Epic/Dogfish Head Portamarillo Beer Review

Hey there everybody! I'm sorry I haven't posted in over a week! I feel like the worst blogger ever. Please forgive me. Had a couple busy days and then a few more days of internet trouble and before I knew it a week had lapsed. Lucky for everyone though, I'm back in the saddle tonight and ready to deliver a beer review on a fun new(ish) beer, Portamarillo brewed by Epic Brewing and Dogfish Head. Epic and DFH made this same beer at both of their respective breweries. Tonight, I'll be drinking the Epic bottling that comes to me from way down under in Auckland, New Zealand. Epic is part of a new wave of international craft brewers that are following in the footsteps of their American counterparts by creating big, bold beers crafted with a slant toward individuality and daring. New Zealand, along with Australia and Italy, are major up-and-comers on the beer scene. New Zealand is lucky enough to be situated perfectly for some major hop production and the varietals of hops that they're turning out down there are spectacular (Nelson Sauvin, anyone?) Added bonus: Because they're in the southern hemisphere, their hop season is almost exactly opposite of ours and Europe's, so we can keep a year round supply of hops flowing on the international market. I've already covered some information about Dogfish Head in my review of their 120 minute IPA, so I suggest going there for further enlightening reading.

The Portamarillo would be what you call a porter, a style familiar to many beer drinkers, but it has a twist (Dogfish was involved, there had to be a twist). Whereas your average porter is made with some black malt and roasted barley (among other malts) that lend its characteristic dark color and roasty flavor, this beer has an added component. The brewers made use of tamarillos, which are a variety of New Zealand tree tomato. After collecting enough tree tomatoes, they smoked them using wood chips from the Pohutukawa tree (aka the NZ Christmas tree). They then pureed these smoked tree tomatoes and added them to the mash to be part of the finished beer. I can't imagine that the flavors of anything resembling a tomato would shine through the robust roasted coffee and nutty caramel flavors of a porter, but I'm hoping that some smokiness shows up without getting too smoky. Nobody wants an ashtray in their beer, even if it is from some sacred NZ tree. The name of the beer is something of a portmanteau, a play on words. It is a combination of "porta" which is a phonetic spelling of how your average New Zealander would pronounce "porter" and, of course, tamarillo. Porta + tamarillo = Portamarillo. Aren't they just so clever? Anyway, let's do this thing!

The beer is presented in a serviceable 500ml (16.9oz) bottle that features a small DFH logo to indicate the collaboration. Still not sure why there's a chicken on the label. After pouring very vigorously into my Dogfish Head signature glass, I am left staring at a beer that ranges from ruby at its edges to a very dark brown almost-black at its core. Overall, let's call it cola color. The head is about a half inch of khaki goodness that dissipates to a ring with a blanketing misty wisp of carbonation covering the surface. What remains of the head after a couple minutes seems sturdy, even rocky, and features a slew of different size bubbles. Right on target for a porter. Appearance: 13/15

Well hey there, beer! Smoke greets me on the nose straight away. Not an unpleasant smoke like ash tray or forest fire, but the kind of gentle smoke that I love in my scotches of choice. Almost reminiscent of smoked meat, ham maybe? This note really resounds with me and I anticipate exploring it in the palate. I do also find some roasty/toasty notes and some caramel in there too. There's a certain nuttiness to it, to be sure. I'm thinking almonds at this point but there's enough going on here that I haven't decided just yet. Nose: 23/25

Ok, the smoke is right where it should be. Initial impressions show off roasted and caramel flavors followed by a whiff of easy smoke, almost like a gentle tide lapping lazily on a shoreline rather than a smoky tsunami. Definitely prefer the tide to the tsunami. I've had some beers that were smoky to the point of being undrinkable and uncertainly unenjoyable (I'm looking at you, BrewDog's Smokehead). I get that almond flavor that I smelled in the nose so I'll settle on that to describe the nuttiness that creeps in after the smoke. I detect a faint buttery note that derives from a compound known as diacetyl. The presence of diaceytl is completely unacceptable in most styles but I checked the BJCP's Style Guidelines and they indicate that low levels of diacetyl are tolerable in porters. It isn't my favorite flavor here, but I'll let it slide since it isn't too apparent. Palate: 46/50

This beer has a deceptively light body given its 7% abv. I would call it on the light side of medium. Carbonation is moderate overall but somewhat higher compared to other porters. Its almost prickly across the tongue. Extremely drinkable that balances a laundry list of flavors that might become overwhelming in a heavier beer. Mouthfeel: 9/10

OVERALL: 91/100

Yup, overall a very solid offering. Would I buy a 500ml bottle at $10.99 again? No, but I'm glad to have tried it and thoroughly enjoyed reviewing it. This is actually my first experience with Epic (not to be confused with Epic Brewing in Salt Lake City, UT). While there are a variety of Epic beers available to me, most are IPAs with no bottle date so I'm concerned about their freshness coming from New Zealand. When you have a serious hop craving, there's nothing more depressing than cracking open a highly regarded beer only to find it faded into oblivion. This was a very good beer and you should pick it up if you see it because Epic and Dogfish Head have devoted their entire companies to redefining how people think about beer, and that's pretty cool. Cheers!

P.S. I promise that I'll get back to posting more frequently!

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA Beer Review

Well now, a beer review for a beer that's as polarizing as it is fearsome. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you for your beer geek pleasure, the 120 minute IPA from Dogfish Head Brewery. Buckle up, things might get crazy. I yanked this behemoth of a beer out of my cellar and decided to give it a review since this beer is pretty raw when fresh. I'm hoping that time has managed to sooth a little bit of this savage beast. The beer could broadly be called an Imperial IPA (in fact, the label bills it as the imperial IPA). To call it as such, though, is to emasculate all others in this style. The 120 min IPA exists in a realm all its own, for this particular beer clocks in somewhere in the neighborhood of 18% abv. Holy intoxication, Batman! When this beer was first brewed it was ratcheted up to about 21% abv and was for a time the strongest beer on Earth. While it has since been eclipsed, it is still extremely impressive because, as Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione is quick to point out, this beer still seems like a beer. Other beers that are stronger than this have no carbonation and are often meant to be enjoyed like a scotch or cognac, at room temperature in small quantities from a snifter. Sam Adam's Utopias at 27% abv is a prime example of this. The beers that have pushed the envelope further than this aren't even purely brewed; they are brewed into double digits and then undergo a process called freeze distillation in which freezing temperatures cause water in the beer to separate from the alcohol. When this happens, the water is filtered away leaving behind a concentrated essence of the beer not dissimilar to hard liquor. But Dogfish Head's 120 min IPA is purely brewed and definitely still looks like a beer - Carbonated, in a 12oz bottle, meant to be drunk cool, and not completely astronomical in price. A 750ml resealable bottle of Sam Adams Utopias retails in the ballpark of $150 whereas Dogfish Head (henceforth abbreviated DFH) prices their ultra strong 120 min IPA around $10 per 12oz bottle. Still pricey to be sure, but nowhere near the highway robbery going on over at Sam Adams.

Dogfish Head Brewery was originally founded in 1995 in Reheboth Beach, DE as a brewpub (a restaurant that brews the beer they serve on premise). They still operate the brewpub but a few years after opening the founder, Sam Calagione, opened a full-scale production brewery in nearby Milton, DE. While beer for the restaurant and many of their experimental batches are still made in Reheboth Beach, most of the beer they make comes out of Milton. With the off-centered Sam Calagione at its helm, DFH has evolved into one of the largest and best known craft breweries in the U.S. by continually pushing the envelope with many of their beers. They are constantly exploring new techniques, resurrecting extinct historical styles, and employing stranger-than-fiction ingredients. This unpredictability combined with a dedication to perfection has built them a loyal following among many beer enthusiasts, although some are put off by their off-the-wall approach. They produce a variety of extremely strong beers and 120 min IPA is among the best known. To brew a beer up to 18% abv is very difficult. Most yeast won't survive the fermentation as the rising alcohol will actually kill the yeast, thereby ceasing fermentation, around 10-12% with most yeasts. The trick to making beers this strong is to use a particularly hearty yeast that can survive higher alcohol environments and then carefully monitoring the brewing process. Once the yeast begins to max out, brewers must dump the beer with lots of sugar to re-invigorate the yeast and push the fermentation onward. Consequently, all super high alcohol beers are going to be pretty sweet. DFH balances this high level of sweetness by deploying the most insane hopping regimen I've ever heard of. They boil the hops for 120 min (standard is 60, and thus the name of the beer) then they dry hop the beer (adding hops to the finished beer after fermentation to add a boost of hoppy flavor) every day for a month. That's a lot of hops. The impression is still a very sweet beer. The 120 min IPA is one of those extremely rare IPAs that actually improves with age. When young, the flavors are disparate and obnoxiously sweet. As time goes on, the beer dries out a bit and the flavors meld into a more harmonious whole, hopefully. This particular bottle is about 6 months old. Here goes nothing...

A strong pour from the 12oz bottle whose label is adorned with little other than a picture of a hop cone reveals a deep golden, even coppery colored beer in my DFH signature glass. Clarity is very good. A half inch beige head quickly recedes into a sturdy ring. Better carbonated than I remembered and impressive given the beer's strength; carbonation doesn't fare well in high alcohol environments. Appearance: 13/15

The nose is leviathan. I can smell it as it sits on my computer desk two feet away. Immersing my nose beneath the rim of the glass is an assault on my nostrils. Huge, sugary boozy notes are elbowing for attention with massively fruity esters. I smell plum and cherry especially. Also present are unmistakable hop notes - bold, citrusy, and fruity. I even get a big floral bouquet here; this is one complex and gargantuan beer. Nose: 22/25


The beer has in fact dried out from the absurdly sweet monster that it is when fresh. The flavors come in three distinct waves: first, big fruit flavors, more cherry and plum. Maybe a little vanilla there too. Second, hops galore. This is among the most intense beers I've ever had, and I don't scare easily. The hops take the throne as this beer pummels (in a good way) the roof of my mouth. As I swallow, a quick transition into a superbly large smack of sugary alcohol sweetness that cracks the back of my mouth like the devil's whip. I can't adequately describe what its like to taste this beer. Palate: 46/50


The mouthfeel is yet another unfathomable aspect of this beer. Must be tasted to be believed. Very thick, a sugary grit to it, with plenty of carbonation that I think has developed in the bottle as a result of the aging. The carbonation is a good thing here as it rescues the taste buds from the unrelenting madness of this beer. Mouthfeel: 9/10


OVERALL: 90/100


What can I say about this beer that hasn't already been said? I mentioned it was polarizing and boy it is! Some people hate this beer for being boozy, cloying, under-attenuated, and estery beyond all belief. While these are valid criticisms, people like me love this beer for what it represents: a beer and a brewery unafraid to push limits and challenge what our perceptions are. I love this beer because I support Sam Calagione in his efforts as a vocal, passionate, and highly visible advocate for the industry that he has helped to define. DFH, for me, embodies the spirit of adventure that is the lifeblood of our culture and community. I highly recommend this beer to anyone who thinks of themselves as a bit "off-centered," because this is an ale for you. Cheers!