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Dogfish Head: Olde School

Dogfish Head are probably one of the more fearless craft breweries out there in the world. They love experimenting with culinary ingredients, different barrels, and brewing processes. I love them for that fact. Another reason I love them is for their stupidly high gravity beers. If you see a Dogfish with a yellow caution sign cap, look out. It’s at LEAST 15% ABV or higher. Enter Olde School. This is probably one of their more traditionally brewed beers. Though, as befits their love of the culinary ingredients, Figs and Dates are added in there. To be fair, these are flavors that will only compliment, as they’re notes that you taste in quite a few Barleywines anyway. I’ve only had this beer one other time, but I remember loving it. Hopefully it’s just as good this time.

Style: Barleywine

Special Ingredients: Figs, Dates

ABV: 14%

IBU: 85

Temperature: around 45-50 F

Glassware: Snifter

Appearance-The ale pours a nice, russet hue. There’s a very small and quickly dissipating just off white head. It’s quite hazy and opaque. There’s also not a huge amount of visual carbonation. It’s all pretty standard for an American Barleywine.

Nose-Barleywines are one of those beers that just always have an awesome nose profile. The two things that hit me immediately are the figs and dates that were added. It gives a deep, sweet and earthy quality to it. There’s also a huge amount of booze behind everything.

Palate-This is one of those beers that’s flavors get more and more intense as time goes on. It seems that each sip kind of unlocks another flavor. At first, you get a huge hit of the fig flavor, then the dates. After that, you get a nice malty sweetness, and maybe a touch of earthy English hops in there. The tail end of it is just a lingering toasty flavor along with some warming alcohol.

Mouthfeel-Like I said in the Palate section, this is a beer that lingers. I’m quite happy it came in a 12 oz bottle, because any more and I’d probably just be done. It’s super thick, and the small amount of carbonation just adds to that. The finish is surprisingly dry, however. The alcohol also doesn’t get too hot, just stays nice and warm. Great for the wintery march night we’re having as I type this. Take your time with this monster!

Overall-I love this beer. Pretty much anything with that aformentioned caution cap I’ll buy. I love it when brewers push the limits, be it ABV, ingredients, IBU, oak aging, weird yeasts, or anything like that. It keeps life interesting, and keeps us wondering what the hell these breweries will do next! If you’re a lover of English style ales, and anything with a double digit ABV, I’d recommend picking up a 4 pack of this!

So yeah, what do you think of this beer? Do you like it? do you hate it? send me a message or an ask if you had a different experience! There are always beers I love that the next person might not want to touch with a ten-foot pole. And as always, enjoy.

Skoal!

Website: https://www.dogfish.com/

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Adjunct Adjustment

Dogfish Head can be super gimmicky. Beers made with grape must, just cuz. Beers made with raisins cuz the base beer tastes sort of like raisins. Beers made with ingredients from five continents for the lolz. It would be cute if the beers weren’t also exorbitantly priced.

But I was pleased by their Olde School Barley Wine. It’s tasty, even if the brewers added fruit just because they could. Adding figs and dates don’t distract from the overall flavor. I can’t say fruit adds nothing to the mix, but they don’t stand out within the total flavor. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you.

Olde School is boozy. The nose stings with alcohol. Only a hint of brown sugar sweetness makes it through. It’s strong. The alcohol burns on the palate and in the back of the throat. The sweet middle is perhaps dotted with the dates and figs from the recipe. This is not a hoppy barley wine. Olde School plays up the malt. There is an extra bitter note of pine in the finish. But after the alcohol fades away, the sweetness remains.

Experimentation isn’t a bad thing. But when experimentation and weirdness becomes more important than beer making, it ruffles my feathers. When it turns out tasting nice, I’ll give it a go.

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