Beer Review: Dogfish Head Namaste

Well, here is the review I promised. To commemorate GBF breaking 300 views, I chose to review anotehr big bottle (750ml) from Dogfish Head. And apparently it's a good choice. The name Namaste, according to Dogfish Head, means a celebration of ones on spirit and self. Good way to celebrate GBF in my mind. So without further ado, let's begin.

Poured into a 14oz stout glass.

Courtesy of Blogaboutbeer

A: Head. LOTS. OF. HEAD. Very creamy tightly knit white bubbles. Be careful pouring actually, the head is massive. Color is slightly opaque and orangish yellow, like a molten gold almost. Head retention is also very high. The pouring actually takes a good amount of time to fill the 14oz glass I have prepared because the head is so prominent. Carbonation is incredibly high as well, I can tell by constant stream of bubbles flowing from the bottom of the glass.Lacing is high as well.

N: Typical mild hops with a slight hint of lemon and maybe some wheat sweetness in the background. No noticeable alcohol in the nose, which makes sense at 5%. Nose is pretty tame and uninspiring to be honest.

T: While the nose isn't terrible complex or inspiring, the taste is another matter. Sweetness upfront with a hint of lemon bitterness, followed by some citrus zest, and then closing with a mild hops bitterness. It's honestly like a flavor roller coaster. The coriander doesn't make much of an appearance, and while I normally like it in beer, I think it harms the flavor of this one. While by no means bad, this isn't what I was expecting. It does follow the typical style poitns of Belgian Whites though, which were never my favorite type of beer to begin with.

M: For as carbonated as the beer is, mouth feel doesn't represent that. It feels flatter than it is. The body is moderate, heavier than a typical lager. Alcohol isn't noticeable, and the only real zest comes from the lemongrass. The intense head does give a soothing effect towards the end of each sip, which is unique in my experience tasting.

D: Moderate. Body and flavor are the biggest limiting factors here, and the 750ml bottle is probably all you'd want to do in a sitting. Would pair well with some pasta dishes, or duck. I'd avoid it with red meat though.

Overall this isn't what I was expecting, especially with the last big bottle from Dogfish Head that I tried. That being said it's not a bad beer. Not my style personally but if you enjoy Belgian Whites this is certainly worth taking a look at. I might pick it up again if I'm having a beer tasting party or want to introduce some friends to it, as it is certainly unique in how the flavor and mouth feel present themselves.