Wells Banana Bread Beer

This English "strong" ale comes in at 5.2% alcohol but also has some unique characteristics. Wells Banana Bread Beer pours an iced tea color with significant amount of carbonation but with absolutely no head. I honestly could not tell if it was actually a brew after it sat for a few minutes. The aroma is obviously of bananas, but also of wheat and banana peel. The taste is somewhat like the aroma but much more artificial and dull. After drinking for a while the beer becomes overwhelmingly watery and boring. The texture is lacking and it leaves a bitter sharp aftertaste of bananas. If you would like to try something strange and a little "out there" then this is the brew for you.

Appearance - 2.8

Smell - 3.1

Taste - 3.0

Texture - 3.0

Overall - 2.98/5

Dogfish Head Black & Blue

This is the first fruit beer that has been reviewed on this blog and I'm glad that we started with such a great example of one courtesy of Dogfish Head. The Black & Blue pours a dark brown, almost copper color, with a white foam ring as a head. The aroma of this brew is exactly as intended: black berries, blue berries, and hints of other fruity aromas which are too overpowered by the black & blue. The taste is quite good, bitter blueberries with a lingering alcohol and sweet fruit flavor. A very good fruit beer and a great match for anyone who would like to have a brew as desert, which is not a bad idea.

Appearance - 3.5

Smell - 4.3

Taste - 4.0

Texture - 4.3

Overall - 4.03/5

Dogfish Head Black & Blue

This is our first fruit beer to try out for the site. We have had brews before that had bits of fruit in them but this one is actually brewed with fruit - let's see how it does.

Yet another fine Dogfish Head brew. Poured out into the glass, it produced a nice golden hue with a little red to it. It was translucent and it had little to no head. Being a fruit beer, what I tell you it smelled like is pretty redundant. It smelled like fruit. Duh. It had a very nice clear scent with just bits of hops but it was mostly sweet and smelled like blue and blackberries. Tasting it, I got a nice hit of blueberries. It was a very sweet brew with little to no taste from the alcohol (which is surprising being at almost 8%). There is a little bit of barley at the end to remind you that it is, in fact, brew. The texture was very very smooth. It had a nice gather of carbonation and air to start, flowing nicely into a palate of flavors and it finished off with a handful of hops.

Overall, this is probably one of my favorite new brews. It is a bit of a gimmick beer, I'll admit. But it's a damn good one at that. Hell, it's a good beer. Period.

Appearance - 4.1
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 4.3
Texture - 4.3
Overall - 4.23/5

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Yet another barley wine. How much is this one going to hurt? Let's see...

This was a very fine looking IPA. It was decently translucent with a nice golden hue - it almost looked like white wine. It also had a decently nice head as well but it fell quickly. It had a very nice scent and hops - oh, and alcohol. There was also a small bit of sweetness and a bouquet of flowers. At first taste, it actually reminded me quite a bit of white wine but with a little bit more bite from the alcohol. There was also a nice spice from the barley but also a hint of sweetness - strange for a beer this strong. The texture was very nice for this beer as well. It was very smooth and the flow reminded me of a spirit after the initial taste. The flow was very nice and all of this counteracts with the kick in the ass it gives you at the end.

Overall, this is probably one of the finest high-alcohol brews I've had. I wouldn't mind ever having this and I wouldn't think twice about it. It has a great taste and texture and the kick from the alcohol makes it much more interesting.

Appearance - 4
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 4.3
Texture - 4.4
Overall - 4.15/5

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

This brew, the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA is in a class of its own, coming in at an astounding 21% alcohol. Calling it beer seems strange and unwelcome. This "beer" pours a golden brown/amber color with a quickly disappearing head. The smell is almost exactly as I expected from this hopped up brew: alcohol, hops, and a slight scent of honey. The taste is almost exactly as it smells with a sharp initial sensation of alcohol and hops but ending with a bittersweet honey flavor. I believe this would be a very good desert beer to have on its own or paired with something a little less intense to balance it out, it is very sweet and surprisingly smooth for having such a ridiculous amount of alcohol.

Appearance - 3.8

Smell - 4.1

Taste - 4.4

Texture - 4.5

Overall - 4.2/5

Brew Tasting the Fourth

We would like to thank Melissa for leaving the first comment on this blog *golf clap*. Thank you for recognizing our very tiny blog site. :) We'll definitely get a couple more brews from your company - first impressions are very important and your company made a fantastic one. Keep up the good work!

But, moving along, we need to give more props to Dogfish Head for their good work as well. Tonight on the chopping block is some barley wine and fruit-but-not-fruit brew. Full listing after the break...

1) Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
2) Dogfish Head Black & Blue