A Bad Beer Posting

31May10

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout & Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra

As you know by now, I am a beer lover.  I am sometimes accused of liking too many beers or at least, finding redeeming qualities in brews that many people find polarizing.

I have been recently confronted with not one, but two beers that I most certainly did not enjoy.  This is a difficult time of year for me because  as the summer beers come in season, so often the complex &  flavorful beers go out of season.

First up is the Dogfish Head Raison D’Extra.  I’m purposely distinguishing it as the D’Extra because Dogfish Head has a Raison that is often on draught at their restaurants.  The Raison is a brown ale.  I will admit that other than Light Lagers, nut brown ales are one of my least favorite brews.  I don’t actually mind the flavor initially, but I have a habit of tasting them for 12-15 hours after.  No one likes belching beer (I shouldn’t say that… some of you might!) but to keep tasting that roasted nutty flavor even the next morning is not appetizing to me.

I was at a delightful beer bar in Norwalk, CT called “The Ginger Man.”  This place is awesome with 52 beers on draught and another 100+ in bottles.  Sure, they have the standard fair of Coors, Sam Adams, and Guinness, but they also have an excellent selection of imports and craft brews.

On my recent visit, I was with some dear friends, one of whom adores Nut Brown Ales.  New Castle is his beer of choice at home, so he was delighted to see the Raison on the menu this evening.  When it came time to order however, he went into their Vintage Bottle Collection for the Raison D’Extra from 2007.  It was $15 for the bottle, and it rings in at 18% ABV.

Let me start by saying this… Damian liked it.  He is a nut brown ale lover, so I suppose that’s fitting, but HOLY COW.  The description says Dogfish Head Raison D’Extra is “a bigger, bolder version of the Raison, it is a bulbous brown ale brewed with a bunch of malt, sugar, and raisins.” Uh yeah, they aren’t kidding.  It’s syrupy, it’s sweet, and I’m sorry, but it’s NASTY.  It tastes like raisin beer.  How many people think fruit and beer don’t go together?  How about sugar, raisins, and beer?  No thanks.

I’d love to take this opportunity to explain the initial flavors, subtle nuances, and lingering effects, but I can’t.  I just can’t tell you about it beyond, “I’ll pass.”  Perhaps the high alcohol content plus the sweet raisins are just a combination that my pallet does not enjoy.

And now… the Cream Stout that makes me twitch.  If you recall from the last post, Jasen discovered Bell’s Brewery recently and has been very pleased with their offerings.  Last night we were out with a group of friends and he came across a new one that we’d never seen Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout.

http://www.bellsbeer.com/brands/info/15

I wish that our friend Rich, who also loves stouts, had first seen the utter look of displeasure on Jasen’s face before ALSO ordering one of his own.  It’s just too much.  The back of the bottle says it’s, “brewed with a blend of 10 different malts, Double Cream is an incredibly rich stout composed of dark, sweet and smooth tones intermingled with a soft, roasty finish.”  It’s only 6.1%ABV but tastes more like 16.

Soft?  Not in the slightest.  Roasty?  Sure, in ways that will make you sweat peanut butter for the next week.  It’s thick and rich all right.  And here’s the biggest bummer of all–  between the two bottles ordered, I think they drank about 15% of one bottle.  They actually sent the bottles away after an hour of trying to nurse these drinks, and decided to order a round of something (ANYTHING) else.

And that, is my bad beer story.  It actually has me wanting to try a summer beer tomorrow.  It IS Memorial Day after all, the unofficial start of summer.  Ok then, summer beer it is.  On the bright side, it shouldn’t taste bad.  It might not taste like anything, but it’s better than a mix of syrupy raisins and roasty richness.

Filed under: Porters & Stouts   |  1 Comment