Dogfish Head is becoming pretty synonymous with your first thought of: craft beer. It’s a leader in innovation of flavorful, unique and “off-centered” beers. Counterpart to their Red & White fruit beer is the Black & Blue, which I have up for review today. The bottle is large and heavy, and the portrait art is by painter David Larned, created specifically for the Black & Blue from Dogfish Head.

The Black & Blue seemed perfect for my Dogfish Head hand-blown glass, and poured a clear ruby red. If cranberry juice were carbonated, you’d have an identical match to the Black & Blue. The head is fizzly with a generous, soft pink appearance. Much like the fruit used to make this beer (think inside, not the skin), the dominance is in the red hues.

The smell is noticeably boozy and your nose is engulfed by blueberries mixed with some raspberries, strawberry and a touch of blackberries. Overly dominant, interestingly enough, seems to be the berries omitted from the labeling. At any rate, it’s a fruit beer, as to be expected.

The sip on the Black & Blue is extremely silky and quite smooth. The mid-palate is mildly carbonated while being medium to full-bodied. The prominent raspberry flavor sticks around but is intertwined with blueberries and some more booze. It’s very tolerable and downplays the dark berries in the beer, but overall this fruit beer definitely packs a berry-filled mouthful. This one finishes smooth and has some lingering heat in the chest.

In comparison to the Red & White, which I’ve had both on draft and bottled, the Black & Blue is clearly my favorite of the two. To me, the Red & White was understated in the flavor and, from what I remember, much too boozy to be enjoyed. The balance in ABV, flavor profile, mouth feel and drink-ability is all right there for me on this one. Hands down, Black & Blue.

Overall: 9.2/10

Title photo from: Flickr