Dogfish Head Bitches Brew Imperial Stout | Beer Geek Nation Beer Reviews Episode 96

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Bitches Brew
Dogfish Head
9% ABV
Beer Geek Nation Rating: B
Beer Advocate Rating: A-
Rate Beer Rating: 99/100

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 bold, dark beer that's a fusion of three threads imperial stout and one thread honey beer with gesho root, 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 will be unveiled at SAVOR, An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, June 5, 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 -- will be available Tuesday, August 31. The newly created ale is designed, according to Dogfish founder and president Sam Calagione, "as 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." Calagione 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, thats 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." Dogfish Head and its "off-centered ales for off-centered people" were the subject of "A Better Brew," an article in The New Yorker (Nov. 24, 2008) examining the rise of extreme beer. "Beer has lagged well behind wine and organic produce in the ongoing reinvention of American cuisine. Yet the change over the past twenty years has been startling," wrote Burkhard Bilger. "Dogfish is something of a mascot for this unruly movement. In the thirteen years since Calagione founded the brewery, it has gone from being the smallest in the country to the thirty-eighth largest. Calagione makes more beer with at least ten per cent alcohol than any other brewer, and his odd ingredients are often drawn from ancient or obscure beer traditions. It is to Budweiser what a bouillabaisse is to fish stock."

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[thesaint6169]

I've been curious to try this beer and found a bottle of it at a local deli....for a grand total of $35. I want to try it but not for 35 bucks

[BeerGeekNation]

@thesaint6169 no way would i ever pay $35 for this!! Around me it is like $12 and that is still a bit much!

[HRfernholz]

This is a fusion beer, so I think judging it as you would an imperial stout, or comparing there to, is wrong. It is meant to pay homage to the album as you pointed out and it's breakthrough fusion sound.

From DFH - "Bitches Brew - a bold, dark beer that's a fusion of three threads imperial stout and one thread honey beer with gesho root, a gustatory analog to Miles' masterpiece."

Cheers for the review and keep up the good work, I would just like to see it explained as it was meant to be.

[BeerGeekNation]

@HRfernholz Technically speaking the majority of base malts are composed of an imperial stout recipe. All my resources listed it as an imp stout so I took the same route but I see exactly what you are saying about it being a fusion beer. I guess in theory it is really an American strong ale which usually what blends produced in the US end up being called. Guess that why its an "off centered" beer :) Cheers! Thanks for watching!!

[BeerGeekNation]

Pull it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temp for about 10-15 mins to hit the perfect temp for it. Let me know what u think

[Graham1983]

Holy god man, you look soo much like soccer sports anchor Gabriele Marcotti! Google him and see if im wrong!

On a related note, i appreciate your thoroughness on your show! I hope one day I have a beer...even an "amazing" one, to appear on the program.

[BeerGeekNation]

@Graham1983 HAHA your right! Wow I found my first celeb look alike hahaa! And thanks for the great comments they are appreciated!

[Victorythruattrition]

@thesaint6169 Its the best dark beer I have had to date. I bought it for $15.00 and I would buy it again at that price. Really good, makes you desire more of it.

[bigpapykane]

My roomate who knows nothing about beer ran out of his usual stash of coronas so he decided to open my one year bottle of this which he said was too boozy and gave me a $5 bill to buy another -( I was left the other two thirds and I gotta say this was a solid A beer. I don't know how it tastes fresh but at a year this beer is silky chocolaty and smooth!! Best dogfishhead beer I've had!! BTW, all my beer is in my cellar now!!

[erinreyes2005]

I bought one tonight for $11 bucks. I would make a note that if you don't like stouts you won't like this. Definitely a once in a while beer.

[thesaint6169]

@BeerGeekNation Those prices are worlds apart and I live 2 hours away from you. I think $9 - $10 would be alright for this

[ChadzBeerReviews]

I drank this 9 months later and I didn't get any booze at all. It was still highly carbonated and very sweet. Almost a little too sweet. Honey, chocolate and licorice all at the same time. Too bad they only brewed this once, I'd love to come back to it in 2 or 3 years.

[HK83IE]

@HRfernholz the lp was not a real masterpiece.

[HK83IE]

really not that good of an album really. BB pales in comparison to a lotta miles' fusion. The album BBrew was the recipient of an enormous amount of undue hype while Jack Johnson and others were a bit ignored. Even Miles would agree. So to the BB brew, more hype than punch. I give the album the letter grade of B, and I will give the beer a little higher score of B+. Maybe A-???