Dogfish Head Oak-Aged Noble Rot (7/10)

Dogfish Head Oak-aged Noble Rot

Dogfish Head is one of my favorite breweries, but not because of their much-celebrated 90-minute and 120-minute IPAs.  I'm a fan because of their more "off-centered" fare, like Ta Henket, Raison D'Etre, Chateau Jiahu, Palo Santo Marron, and Noble Rot.  I'm also a fan of barrel-aged beers, so seeing a bottle of Oak-aged Noble Rot on the shelf meant that I needed to bring one home with me.

Oak-aged Noble Rot pours a very crystal clear golden yellow color with a white head that appears and disappears in an instant.

The aroma will remind you very much of a white white wine, which is due to the beer including juice from viognier grapes that have been infected with a fungus or "noble rot".  This fungus reduces the water content in the grapes while amping up their flavor and complexity.  Pinot gris must is also added to the brew.  When all this is combined with pils and wheat malts, the result is something like a pilsner mixed with a white wine.  Toss Noble Rot in with some oak, and the wine elements come out even more strongly.

The flavor starts with a strong oak hit.  This gives way briefly to the malt.  After the malt, the white wine flavors come through in force.  Probably because of the strong oak start, the grape element is much more like wine than it is in the "non-oaked" version of Noble Rot.  The kind of musty, funky elements of the wine grapes make appearances throughout the sip.

To be honest, although I like this beer, the version that's not oak-aged appeals to me more.  The oak in this is almost too much, and takes the beer much closer to a white wine.  This is not to say that I dislike the beer, just that I don't like it as well as regular Noble Rot.

Beer Advocate rates Oak-aged Noble Rot an 87/100.  Rate Beer gives it a 91 overall.  I think I'm in good company saying that I prefer the regular Noble Rot to the oak-aged version.  Beer Advocate's rating on the "regular" beer is 88-90 out of 100, versus 87 for the oak-aged version.  Rate Beer gives the regular Noble Rot a 92 overall, versus a 91 for the oak-aged version.

When I rated Noble Rot back in 2012, I gave it an 8 out of 10.  I intentionally didn't look at that rating until I had decided to give the Oak-aged Noble Rot a 7 out of 10.  Thankfully, I am consistent in my ratings.

When they are available, I see Dogfish rarities like this at most local craft beer retailers, including Giant Eagle, Kenny Road Market, The Andersons General Store, and others.  Being that it is a rarity, you may not find it unless you happen to be in the right shop at the right time.

Dogfish Head Beer to Drink Music To (4/10)

I'm a big fan of several Dogfish Head beers.  I love Ta Henket, Chateau Jiahu, Raison D'Etre, and Palo Santo Marron.  When I saw that Dogfish Head was doing a Belgian Tripel, I rushed out and grabbed a six-pack having never tried it.  I figured with Dogfish Head behind one of my favorite styles, it had to be good.

According to the label, Beer to Drink Music To is brewed with sweet orange peel, green cardamom, peppercorns, and vanilla.

The beer pours a hazy amber color.  It's a little darker than some of the true Belgian tripels, but I didn't hold that against it.  The head is thin and dissipates very fast.  The photo at the left is about three seconds after the pour and there's not much head left.

The aroma seems to mix vanilla and clove, which came across as medicinal the first few times I smelled it - which was definitely not appealing.

The flavor starts malty, mild, and somewhat dry.  After this initial somewhat non-descript hit, the beer turns bitter, with a mild burn.  The spices and orange peel seem to muddle together into something that seems a little pleasant at first, then begins to seem artificial, medicinal, or chemical-like.  More than anything, it's just bitter, as though it's trying to be a tripel for the IPA set.  It gets a little less bitter and more pleasant as it warms, but it's never the equal of tripels like Victory Golden Monkey, La Fin Du Monde, Tripel Karmeliet, and the like.

As much as it pains me to say this about a Dogfish Head beer, I really don't like it. I want to.  It's got the right pedigree and it's a favorite style, but this interpretation of it just turns me off.  Sadly, the best thing I can say about it is that the bottles will be valuable to me in my home brewing efforts and I'll probably get more of those than I did the beer.  Dogfish Head's bottles are nice and thick glass, and the labels remove without too much effort, to they're a good homebrew bottle.

I seem to be in the minority here.  Beer Advocate gives Beer to Drink Music To an 87 or "very good" rating.  Rate Beer gave it an 84 overall.  I'm giving it a 4 out of 10, which on my scale means I'd probably rather drink one of the macro brews.  I hate to be that harsh to a brewery I really like but this beer just does not do it for me.  Your mileage, of course, may vary.

I found the beer about a month ago at Giant Eagle in Hilliard.  It's taken me over a month to finish the six pack, and it doesn't seem to get better with age.

River Rat Hazelnut Brown Ale (8/10)

River Rat Brewery of Columbia, South Carolina, produces this Hazelnut Brown Ale.

Their web site describes the beer as "A traditional mild brown ale brewed with English malts, hops, and fresh Hazelnuts.  Malty and nutty with a mild hop presence makes this Brown Ale approachable for novice beer drinkers, but can satisfy those who like a malty dark ale."

While I bristle a bit at the "novice beer drinkers" label, that description certainly had my attention. (Just because I don't particularly like hop-forward styles doesn't make me a novice drinker any more than not eating hyper-atomic-hot buffalo wings makes someone a novice wing eater.)

Before I continue, it's important to note that as far as I know, this beer is not currently available in Columbus, Ohio.  It appears on this web site as a service to Columbus residents who find themselves in South Carolina or another place where it's available, and perhaps as an enticement to River Rat to consider expansion into Ohio.

The beer's aroma is a slightly nutty roasted malt bouquet.  It's very reminiscent of any English made brown ale you've ever tried, which is to say it does seem "approachable" by all craft beer fans.

The beer pours a nice medium brown with a head that disappears almost as quickly as it appears.  By the time I'd set the bottle down, the head was like you see in the picture - which is to say, gone.

The flavor of the beer is exceedingly well balanced between malt and hops.  You wouldn't call this a particularly malt-forward or hop-forward beer.  There is a strong roasted grain presence which brings to mind excellent brown ales from England.  The hazelnut flavor is present if you look for it, but doesn't dominate or overwhelm the beer's other flavors.  All things considered, this is an extremely well-done brown ale.  It's not trying to be an "Imperial" or "American" or hoppy ale, nor is it sweet and cloying.  It's a very easy-drinking beer.  If you could find this on Columbus shelves, I can imagine picking up a six-pack every so often to have around.

This being said, Beer Advocate reviewers have only provided three reviews for the beer as of this writing.  One gives it a 1.85 out of 5.  The others are approximately 3.5 and 4.5 out of 5.  I'm giving it an 8 out of 10 because I think it's a great example of the brown ale style and is competently brewed.

If you want to try this one for yourself, check BeerMenus.com or River Rat's web site to see where it may be found.

Stone Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard (8/10)

Stone Brewing Company's Arrogant Bastard Ale is one of the two hoppy beers I occasionally seek out and drink.  Being a fan of barrel-aged beers, it seemed natural to grab a bottle of Stone's Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard... so I did.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard pours a bright mahogany with a thick beige head that lasts a while and leaves behind sheet like lacing.

The aroma is a mix of caramel, bourbon, and hops in pretty much equal parts.  The Bourbon might be just a bit more dominant.

The flavor starts with a strong bourbon hit, followed by hops bitterness, which I expect for Arrogant Bastard. I get a little caramel and vanilla in the aftertaste, and it finishes bitter. The bitterness lingers.

As bitter beers go, this is definitely one of my favorites.  The mix of caramel, bourbon, vanilla, and hops is well done.  I'm giving it an 8 out of 10.  Beer Advocate rates it an 87 or "very good" while Rate Beer gives it a 97.  We all seem to agree that it's pretty good.

This was a limited release beer.  If you haven't found a bottle already, you may have trouble locating one.  Their Beer Finder web application says there are zero locations nearby.