Name: Black and Blue

Brewer: Dogfish Head

Style: Fruit

Cellared On: July 13th, 2007

Original Tasting: July 20th, 2007

Yes, it’s another Dogfish Head beer review from Jason. I hope you’re not getting tired of reading them. I’m certainly not getting tired of drinking them!

Having already enjoyed the fruit and beer experience from Dogfish twice before (my Aprihop review, my Midas Touch review), I was really looking forward to trying this brew. It poured a darkish red, almost a little purplish to me. Smells were of sweet fruit, mostly blackberries with some cirtus notes. The beer had a nice sweet malty taste, not overpowering. The fruit really came out with the aftertaste, which was mostly blackberry, but again not too overpowering. Yet another enjoyable Dogfish beer experience!

Six-Month Tasting Notes: February 8th, 2008

Where did my fruit go? When I taste this beer now, I get a very tart, very light berry taste. In fact I can barely identify the berry flavor, the fruit taste just fades out so fast. There’s virtually no malt presence at all. The finish to this brew is all berry-like tartness.

This was not an enjoyable tasting experience, and I couldn’t come close to finishing the bottle.

One Year Tasting Notes: August 7th, 2008

Confusion reigns. Cats and dogs living together, MASS HYSTERIA!

I have no idea what happend with that six-month beer, because the one I just tasted was nothing like it. The overwhelming tart flavors were simply not there. There were some fruity flavors, definitely not as strong as when fresh, but the black/blue berries were still there. Come to think, pretty much all of the flavor was muted compared to a year ago.

Still not one to cellar, but not as bad as the six month point was.

Cellar Outlook: At a strong 10% ABV, the beer should hold up pretty well. I am afraid that the wonderful blackberry flavor will fade away over time, though.

Six Month Cellar Outlook: RIP, Black and Blue. I can’t see this going anywhere but further down.

One Month Cellar Outlook: Why not as bad as before, there’s no way this gets better. I expect the esters to continue to decline, and without much malt base to back them up there’s just no where to go.

Next Tasting: July 2008