Black & Blue
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware, United States 🇺🇸
Belgian Style - Strong Ale Rotating Out of Production|
Score
6.70
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Black & Blue is a Belgian-style golden ale fermented with blackberries and blueberries. Because we dose Black & Blue with real berries -- rather than artificial flavoring -- the fruit comes through in the flavor, not just the aroma.
The pureed berries are added as the beer leaves the brewhouse. In fermentation, the yeast -- the same one we use in Red & White and Pangaea -- feeds on sugars from the barley and the berries, giving Black & Blue a unique complexity.
The label art for Black & Blue comes from portrait painter David Larned. David and his wife Sarah (also a painter, Sarah painted the still life for our Red & White label) are big Dogfish fans and live with their pug Weezie in Pennsylvania. David honed his craft in Florence, Italy, and at the University of Pennsylvania. David has had exhibits across the United States, but primarily works with portrait subjects on commissions in his studio.
The pureed berries are added as the beer leaves the brewhouse. In fermentation, the yeast -- the same one we use in Red & White and Pangaea -- feeds on sugars from the barley and the berries, giving Black & Blue a unique complexity.
The label art for Black & Blue comes from portrait painter David Larned. David and his wife Sarah (also a painter, Sarah painted the still life for our Red & White label) are big Dogfish fans and live with their pug Weezie in Pennsylvania. David honed his craft in Florence, Italy, and at the University of Pennsylvania. David has had exhibits across the United States, but primarily works with portrait subjects on commissions in his studio.
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7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle 750ml @ Dogfish Head Brewing & Eats, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Pours hazy amber with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, raspberrires, blueberries, blackberries, vinous and alcohol. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter with a long warm, berry, vinous and slightly sour finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.
Pours hazy amber with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, raspberrires, blueberries, blackberries, vinous and alcohol. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter with a long warm, berry, vinous and slightly sour finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Jun 2015
at 01:11
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
750 ml bottle. Rose colored liquid topped by a moderate rocky pinkish head. Tart berry nose with a hint of citrus hops. Intense berry flavor upfront with yeasty notes. Warming alcohol burn is oh so subtle. Slightly bready maltiness. Subtle citrus hop innuendo. Fruity dry finish. Belgian fruit beer character with a hoppy jolt.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 May 2015
at 21:18
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle. Cloudy orange-red, light pink head. Blueberry nose. Berry base, light tart base, a hint minerals, vanilla and citrus. Dry sparkly mouthfeel, chewy medium body. Refreshing dangerously easy to drink.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Apr 2015
at 12:43
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Old rating. 750 ml bottle from Old Town. Poured into a pinot noir glass. Pinkish red color with a thin slightly purple head. Big berry aroma present with a hint of yeast. Light and dry. Some tartness and fruit on the palate. Creamy mouthfeel but light body. The fruit gets more tart as it warms up as well as some peppery notes...like a syrah light. Solid fruit beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Mar 2015
at 08:45
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Time to pop another cellar-dweller from 2007, I think. Pours a ruddy brown color, fizzy carbonation swirls around some floaties that likely come from secondary yeast. Smells lightly fruity, held in check by a slight hint of old stables, dried apples, and a touch of funk. Taste brings up a dry fruit wine character, heightened by a soda pop fizz. I’m lucky this did NOT go flat in its six years. And the fruit has dried out very nicely, considering blackberries and blueberries can turn out to be just as cloying as raspberry fruit beers. Yes, it cellars very well. If I can just get past the label with what looks like George W. Bush dressed as Gainsborough’s "Blue Boy."
Tried
from Can
on 23 Dec 2013
at 21:13
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
On tap @ Blind Tiger House. Light blurry and lovely amber in the glass. It has a big beige top that's sticking nicely to the sides of the glass. Nice fruity nose. Not sure what's been putt in this, but is smells a little bit of blue and blackberries. Could that be a good guess? Nice soft sweetness, some sherbert ice and traces of fruits. Nice. Oh my, not what I expected in the taste. Loaded with sweet berry fruitiness. Lots of American blueberries, raspberries, marmalade, and it has a lot of apply acidity. Really refreshing actually and it keep it from being to sticky and sweet. A good fruit! 16.06.2013
Tried
from Draft
on 20 Dec 2013
at 13:32
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Tap at the Distillery, Savannah. It pours clear red with a medium pink-white head. The nose is rather sweet....fruit syrup, tang and blackcurrant. The taste is also sweet... blackcurrant cordial, blueberry, cherry tunes, faint tang and candy with a dryish finish. Medium+ body, fine carbonation and sticky mouth-feel. Hides alcohol well. A bit one-dimensional and sweet for my taste.
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Jul 2013
at 19:29
Tried
on 02 Jun 2013
at 12:52
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
750 ml bottle into signature tulip glass, bottled in 2012A. Pours moderately cloudy orange copper color with a nice 2 finger dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lasts. Nice soapy lacing clings on the glass, with plenty of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of big tart raspberry, blueberry, grape, raisin, clove, light molasses, red wine, and earthy yeast spiciness. Very nice aromas with a good balance of yeast esters with the big authentic fruit notes; with a nice malt/spicy ester balance as well. Taste of tart raspberry, blueberry, grape, raisin, clove, light molasses, bread, red wine, and earthy yeast spiciness. Fair amount of fruit tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of tart raspberry, dark fruits, clove, light molasses, bread, red wine, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice balance and complexity of fruit flavors; with a good balance of malt/yeast spiciness and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Medium carbonation and full bodied; with a slick and moderately syrupy mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a damn nice imperial Belgian fruit beer. Nice complexity of fruit flavors and balance of spicy yeast esters; and very smooth to sip on for a 10% brew. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Apr 2013
at 20:10
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Hazy red/pink liquid with small light pink head. Aroma of bready malt, light lacto, biscuit and very light red berries. Taste is light sweet and light bitter with notes of red berries, bread and wine. Light alcohol. Medium bodied with low to medium carbonation. The aroma is a bit bland and doesn’t really show the character of the fruit. Taste is
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Feb 2013
at 10:22