Name: Palo Santo Marron

Brewer: Dogfish Head

Style: Strong Brown Ale

Vintage: 2008

Bottled On: April 16th, 2008

Cellared On: June 6th, 2008

Original Tasting: June 9th, 2008

I was VERY excited to find this brew in my local beverage store - I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see it all here in the Albany NY area. For those of you not familiar with the background of this brew, Dogfish brewed this beer with the aid of some HUGE custom-built wooden brewing vessels. The tanks are constructed out of Palo Santo wood, a wood that South American winemakers use to give many of their wines a certain distinctive flair. If you’d like to learn more about how this beer was made, check out the Dogfish website Palo Santo Marron page for more info and a cool video about this brew.

Palo Santo Marron poured a rich, deep brown. The color reminded me of the kind of lustrous woody brown you see Mahogany desks made out of. A fluffy tan head made a brief appearance, but quickly faded away. The first whiffs of this brew were boozy - very very boozy in fact, and were coupled with an almost equally powerful roasted malt sweetness. After this initial onslaught, I realized there was a lot of wood (I probably would have said oak had I known better) in the smell as well. The combo of wood and booze kind of reminded me a bit of the smell of a mellow American bourbon.

Those sweet malts are also the first thing you notice as you take a sip. The roasted flavors were deep and complex, with a brown sugar/caramel feel to the sweetness. With the malty flavor alone, this beer probably would have been pretty good, but it really tool off when the wood flavor kicked in. The wood gives this beer a unique vanilla-like oaky taste that hung all the way through the sweet finish. It was a perfect match for the powerful malts, and it made this beer just delicious to drink. A bit of alcohol came in near the end, but it’s not very noticeable at all for at 12% abv beverage.

Despite a very thick and virtually carbonation-free mouthfeel, this brew was pretty easy to drink. I just may have another (or two or three) really soon.

Cellar Outlook: The four-pack this brew came in read “… luscious and enjoyable now, the beer ages with the best of ‘em”. I have to agree, especially since it’s unfiltered and comes in at a whopping 12% abv. I am a little bit worried that I’ll lose some of the vanilla and wood notes over time.

Next Tasting: December 2008

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com

www.brewbasement.com