Review: Bitches Brew, Dogfish Head

Today for the Packers final regular season game, co-author Phin was thoughtful enough to bring over a big bottle of Bitches Brew by Dogfish Head.  Bitches Brew is a limited release (it's been brewed twice), and it was the subject of the first episode of Brew Masters.  Brew Masters is a show on the Discovery channel about Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware and a lot of the really interesting things they do with beer.  If you like beer, you need to check it out.  I realize that most people who read this blog are probably well aware of the show, but I figure you'll be willing to put up with a few sentences for the sake spreading the knowledge. 

After the first episode of the show, the three of us at the 441 agreed that we needed to get this beer if we had a chance.  Fortunately, Phin found it while he was looking through bottles at Woodmans Supermarket in Madison, Wisconsin. 

The beer poured a very dark brown color.  Very little light makes it through the glass, with a red tint around the edges of the glass.  It formed a very thick brown head--about halfway through my second glass I let it sit for awhile, and the head that formed from hitting my glass against a glass coaster stayed for a good 20 minutes. 

The beer hits your tongue with the same coffee/chocolatey taste that it gives off in the aroma, but there's a hint of the honey flavor.  The aftertaste is the strong coffee flavor.  It's very syrupy going down, but still has a good deal of drinkability considering the style and alcohol content.

This is a damn good beer, easily the best I've reviewed so far.  It's not exactly my style of beer, but I still like it a lot.  The price tag makes it so that I probably won't be getting it again anytime soon, but if it were available at a bargain I'd buy it in a heartbeat, and it's something that I think any craft beer lover should give a chance at least once.  I give it an A-.

Have you had Bitches Brew? Do you agree with my take? Let us know in the comments.

Additional Info:
Dogfish Head Profile
Bitches Brew on Beer Advocate
Bitches Brew on Rate Beer