Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu
by admin on Dec.05, 2007, under ale, beer, mead, sake, wine
Background: This mixed-up result of forensic research into ancient beverages doesn't quite know what it is. Since the base is malted barley and gelatinised rice, let's call it a beer, even though a portion of the fermentable sugars are from grapes and honey. The rice and malt are mashed as for a normal beer, but for the boil honey, Muscat grapes, Hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers are added. The resulting wort is fermented using sake yeast. All of this is an attempt to recreate a beverage from ancient China, remains of which were found in pottery jars in 賈湖.
Appearance: Rich amber coloured body under a thin foamy head.
Smell: Immediate hit of honey, with some typical Muscat perfume-like presence. Hints of funkiness and an enticing herbal presence.
Taste: Most interesting. The flavour progression can be mapped to the individual components, with the front being like a mead, quickly drifting into a more grape-centered place, then in the middle some earthy malt presence starts to show through, and the finish is quite reminiscent of an off-dry sake. Lots of complexity here: strawberry, rose, musky grapes, mild hints of bread, a tea-like tannic presence, apricot, and grapefruit pith in the front. The back shows melon, pear, and floral influences on a solid background of malt with a bit of the funkiness from the nose, ending on a lingering finish that showcases the floral elements.
Mouthfeel: Thick and luscious, but not sticky. The perfect amount of carbonation, too; it would have been easy to over-carbonate and make it feel like a soda, or under-carbonate and make it lie heavy on the tongue.
Drinkability: I often feel in danger of seeming as though I'll drink anything, but then I reconsider and decide that enjoying most things I drink merely shows what a discerning buyer I am. I had my doubts going in as to whether this beer would even manage average drinkability, and my fears were soon put to rest. While I wouldn't necessarily drink this every day, this is a solidly enjoyable beer-like beverage that manages to integrate the disparate ingredients exceedingly well. It's also a perfect crossover beverage, with aspects that appeal to both the wine aficionado and the beer geek (as well as your weird friend who loves all things Asian and wishes that he were a giant robot with breasts–you know the one I'm talking about).
December 5th, 2007 on 7:22 PM
I randomly ran into this a couple of weeks ago at the supermarket, and I enjoyed it immensely.
This is approximately as intelligent as I be when discussing alcohol.
December 6th, 2007 on 12:10 AM
It's good stuff, isn't it?
While I could probably do four-word reviews of the various libations I sample, there wouldn't be much point in sharing most of them. I enjoy the challenge of writing up my tasting experience in a form that can be of use to others, and I find that the necessity of paying closer attention to the beverage usually increases my enjoyment of it. It's still a mainly visceral activity, though; the intellect only enters into it when attempting to communicate the experience through words.