Early in 2010, at the recommendation of John Jordan, I tried a Dogfish Head 60 Minute India Pale Ale. This came with much reluctance because I have never been a fan of IPA style beer or any beer with a decent bitterness; as a matter of fact, in the past, I got into homebrewing and decreased the intensity of the hops used in almost every recipe that I made.

There was something special about this 60 minute IPA. I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time, but, while out with my friends, I kept ordering Dogfish beers whenever I would see them on the menu. After trying a few different styles of beer by Dogfish Head Brewery, it occurred to me that they put a decent amount of effort into toying with the intrinsic concept of “beer,” and, if you visit the Dogfish Head website, you’ll come across their motto: “Off centered stuff for off centered people.”

As a result of my curiosity, I decided to do the “derryX Dogfish Head Reviews,” and, in doing so, spending a decent amount of money to seek out a number of different style Dogfish beers.

Aside from the descriptions contained herein (all of which were copied from www.dogfish.com), all comments are the opinion of derryX.

derryX Dogfish Head Review: Raison d’Etre

Description – From www.dogfish.com:

A deep, mahogany Belgian-style brown ale brewed with beet sugar, raisins, and Belgian-style yeast.

Price – $9/12-oz bottles (Source: Mario Batali’s Spotted Pig Restaurant in Manhattan, NY)

Alcohol by volume – 8 %

Nose – malt, grapes, definitely has the nose of a belgian ale

First Sip – Nice and bubbly, you know it’s a beer then you get flavors from the raisins. Somewhat thick on the palate. Not overly bitter.

As You Drink – Grape flavors intensify. I felt like the warmer it got, the more bitter it got.

Last Sip – Still clean, slightly bitter, grape flavors.

Food Pairings – burgers, beef dishes (i.e. stews, steaks, anything with a strong flavor), portabello mushrooms