169. Dogfish Head Midas Touch

Wow, it's been almost a month.  It's been harder and harder to get out here and blog.  It's not that I don't like doing this, because I do, it just gets overwhelming trying to keep up with this backlog.  Either way, I get to enjoy a Saturday, sample 2 or 3 different beers, and will do what I can to play catch up a bit.  King Midas was that guy who had the golden touch, if you don't remember his "story".  Not entirely sure if it plays into the beer, aside from the fact that it uses ingredients that would have been around thousands of years ago.  It's labeled as an "Ancient Ale".  If you look at Beer Advocate, it's labeled as a Spiced Beer and I'm going to go with that.  No special occasion for this one, just decided to enjoy with dinner.

The beer was poured into a snifter glass.  It has a nice hazy orange color to it.  Not a lot of head, maybe half a finger.  Average retention, not a lot of lacing.  I could detect aromas of citrus, grape, malt, honey, maybe some butter.  Reminiscent of a chardonnay.  The ingredients mention saffron, but I don't know what it smells like and couldn't discern it in this beer.

As expected, the taste is reminds me of a sweet chardonnay mixed with some beer notes.  There's a sweetness that comes from the honey and the grape..maybe the grape isn't naturally sweet, but a muscat grape definitely is.  A buttery taste lingers from a taste and mouthfeel standpoint.  Again, not sure if I can tell where the saffron is.  It's a complex taste, but it's not bad at all.  The beer doesn't seem strong as first, but it will definitely feel strong in the end.  The mouthfeel is medium to heavy bodied with moderate carbonation.  

This was a refreshingly different beer from some of the others I've tried.  I've noticed that Dogfish Head does a lot of creative beers and I'm slowly but surely starting to take notice.  That said, creativity doesn't mean great beer, so I'm interested to see how well they're able to incorporate some of these creative flavors.  Give it a try, I think you'll like it.  

Grade: B

Price Paid: $2.29 (12 oz bottle)

129. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Alright, so I found myself at a hotel in Fayetteville, NC and I brought a beer along for the trip, just to have something to enjoy while I lounge in the hotel.  My brother was graduating from college the next day and we were traveling a bit of the way so we wouldn't have to wake up so early to travel.  

I didn't bring any glassware (I did remember to grab a bottle opener, then realized I already had another bottle opener in my tote) so the beer was poured into one of those small coffee cups that are near the coffee maker.  It poured a brown/amber color with some tremendous head.  Holy retention, Batman!  Seriously, I don't know if it was the cup, but the head on this thing lasted foooorrrreeeevvveerrr.  After five minutes, I was still drinking through some head to get to the good stuff inside.  I don't think I'll ever come across a beer with that type of lasting power.  And you can best believe that there was lacing all over the side of the cup, plus the thick layer of foam up top.  Aromas of sweet malt and sweet citrus (pommelo, pineapple) and a little bit of spice.  

The taste is incredibly well balanced.  The sweetness of the malt pairs nicely with a fruity and piney hop profile.  Bitter finish isn't too bitter, easy to keep drinking.  That said, the beer is medium to full bodied, comes off a little thick.  Slightly carbonated, but not too much.  I think I've said before that I prefer citrus hops to piney hops, so this doesn't wow me like some of the other beers I've experienced.  That said, I know a good/great IPA when I come across one, and this is a very good offering.  If you're an IPA fan and you haven't tried this one yet, be sure to put it on your to-do list.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $2.59 (12 oz bottle)

94. Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

In one of my previous hauls, I had some emphasis placed on picking up some brews from Dogfish Head (http://www.dogfish.com).  I finally got around to cracking one open last night to enjoy with a taco salad.  The fact that the label mentioned that it was made with Mexican coffee led me to believe that this would be a very solid match with some Mexican food.  

The beer poured a near black with a tan head.  The label says bone white.  Nope, didn't come close to that color.  I was able to get less than a finger of head, with light retention, light lacing.  Aromas of coffee, roasted malts, chocolate dominate.  Very pleasant.  For whatever reason, I didn't translate chiccory and stout together.  I was expecting some sort of brown ale, even though the labeling says stout.  Must've been off in LaLa land.  

I'll be the first to tell you that I don't know what chicory tastes like, and I certainly couldn't discern it in the aroma.  That said, I picked up something in the taste, and maybe that's what it was.  Tastes of coffee, roasted malt, lactose, and chocolate come in on the front end, then this type of bitterness forces its way in on the back end.  Reminded me a little bit of licorice.  This was different than all the other stouts and porters that I'm used to.  Medium to high carbonation gave the beer some pop.  It took away from the creaminess, but gave it a spicy tone that I found to be quite pleasant.  For my first foray into Dogfish Head beers, I thought this one wasn't too bad.  I look forward to trying their other offerings!  Agree or disagree?  I want to hear your opinions!

Grade: B

Price Paid: $2.29 (12 oz bottle)