DFH Palo Santo Marron

When I decided to have a week of Dogfish Head ales, I knew I was in for a treat. And of course I was also in for a kick in the pants, thanks to the ageability (read: high alcohol content) of Dogfish Head brews.

But the story behind Palo Santo Marron had me looking forward to experiencing this beer all week long.

Attempting to get at the aromatic heartwood. Source: Dogfish.com video

The New Yorker had a great article on extreme beer recently, throughout which Dogfish Head and founder Sam Calagione are featured. The article starts off with the story behind Palo Santo Marron.

But if you aren’t into reading, or if you only want to learn the story behind Palo Santo Marron, there’s a documentary video on the Dogfish Head website — complete with photos of a man who, after getting nowhere with a machete, gives up and shoots a Palo Santo tree with a .38 revolver!

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DFH Midas Touch Golden Elixer

Dogfish Head, with its motto “Off-Centered Ales for Off-Centered People”, doesn’t allow convention to stand in its way of progress. Neither does it bow to the passage of time, evidenced by its attempt at recreating an elixir nearly 3,000 years old.

I doubt the imitation succeeded with much fidelity, but they’ve certainly succeeded in creating an entirely enjoyable and quickly quaffable brew.

My bottle is young (dated in October 2008), but the label describes it as a “Handcrafted Ancient Ale with barley, honey, white muscat grapes & saffron”.

The website provides more detail:

This recipe is the actual oldest-known fermented beverage in the world! Our recipe showcases the known ingredients of barley, white Muscat grapes, honey & saffron found in the drinking vessels in King Midas’ tomb! Somewhere between a beer, wine and mead, this smooth, dry ale will please with Chardonnay or I.P.A. drinker alike.

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DFH Raison D’Extra

Raison D’Extra is a Twilight Zone version of Raison D’Etre. The D’Etre is planted in reality, but the D’Extra is lost in some other dimension.

The Dogfish Head website describes the D’Extra in understated terms:

This is a bulbous, brown ale brewed with a bunch of malt, brown sugar and raisins.

There’s little indication of what you are about to experience, other than a whopping 18+ ABV!

My 12 ounce serving was bottled in March 2007, so it’s had time to mature. Yet, I couldn’t wait any longer — on the way home tonight, I called and asked my wife to pull the D’Extra out of the fridge. I wanted the beer to warm up a little before I had my first taste, but I didn’t want to lose valuable moments waiting for the beer to warm up. The clock was ticking. At more than 18% ABV, I knew it would take me most of the night to sip this ale down.

I popped the bottle cap off the Raison D’Extra and poured it into a tulip glass, and the sweet, raisin/cherry smell of the beer wafted up at me. The D’Extra is thick, cloudy and dark. Held up to the light, the ale looked like a mulled apple cider.

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DFH Raison D’Etre

Dogfish Head’s Raison D’Etre is a beer that can easily require complicated courtship before achieving full appreciation. But for me, it was love at first sip.

Years ago, I stumbled into the Clark Street Ale House in Chicago’s River North, where I saw the name “Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre” chalked inauspiciously on a board above the bar.

You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but quirky beer names have rarely failed me. I ordered a bottle without hesitation.

There was no drum roll, no fanfare, no choir of angels — nonetheless, ordering that beer set me on a new path. I’d never had a beer quite like it, and my fascination led me to discover other craft ales and a world of beer I hadn’t even known existed.

The Dogfish Head website describes the beer as:

A deep, mahogany ale brewed with beet sugar, green raisins, and Belgian-style yeast. As complex as a fine, red wine. Voted “American Beer of the Year” in January 2000 by Malt Advocate Magazine.

The Raison D’Etre struggles to find its place, and I find that struggle interesting. It has a distinctive, yeasty “Belgian Beer” taste, but the sugar and raisins combine to create a fruity, toffee/molasses flavor that is nearly successful at overwhelming the palate. And yet the beer still manages a pleasant, clean finish reminiscent of dark-cherries.

Tonight’s bottle of Raison D’Etre was the first I’ve had in years. Though I had a furious love affair with this impressive ale years ago, in many ways I have moved on — but I’ll always have a fondness for this unique beer.

Tomorrow I’ll be drinking the Raison D’Extra. I’ve never had it before, but it is described as bigger and bolder than the “D’Etre”. The D’Etre is 8% ABV, and the D’Extra is about 18%.

If I survive, Dogfish Head Week continues tomorrow!

Dogfish Head Week

Let’s start February on a strong note. All week long, I’m going to feature a beer from Dogfish Head.

It will be a week of off-centered beer for an off-centered beer blog.

So here’s an assignment for all of you — go grab a beer from Dogfish Head and join the discussion this week. If you want to “play along at home,” I’ll be featuring the DFH bottles listed in my fridge.

Last Consumed:

My wife and I usually select a Christmas Tree during the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we were thrilled to discover the farm down the road from us is selling trees this year. She and I stopped by the farm while walking our Boston Terrier, Caesar, who helped us sniff out a good one. After my wife and I dithered over the best tree for several minutes, Caesar weighed in with his selection by lifting his leg on a plump Fraser Fir.

I hope that means he liked it.

The tree went up on my shoulder, I carried it home (drawing chuckles from several people driving by), and our Christmas season officially began. We’ve been listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate, and generally sickening all humbugs spying through our windows.

So it should come as no surprise that I’ve selected the “Hoppy Christmas Ale” from Belgium’s Brewery De Ranke. The beer — Père Noël (imported by Shelton Brothers) — intimates the reason for Father Christmas’ jolly cheeks and rosy nose; the label depicts Santa embracing the frothy, 7% ABV Strong Pale Ale.

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