Tasting Tuesday - Raison D'Etre

Dogfish Head is one of my favorite craft brewers, and I know this doesn't make me exactly unique. No matter how much you try to deny it, Sam Calagione is the perfect poster boy for craft beer: handsome, knows beer, sharp, well-spoken and truly passionate about the industry. Beyond Sam's charm though, Dogfish Head make some damn fine beer. They certainly don't aim for the mainstream in any way, shape or form and some of their beers are better left in the brewpub for the hardcore beer nerds. Their classics, like Raison D'Etre however, are a great blend of unique flavors that still make for a drinkable ale.

Raison D'etre

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Milton, DE USA

Style: Belgian Strong Ale

ABV: 8.0%

IBUs: 25

Appearance: Pours a reddish mahogany with a thin off-white head. The head was never more than a finger and receded rather quickly.

Aroma: Suprisingly light aroma for such a strong beer. Slight hints of raisin, cherry and malt. Little to no hops.

Taste: Slightly tart with an almost oak character immediately following. Very balanced hop characteristics; have to hand it to them for nailing that. The sweetness is on display the most thanks to the raisins and beet sugar, but that could be considered a blessing with the higher alcohol content. None of the sweet flavors really "cross the line" but they could be a little louder I suppose.

Mouthfeel: Rich and sugary, but not quite syrupy. Raisin becomes more apparent the more you drink. Again, the hops are balanced in such a way as to keep the sweetness in check throughout several rounds.

Overall: If I were judging this beer in a vacuum I would say without hesitation that it is well-executed and drinkable with some great notes of unique flavors. My one gripe might be that I was expecting something a little more "off-center" from Dogfish Head - especially with such wacky ingredients. As I mentioned, the hops work overtime to keep everything in check in Raison D'Etre, but I do find myself wondering what would happen if some of those unique notes got louder and more pronounced. Nonetheless, you can't go wrong with this beer. It is expertly crafted and better than a great deal of the "experimental" craft you might try.

Thanks for reading everyone! As always, hit me up on Twitter to chat about this beer or any other. Cheers!