Dogfish Head Black & Blue

Dogfish Head Craft Brewing's Black and Blue - a Belgian-style golden ale fermented with black raspberries and blueberries.  A brand new addition to our store, and fairly limited in quantity, so of course we had to try one.

The Black & Blue pours brilliant reddish amber color, with fine carbonation. The off-white foam rises to one finger thick, but dissipates fairly quickly.  From the bottom of my Chimay glass, there's a constant stream of carbonation rising throughout this glass.  Even as I'm pouring I can smell some of the fruity esters rising from the brew.

The nose is dominated by an overwhelming amount of fruit, I can't pick up any sense of hops at all.  There's just a little bit of candy-malt in the background, but the nose is heavily controlled by the fruitiness from the raspberries and blueberries.

The first few sips are pretty intense, and by intense, I mean super fruity and sweet. The first little bit of the Black and Blue are really, really fruit driven, and almost framboise lambic-ish.  After I get a few sips under my belt and it warms up a little bit, I can pick out more of the complexity of the brew.  There's now a significant malty character in the background, and the alcohol is coming through more and more as it warms to room temperature.

At first, I was significantly unimpressed by this Black and Blue from Dogfish.  After a few sips in, I'm coming around a bit.  It's pretty drinkable, relatively light in body, and probably pretty mass-appealing. I'm still not in love with the Black and Blue, but it is growing on my slowly.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Black & Blue
TCSH Rating - 7.5/10
Aka - Good, but nothing I'm crazy about

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum