroma is sweet with vanilla, caramel and heavy malt. It does have that "oak-aged" element that I've had before (though noted this is Palo Santo wood - which is used in wine making in South America).

The full body launches a lot of flavor. The malt starts right off, but vanilla and caramel catch up on the tongue. The sweetness builds there before dissolving a bit in the finish where wood, and a smoky malt curb the beer from being overly sweet. Alcohol tang rounds up the finish.

The aftertaste is malty and thick with initial sweet notes (mostly vanilla) kicking around - but that releases into a wood/aged alcohol flavor. It resonates on the tongue almost like wine.

This is a deliciously interesting strong beer - definitely worth the try - a slow sipper to enjoy all the flavors offered up...

Cheers!

Olde School Barleywine, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton Delaware

Don't let anyone tell you that there is a wrong time for Barleywine. Yes, they are good in the cool depths of winter, but they are also equally good on a late spring eve. A storm just passed through Portland and I think it's a good time to crack open a beer I've had on standby for about six or seven months now. Let's give the Olde School a try....
It pours a deep amber hue

The aroma is brown sugar and molasses.

It is a viscous beer - thick with sugars. The molasses and brown sugar jump up right away. A burnt caramel flavor kicks in with subtlety in the body (which is full, quite full). The finish curves away from being too sweet - the 15% becomes apparent and the beer finishes heavy with oak and bitterness (85 IBUs).

The aftertaste is a mix of molasses and oak, a little chewy - like a cigar or cognac, it settles nicely on the palate despite it's bold flavor.

HIGHLY recommended, especially after a little aging. Give it a try anytime, any season. Available a certain times of the year in the 12oz bottles -

Cheers!

Punkin Ale, Dogfish Head, Milton Delaware

Our next pumpkin offering comes from Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware. They are home to some fairly extreme ales, so I am excited to see how punk the Punkin is....

It pours a dark amber, more pumpkin in color than the other's I've sample so far. It has a medium creamy head.

The smell is very spicey, it has a very full aroma.

The body is a little light. It tastes of an array of spices, kind of a mash up of the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and brown sugar - which gives it a general spiciness. It isn't too pumpkin pie and the pumpkin is too predominant. It's not sweet (due in part - I believe - to the fact that it is a brown beer). It is mildly malty. As it warms the malt comes out more, but the spice hangs in there as well.

The aftertaste is a little thin. It rounds out nicely, but a little quickly, leaving just a mild spice in the mouth.

All-in-all, not overly extreme, so still quite drinkable to the new-comers of pumpkin beer. Punkin ale and other Dogfish Head beers are widely available. It is 7% with 24 IBU's,

Cheers!