Like a lot of Dogfish Head brews this guy comes with a bit of a back story.  The brewery itself describes it as follows:

An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means “holy tree,” and its wood has been used in South American wine-making communities.

At 10,000 gallons, our Palo tank is the largest wooden brewing vessel built in America since before Prohibition (and we have two same-sized oak tanks right next to it).

Oh, and it clocks in at 12% ABV.

Appearance – If you could blend iced coffee and motor oil.  Dark.  Thin dark brown foam.

Smell – Malty, nutty, and earthy.  Some cherry on my first few sniffs.

Taste – BANG!  If you weren’t awake every taste bud you have just slapped you in the face.  Malt, cedar, roasted nuts.  Some bitterness.  A finish that hits a little caramel or crème brûlée.

Mouth – Dry.  Very dry with some heat from the alcohol.  Yet the beer remains dangerously drinkable.

Overall – Pretty freak’n awesome.  Not what I’m going to be reaching for a lot this summer, though.  I would be excited to try to pair this with some savory meat, maybe even with a little heat in the mix.

This beer is inches from the edge of cliff that plummets into an overly alcoholic, difficult to drink concoction.  I don’t like beers over that cliff, but love this one.  Another job well done Dogfish Head.

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