Dogfish Head Runs the Voodoo Down

Sampled: Oct. 24, 2010


Note: Bitches Brew made a limited appearance in Nashville. This beer and most I will sample in the coming months were made possible thanks to a beer trade with fellow beer lover Jason Main.

Delaware's finest brewery conjured this oddball stout to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis groundbreaking Bitches Brew album. As with that seminal jazz record, Dogfish spruces up an oft-brewed style with delectable flourishes.

At first glance, Bitches Brew seems a fairly typical imperial stout, with a deep brown roasted head and midnight black body. The honey and gesho root expand the boundaries quickly. They say three fingers of imperial stout and "one finger of honey beer with gesho root," but it tastes closer to strong stout enhanced with honey and gesho root. Since Bitches Brew undergoes several primary fermentations with the imperial stout and the Tej, an African honey beer, they are correct. I should know better than to second-guess Sam Calagione when it comes to beer.

For the record, I have no idea what to expect with gesho root, an Ethiopian shrub substituted for hops (which don't grow in Africa - thanks, Wikipedia). It definitely delivers a jab of subdued bitterness near the finish. Both serve to mask the hefty 10 percent ABV.

The honey I can handle. it imparts an ambient canvas of sweetness, not unlike a jazz drummer gently working the skins, and cuts the harsher aspects of roasted malts. The root steps in at the finish. Instead of a rounded honey-produced closing, we get the root's earthy tones that bear a passing resemblance to the effect of the chicory on Dogfish Head's winter stout. The parade through different flavor countries is not one I can repeat regularly, but worthy of a one-time ride.