Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
500mL bottle, undated but 2026 release, drunk 3/19/26.
Nice, big, vibrant berry and wow, frickin Jim Beam barrel. Don't see that every day. If I'm being honest, I would probably never barrel age a beer in Jim Beam, since Jim kind of sucks and is very sharp and yet also weak on the actual bourbon character, with caramel and grain in place. Maybe it would work best in a very sweet stout, but that's not this. Here I think you want a sweeter bourbon to stand up to the dryness and acidity of the berry. At the end of the day though, whole fruit, bourbon barrel, stout, Dirigible. Absolutely cannot complain.
Yeesh, yeah, the thinness and dryness of the Jim carries through, somewhat exacerbating the dry, acidic flavors of the fruit. The body is too light, as well, and the ashen, charred roast really comes through too strongly. BUT, it's not egregiously thin to the point of being undrinkable. As the sharp carbonation wears off, the texture improves and it's manageable, albeit underwhelming. Still, the whole fruit carries the day and even if it is a bit thin and has an underwhelming Jim Beam bourbon character, it's still mostly balanced (no huge acidity or alcohol or tannin) and flavorful. I finished the bottle very easily.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Flawless Garnet from Dirigible Brewing Company 3 weeks ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Brewery draught, 3/14/26.
Touch of roast and maybe a hint of licorice. Some herbal hop. Clean. Bit of lingering caramel.
Hoppier than expected with tea and spice to dry out the light caramel. Bit of roast and light fruitiness. Great base malt but remains dry and crisp on end. Started out thinking I wasn't as in to this as their rotbier but this thing has a wonderful clarity of hop, roast, tea and is still well-supported by a deep malt. Lovely.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Luftballoon from Dirigible Brewing Company 3 weeks ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5
Brewery draught, 3/14/26.
Aromatic, clear, crisp and balanced with lovely fruitiness, hints of toffee, minimal roast and a touch of fresh herb.
Similar in flavor. Light roast/toast, herbal hop, touch of toffee and lots of fruitiness. Clean and dry finish with malt, hop and yeast all balancing nicely.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Barometric from Dirigible Brewing Company 3 weeks ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
Brewery draught, 3/14/26.
Cherry meat and lightly fruity yeast with low acidity. Low malt/wheat character. A bit timid but the cherry is tasteful.
Citrus? Weird. It tastes like grapefruit. Wouldn't guess cherry. Obviously some interesting stuff going on with the yeast. Very dry, but enough malt to balance. Almost no yeast acidity but rather bitterness from somewhere. Strange one.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Neptune's Bounty from Dirigible Brewing Company 3 weeks ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Brewery draught, 3/14/26.
Buttery honey mixing with herbal phenols. Big rustic grain character with a very true barley character. Seems like a bit of diacetyl, but it's charming not problematic.
Yeah, I think that has to be diacetyl, though it's possible it's just a very buttery honey. Not problematic in the least. Big textures and tight carbonation. Very flavorful for its size with herbs and pepper and no clove, banana or bubble gum (or very little). Just a nicely balanced, super flavorful Belgian with a classy yeast character and not too much honey character.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Kite Balloon from Dirigible Brewing Company 3 weeks ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Cask! At the brewery 3/14/26.
Some mild funk from the yeast; bit of nice mustiness. Mild toast next to that with a touch of honey-like base malt, rustic grain and fruity esters.
Nice and malty, round and fruity with just enough toast to balance. Surprising tinge of bitterness and lots of herbal character from hop. Strikes a lovely balance between stronger malt notes and a nice and dry, drinkability.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
Brewery draught, 3/14/26.
Overripe, funky peach with a lot of skin and concentrated pulp character. Earthy and lightly juicy. Not as much chalky dry hop as 10.
Bergamot showing up in flavor then adding a ton of dry spiciness, bordering astringency on the finish. Good maltiness as always but not sure why this heavily dry hopped, dry, above avg bitterness IPA needed bergamot. Lingering dry spice and light peach.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Brewery draught, 3/14/26.
Quite yeast-forward with big esters and maybe not quite bubble gum, but getting there. Ripe peach, mango, and slightly pine-tinged citrus. Earthy and chalky dry hop lingering.
Big coconut and a piney bitterness with soft fluffy malts up front but drying significantly. Doesn't get too dry? Though it's close because there's a lot of bitterness and very drying Sabro character. Clean all around and malty but a bit more juice and/or sweetness wouldn't hurt. A lot of dry hop here.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Atlas Rising from Dirigible Brewing Company 3 weeks ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Canned 2/17/26, drunk 3/12/26.
Yeah, I mean it smells like a somewhat hoppy witbier. Never really understood the point of this "style" but they've softened the estery/phenolic yeast with some fruity hops, the Sabro doing a lot of work here to give a light coconut vibe, while the citra adds its typical round juice. But it leaves room for the Belgian aspects so you do get a good amount of both.
Malty, lightly bready with crusty cracker and biscuit and a growing Belgian character with dry, heavy white pepper. Again, Sabro seems to be the most prominent, and the tropical character accentuates the herbal-spice character of the yeast, giving an interesting SE Asian sort of vibe. Lemongrass, white pepper, coconut...While it's got ample malt depth, it's VERY dry, which I don't think helps here given the lack of juiciness from the hops and the very dry spice-herb character of the yeast. A fun change of pace, and the hops are really interesting and creative. Not just your typical WC or classic NE character but a bit of everything. Just needs a bit more sweetness, in my opinion.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Stovepipe Hat from Dirigible Brewing Company 1 month ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Canned 2/17/26, drunk 3/2/26.
Nice and roasty, but not TOO roasty. Char and mineral with a bit of salted caramel-like character from the interplay of base malt and roast. Clean and aromatic without too much dark fruit or licorice. No intense coffee or stale roast.
Excellent body that this style sometimes eschews, whether purposefully or not. Still, not too malty and, like the nose, not too roasty. Excellent balance, flavor, cleanliness and just all-around polished and drinkable. A classic Dirigible beer.