Dogfish Head: Chicory Stout

A couple weeks ago, my buddy Joe told me I needed to try Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout. Problem is, by the time I got to the beer store, I couldn't remember the name of the beer I was supposed to get. I grabbed the first Dogfish Head stout I saw. So I made the wrong pick, but I wouldn't really call it a bad pick.

Dogfish's Chicory Stout is a very creamy stout, almost a milk stout. It's even got that faint chocolaty sweetness you tend to get in good milk stouts. But this brew's got some notable coffee flavors as well, which gives it a faintly mocha-esque taste. For a stout, it's got a very mild hop kick. Usually I would complain, but since the malt flavors are not nearly so big and bold as you might otherwise expect, the reduced hoppiness actually works out pretty well.

In fact, the flavors in this beer are so nuanced and carefully balanced that it seems to be a little bit of a departure for Dogfish. The Dogfish brews I'm used to make bold moves with pronounced and unconventional flavors. This beer, on the other hand, is a lot more traditional and reserved. The upside, of course, is that this is definitely a beer that you could have 2 or 3 of in a night before getting tired of it, which I can't say about their 90 minute IPA, as much as I love it.

A very tasty and approachable beer, especially on a cold winter night.