Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware 

Purchased: 12oz bottle single bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 15~18% 
Reported IBUs: ?

This was once a whale, and now is a shelf turd. It's not waxed or in limited supply. It's also brewed by Cam Salamia and Dogfin Head. They have a hotel. About Dogfish Head:

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

The Raison D'Extra is the amped up version of DFH's stellar Raison D'Etre. Brewed with an "obscene amount" of malt, brown sugar, and raisins, the Raison D'Extra puts the "D" in Belgian Ales.

Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra

This pours into a reddish body that is reminiscent of a Belgian Dubbel, with purple tones in lower light. You get that sea foam carb on the beer, also reminiscent of a Belgian, with lots of lacing. It's very Belgian-esque. 

The aroma features the trademark high-gravity yeast/sugar aroma you get on all of DFH's high-gravity beers. You get a pound of sugar, muscovado sugar, jammy raspberries, raisin, alcohol, yeast esters, and some phenolic goodness. 

This tastes sublime...the beer rolls out massive raisins, dark fruits, jammy berries, jammy raisins, fruit preserves, muscovado sugar, intense phenolic notes, and lots of Belgian character typical of a Dubbel/Dark Strong. This is actually fantastic, and I would think that if you age this for a few years, it might start to take on some of that dusty/phenolic character you get in a good Belgian Dark Strong. There are some nice dark fruits in here as well, with shades of plums, blackberries, blueberries, and boysenberry. 

I'm a fan of DFH's high-gravity series, and this is no slouch. This brings the raisin along with a lot of other flavors, and it works out. At the variable 15~18% I'm not getting a ton of alcohol, but this definitely warms you up. Palate depth is good with nice duration -- making this a worthy sipping beer. This is also fairly complex, with lots of assertive raisin, muscovado sugar, and then more subtle dark fruit notes, Belgian character, and berries. Lots of berries. The finish is pretty clean too, and approaches drying. That in itself is commendable. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. At this time (I think this was bottled in late 2014? I couldn't tell, the date was smudged off my bottle) the beer is drinking just fine. BUT, I think with a little more age, this might settle into something really worthy. Since this is basically shelf turding these days, I will keep an eye out and try to snag a few more bottles to age. That actually shouldn't be a problem...I'd love to try this two or three years down the road.

Random Thought: It's hard to believe that there's basically just one more year of grad school left...

Pig Minds Brewing Joe Daddy Barrel Aged

Brewed By: Pig Minds Brewing Co. in Machesney Park, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bomber generously gifted to me on Black Friday; 2014 

Style/ABV: American Stout, 9.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Let me extend a thanks for this bottle. Black Friday was a lot of fun, even if my toes were numb by the end of the morning. I did stand in line for my allotment of Bourbon County, and I'm glad I did. 2014's Bourbon County release in Chicago was nothing but a shit show. But enough about that....About Pig Minds Brewing:

Pig Minds Brewing Co. is a brewery based out of Machesney Park, IL. The brewery was founded around 2012, by owner Brian Endl and head brewer Carson Souza. For more info, check out their Website or Facebook page. 

Tonight's beer, the Joe Daddy Barrel Aged, is a twist on their Joe Daddy, which is a coffee stout brewed with two gallons of molasses, brown sugar, and Guatemalan Coffee roasted locally at Jadabug Roasters. The bottle of the Joe Daddy Barrel Aged reads: "Joe Daddy's back. He's bigger, bolder, and older than before. He got himself a job at the distillery, stacking and racking oak barrels 9 to 5. Wooza, nice abs, Joe! This is our Jada Bug Coffee imperial stout brewed with brown sugar and molasses that ol' Joe Daddy made famous. Only this time we've barrel-aged this blend to give you that oaken experience that warms you way down deep. Now who's Joe Daddy?" 

Pig Minds Brewing Joe Daddy Barrel Aged

This pours into a thick, oily, opaque body, kicking up a finger of dark brown, mocha-tinged head. The head retention on this beer is fantastic, and there is also really nice lacing and big glossy alcohol legs to set the tone.

I know this glass calls out the aroma for you, but when I poured this beer I was smacked with HUGE waves of coconut, vanilla, barrel, bourbon, and alcohol. This smells absolutely potent and fantastic. When I stick my nose into the beer, I am getting big macaroons, coffee, coffee liquor, vanilla, alcohol, and RICH coffee. The coffee on this aroma is oily and thick. This smells amazing, anything short of this aroma in the taste is going to be a disappointment...I hope this delivers. 

For the most part, this does deliver. This isn't as thick as Bourbon County, but at 9.0% I wasn't expecting it to be. What I'm getting here is a ton of barrel, vanilla, alcohol, and coffee. The alcohol is not fusel at all, and has a marked complexity, like a hot whiskey. This has hints of raisins soaked in alcohol, fusel and quad-like fruits, complex coffee fruits, and lots of complex dessert alcohol notes. It reminds me of a dessert liquor, or a nice digestive. The kick of oak, vanilla, and bourbon on the back end is just icing on the cake. I'm going to let this warm up, and report back. UPDATE: oh yeah, as this warms up, this continues to improve in terms of depth, complexity, and drinkability. At warmer temps, this becomes a coffee liquor banger, with nice barrel and booze notes. This is just the perfect after-dinner treat, and a sipper to chew on.

I'm quite smitten with this brew. It's not quite Bourbon County Coffee, but not many beers are. Actually, the coffee in this beer is just one of many elements that defines the overall experience. At 9.0%, this is both boozier and bigger than its britches. The mouthfeel isn't quite thick freaky, but it is full-bodied with really nice complexity and palate depth. Right now, this is pretty hot...I think with 6~12 months of age this is going to mellow out. But I love alcohol, whiskey, and dessert spirits. I'm enjoying this because it is boozy, and I think the booze plays with the coffee and the barrel. The booze is also fairly complex, not unlike a good digestive or cognac. This unravels in waves of complexity, but you get a lot of alcohol, coffee, and complex booze up front; that rolls into coconut, bourbon, vanilla, dessert spirits, more coffee, liquor, and tons of goodness; the back end trails with coffee, liquor, alcohol, and lots of barrel. This finishes dry, and there isn't as much residual sugar kicking around as you might initially think. I'm enjoying this...and I'm finding this to actually be a sipper, which is rare for me.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is my type of Imperial Stout. Layered, coffee, bourbon, alcohol, booze, and a true sipper. This is somewhat alcohol-forward, so be warned if you prefer your beers to be more "integrated." I'm not a huge fan of aging beers, but I think this will meld a bit down the road. For me, I like this fresh. I would not pair this with anything, except for maybe some dry chocolate cake and ice cream. This is just a great sipping beer...I would totally buy this if I saw it on shelves. 

Random Thought: People who read this blog will obviously note that I do age beers, and I'm not 100% against aging beer. I think there is some misconception that I am completely against aging beers...I'm not...I just think that people should put some thought into aging beer. It's a lot more complicated than just picking a beer with a high ABV, or a beer that meets "X style guideline."

Pipeworks Cinnamon Beer-D Os

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #515/516) bought at Fischman's Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 09.??.2014)

Style/ABV: "Cereal Milk Inspired" Imperial Cream Ale, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

I'm super excited to be jumping on tonight's beer. Pipeworks has apparently decided to start rolling out breakfast cereal inspired beers, and I am totally okay with that. The Cinnamon Beer-D Os is a "cereal milk inspired Imperial Cream Ale." I don't even know. This one is brewed with lactose, cinnamon, vanilla, cereal grains, cinnamon cereal, and brown sugar. Not Pipeworks Thursday™. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

The Cinnamon Beer-D Os bottle reads (and as you can guess, has a crossword puzzle): 

"Can you find...aline, beardo, beer, cinnamon, sugar, kitten, ninja, epic battle, unicorn, kwing, pdubz, pipeworks, weirdo."

This pours into a hazy, dark orange/amber body, kicking up several fingers of caramel-tinged head. As the head drops off, you are left with webs of Spider-Man worthy lacing. There's some alcohol legs, and all that jazz. It kind of "looks like cinnamon," said Rorschach. 

The aroma of this insanely stupid beer is reminiscent of another insanely stupid Pipeworks beer: Hey, Careful Man, There's A Beverage Here! Both beers are overpoweringly sweet, with lactose, vanilla, and assertive milk sugars. I'm getting fudge like sweetness on the nose, with white chocolate and cocoa fudge. There are also some assertive cereal grains on the nose, for sure. What is missing from the nose/aroma is the big cinnamon I was expecting. There is some faint, nondescript spice on the nose, but it isn't quite dialing up the cinnamon intensity.

This is malty sweet...it tastes boozy and big, with big lactose, cereal grains, and tons of vanilla. There's a lot of milk sugar in here, and this has an acrid and burnt sugar note that reminds me of burnt caramel. This is boozy and big. In a lot of ways, this is just a remix of the Hey, Careful Man. However, I felt like that beer was a little bit more nuanced and complex. I'm not getting a ton of breakfast cereal in here. I'm also not getting as much breakfast cereal as I had hoped for...this definitely has suggestions of Golden Grahams or Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but it never quite brings the flavor home. I think the overt lactose-vanilla-burnt sugar punch acts as a detractor, and the booze doesn't help.

I rarely say this about anything Pipeworks, but I think this beer is kind of average and/or needs some time to age. Right now the lactose and sugars are really dialing up aggressive sweetness and astringency. Furthermore, this is kind of boozy. I'm feeling the weight of the alcohol, and tasting a little bit of it too. At 10.0% you'd maybe expect that...but then when you add in that this is full-bodied without a ton of complexity, and yeah. Up front: lactose sugars, milk, vanilla, fudge sweetness; the mids roll into more sugars, with some cereal grains, hints of Golden Grahams and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and burnt sugars; the back end fades into a mess of sweetness, sugars, and lingering cereal. 

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. I was expecting a lot more cinnamon and cereal from this. This is mostly a one-note, sugary-sweet, lactose adventure. Yeah, there are hints of cereal, but when you crank a beer up to 10% and throw a bunch of lactose and vanilla into it...you better deliver. Having said that, this one might mellow out and improve with some age. For future batches I hope they add a little more cinnamon and cereal. Food pairings: none you fool. This beer is diabetes in a bottle. 

Random Thought: Beer reviews and homework done concurrently...what could go wrong.