DFH Olde School Barleywine
By
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
Loading ...
Perhaps my third grade teacher had me pegged.
There it was, right on my report card — “Fails to follow instructions.”
And here I am, looking down at the bottle of Olde School Barleywine by Dogfish Head, living up to my third grade teacher’s expectations.
DIRECTIONS? On a bottle of beer?
DIRECTIONS: Open bottle, pour contents into two snifters. Enjoy. OR: Walk hand-in-neck into the middle of the woods. Use a shovel to dig a 2 x 2 hole three feet deep. Seal the bottle in a plastic bag. Place in hole & pack with dirt. Memorize location & leave. Return exactly one year later. Dig up bottle, open & enjoy.
Guess it’s a good thing I don’t work for the space program. We’d still be at the paper-rock-scissors stage of the moon mission.
Instructions or not, I did offer to share a sip with my wife, but she refused to consider it. She doesn’t like beer — it’s a mixed marriage.
I poured the Olde School into a tulip glass, and it looks thin and pale coming from the bottle; yet, in the glass, it is a murky orange-amber. Like the Raison D’Extra, the beer has the appearance of apple cider.
Strong fruit on the nose. I’d heard “fig” in description of the Old School before, and that fit the fruit I smell better than raisin. But there are some additional fragrance — from hops? From citrus peel?
The taste is sweet and fruity, but with a light and bubbly mouthfeel. I’m struck by the elements of similarity between this beer and the Raison D’Extra. The Olde School is more fruity and more caramel sweet, but with bitter hops at the tail. The D’Extra was syrupy sweet, without much bitterness.
For drinkability, I’d select the Olde School Barleywine. The citrus, fruity elements announce themselves so loudly it’s hard to notice the alcohol — just when the alcohol should be hitting the taste buds and washing fumes up your nose, the hops kick in and run just the right level of interference.
I didn’t share this beer as the instructions dictated, nor did I eat anything before enjoying it (as common sense would dictate). Somewhere, my third grade teacher is still shaking her head. But she’d be pleased to hear I did some research, and I found promotional text which claimed this beer was inspired by the “tale of a cask doctor who brought sluggish ales back to life by suspending a fig in them.” I can rest easy tonight knowing that brilliant cask doctor was also a man who didn’t follow instructions. He invented them.
No related posts.
5 Comments
February 8th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Some people call it the mongrelization of the races, I call it wild hooch.
February 8th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
you’re killing me man! you get to drink new and exciting beers every day, and i’m trying to abstain! and it’s not like i can push it out of my mind either, because even if i ignore your blog, i see your mom at the gym at work, which puts you in my mind and now makes me think beer, thanks to this blog!
February 10th, 2009 at 7:18 am
First off, I’m glad to hear my hometown is abuzz with beer talk. For your weight loss challenge — why not allow yourself one beer a week? Just make sure it’s a good one!
February 11th, 2009 at 6:56 am
had a congratulatory hop devil last night for being down this week. think i’ll stick with that tradition. while i continue to lose, i’ll have a beer a week. my fridge is good for 3 more months!
May 1st, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Wow, I finally tried this tonight as an after the work week beer, and it’s outstanding. About halfway through I was feeling it, and checked the bottle. 15% ABV! Wouldn’t have guessed that by tasting it as it’s very drinkable. I bought a 4 pack and gave one to a friend. One is going in the cooler, and the other is going to the basement to hide for a year. At that point I’ll have to buiy 4 more so I have something to compare the old one to… it’s a vicious cycle. Also comparing the DFH to the New Glarus Barley and they are remarkably similar. The DFH was more cloudy and a little bit sweeter, but overall they’re pretty close.