DOGFISH HEAD OF THE WOOD

DOGFISH HEAD BREWING made their big splash in Northern California a few months back, and I finally got around to trying all three beers they debuted with out here. As fate would have it, through a combination of travels and beer trading, I’ve actually been able to keep up with the Dogfish beers pretty well these past couple of years. The last feather in my cap was this bottle of PALO SANTO MARRON I tried last night. Calling it “a twist on the traditional brown ale” is putting it lightly. This dark brown, nearly black beer is an oaked, deeply roasted malt bomb. It’s aged in some unique sort of wood from Paraguay or something or other; at the end of the day, it’s a very earthy brown ale that tastes a little of the wood in which it was fermented; sort of like sucking on a hickory stick, but better. PALO SANTO MARRON is a drinkable mix of molasses and caramel tastes encased within malty, grainy, hickory liquid. 12% alcohol, too - whoa. I might not reach for it again for another few months or a even years, but good on Dogfish Head for continually pushing the proverbial envelope. 7/10.