Dogfish Head Brewery Noble Rot Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 9% ABV (US$12.99 at Knightly Spirits Williamsburg, 750 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-May-2016, reviewed 2-May-2016)
Appearance: clear pale gold with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: complex, grape must, stone fruit, oaky, gooseberry, and really pretty much any other bush/wild/field berry you can think of. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, moderate tart. (9/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly warming and funky finish. (4/5)
Wow. I went with “Fruit / Vegetable Beer” because to my knowledge there’s still no BJCP classification for “Weird Hybrid Grapey Thing”. This might be the first hybrid I’ve had that’s worth a damn. Rather than a hint of white wine (i.e. Nelson Sauvin hops, still my favourite, I love you Nelson Sauvin, don’t ever change) or an overwhelming cheap wine kit must (I’m looking at you, Phillips’ Sax in the Dark) this is a well-balanced integration of beer character with botrytis-infected Viognier (officially two of my favourite new words) grape must. Deep, lingering complexity on a light, crisp body. This shit will very politely fuck you up. God. Damn. I won’t actually recommend robbing your local liquor store, but anything short of that is fair game. (17/20)
8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
