Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Bitches Brew

Bitches Brew

 

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware, United States 🇺🇸

  Stout - Imperial Rotating Out of Production
Score
7.65
ABV: 9.0% IBU: 38 Ticks: 111
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the original release of Bitches Brew, Miles Davis' 1970 paradigm-shifting landmark fusion breakthrough, we've created our own Bitches Brew -- a dark beer that's a fusion of three threads of imperial stout and one thread of honey beer with gesho root. It's a gustatory analog to Miles' masterpiece.

Featuring the album's iconic artwork, created by the late Mati Klarwein, on its label, Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew was unveiled at SAVOR, An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, on June 5, 2010, at the National Building Museum, Washington DC.

Haven't experienced the Bitches Brew album? Two 40th anniversary editions of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew -- a Legacy Edition and a deluxe Collector's Edition -- are available.

According to Dogfish founder and president Sam Calagione, the ale is "the ultimate partner for chili or spicy curry chicken" and best enjoyed "sipped cool, not cold, from a snifter or red wine glass while listening to the Bitches Brew album."

Sam was drawn to the alchemical spirits in Bitches Brew right out of college, acquiring a copy of the album "within months of the first time I brewed a batch of homebrew in my apartment in New York City. I listened to it when I was writing my Dogfish business plan. I wanted Dogfish Head to be a maniacally inventive and creative brewery, analog beer for the digital age. You could say that my dream was to have Dogfish Head, in some small way, stand for the same thing in the beer world that Bitches Brew stands for in the jazz world. You can imagine how excited we are to be doing this project 17 years after I wrote that business plan."

"There's a spirit of innovation, of creativity and individuality, that's at the core of Miles' music," said Adam Block, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Legacy Recordings. "Sam and Dogfish Head approach their art from the same place and consequently the marriage is an easy and cool one."
 

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6.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Wow, I was expecting a lot more from this. Pours a deep, oily black with zero head. Surprising level of fizzy carbonation. Aroma promises dark fruits, chocolate, coffee--your typical imperial stout. However, the flavor is just a touch off. I cant’t believe I’m asking for a stout to be sweeter, since so many are overly so, to my taste, but this has almost no sweetness to it at all. The chocolate, fruit, anise, and coffee flavors are there, just not very fully developed. There’s a touch of booziness to the aroma that doesn’t really show up in the flavor. A very dry tasting stout. Kind of misses the mark.

Tried from Can on 12 Sep 2014 at 14:02


8.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8

Bomber from the states, courtesy of Anthony at the brew night, consumed whilst listening to the complete sessions. Quite a big deal getting this in the UK since dogfish stopped exporting. Pours dark brown with a long-lasting beige head. Aromas of roasted malt, spice, something vinous, brown sugar and chocolate, lots going on. Taste is dark fruit and roasted, spicy bitterness. Creamy mouthfeel, bitter chocolate finish. Lovely.

Tried on 01 Jul 2014 at 06:40


8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

750 ml bottle into signature tulip glass, bottled in 2012. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense dark brown head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation retaining the lacing cap. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, toast, dark bread, light char, molasses, honey, herbal, light anise, and roasted earthiness. Damn nice complexity and balance of dark/roasted malt and moderate honey/herbal spice notes; with great strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, toast, dark bread, light char, molasses, light anise, honey, herbal, and roasted earthiness. Fair amount of roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, toast, dark bread, light char, molasses, light anise, herbal, and roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity and robustness of big roasted/bready malt and moderate honey/herbal spice flavors; with a great roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very creamy, smooth, and lightly slick/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an awesome imperial stout. All around great complexity of robust roasted/bready malt and moderate honey/herbal spice flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.

Tried from Bottle on 16 May 2014 at 21:20


9
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9

0.75l bottle. Pitch black body, creamy brown head. Arona of chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and dark fruits. Taste of chocolate, coffee, cream, grassy hops, caramel and some interesting sourness that is hard to describe for me. Medium full creamy body. Awesome beer.

Tried from Bottle on 08 May 2014 at 09:17


7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle shared at a tasting at the Beer & Beyond shop. Black-colored with a nice brown head. Very pleasant aroma, roasty, with some chocolate and a light honey touch. Sweetish roasty flavor with dark chocolate, coffee, light spiciness and a bitter finish. Medium to full-bodied. A good Imperial Stout.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Feb 2014 at 11:37


8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Draft - Dark chocolate, cocoa, roast malts. Jet black with a rich dark brown head. Dark chocolate and malted milk, with some dark fruit. Surprisingly little bitterness considering. So nicely balanced it is understated.

Tried from Draft on 24 Jan 2014 at 17:53


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Bottle (dated 10/14/13) poured into Belgian snifter. Pours jet black with about a 2 finger tan head. Head dissipates at a decent pace leaving nice webby lacing behind. Aromas of cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, something I can’t quite identify which may be the gesho. Tasting notes of dark chocolate, herbs and spices, caramel, honey, a bit roasty. Medium body, would like it just a bit thicker.

Tried from Bottle on 16 Jan 2014 at 22:59



7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

1 pt 9,4 fl oz (750 ml?) bottle thanks to Nisse666! Sampled on December 21, 2013.Miles Davis Bitches Brew - Dogfish Head.Black color, big dark brown head. Malty, salty, alcohol, smoked taste. Salty, smoked aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel, medium high bitterness. Sweet, smoked, malty scent.

Tried from Bottle on 22 Dec 2013 at 11:20


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Big Bottle thx to adnielsen (trade) -Thank you Sir! cons 2013-12-21 Göteborg AR: roasted malt, dark chocolate, home brewed coffey AP: dark brown body, high frothy brown head - great lacings F: chocolate truffle, home brewed coffey, thai vanilla - this is the beer with the most beautiful I ever seen...

Tried from Bottle on 22 Dec 2013 at 09:19