Life and Limb - Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada collaboration

Clearly, every craft brewery wants to sell tons of beer and make huge profits, but there is a sense of camaraderie amongst craft brewers in a love of great beer. That love is displayed here with the Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada collaboration brew, Life and Limb. Heck, it even is its own website!

The expectations are high here and the beer starts off big with a huge off white head and deep mahogany color. Lots of spice and dark fruit in the smell. Tons of sweet malt, maple syrup, some smokiness, anise, followed by a long, dry finish. The hops eventually give a bit of a kick along with some cherries.

Big, complex, well balanced. There's some boozy warmth, but I wouldn't guess it is 10%. Delicious and a great of example of a beer brewed with passion, knowledge, and love. Get it

Grade: A+

Dogfishead 90 Minute IPA

Happy IPA Day! Going to start today's celebration with the ubiquitous Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

I really like the light brown color with an inviting haze. Lots of citrusy hops in the nose. Starts off with a lot of sweet caramel followed by a big hop punch. The hops are there, don't worry about that, but they aren't blowing out everything else like I expected.

This is my kind of IPA. Huge hop notes, big bitter finish, but it's got some malt to go along with it. It's not like you're drinking hop juice (which I haven't been able to get my hands on yet.) The 9% ABV warms on the way down, but doesn't have much presence other than that.

Big fan of this one!

Grade: A

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

If you watched any of Brew Masters, you know some of the extremes Dogfish Head goes to in brewing. The Palo Santo Marron is a perfect example. Read the story in the link detailing how they use a unique Paraguayan wood in the brew. Pours a deep dark brown with a huge rocky tan head. The taste is unlike anything I have had before. Starts with sweet vanilla and caramel followed by wood. Finish is long and dry with a bit of cherry and alcohol warmth. Superior lacing. Dogfish Head continues to prove they are one of the most inventive and experimental breweries out there. You won't find anything like this!

Grade: A

Indian Brown Ale - Dogfish Head

Dogfish Head is in Delaware and it's what I'd call more of an "experimental" brewery. While they do offer a few styles of IPA, that's about the only normal brew you'll find. The Midas Touch is a fascinating story which I'll get to in the future.

Indian Brown Ale is pretty interesting. A deep brown, nearly black color. The head isn't huge, but it's certainly there. The aroma and flavor both have a roasted nuttiness and almost fruitiness to it. There's almost a cooked brown sugar lingering flavor that is a little bitter. It's pretty complex, but the mouth feel is surprisingly light. The alcohol is well hidden, too (read: It'll getcha drunk!) Honestly, this is similar to a porter, but that was not the original intention. There's a video on the page I linked to explain how it was made.

I'm rather enjoying this!

Grade: A