Coming in at 8% ABV and billed with “Belgian Beet Sugars & Green Raisins” I certainly had a conflicting attitude about the Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre, and certainly didn’t think at first glance it could live up to its popular counterpart. Green Raisins? Sounds like a fruit beer… 8% ABV? Sounds like a light stout or a thicker IPA. My concern was that the beer would just be average across the board, its pour was amber and right down the middle. The beet and raisin scents are noticeable from the start, and it, for all intents and purposes, looks like a fruit beer. The taste of this beer gumbo is very interesting. The dominating flavor in the beer itself is the raisins. The taste reminds me of being a kid and chomping on about 10 raisins at once. Then you throw the foam in, which gives it the beet sugar notes which, in my opinion, corrupt the flavor of the beer. That’s because I would prefer raisins to beets and I understand that’s just a matter of personal preference. Finally the hops which make this a beer and not a smoothie, and it all blends together well. It’s complex in the combination of flavors but simple in that they are easy to tell apart and they go down well together. A final word of caution, that 8% ABV really sneaks up on you.

This brewery as a whole was one I was eager to check out. The clever names for beer and the brewery altogether made me excited to sample the 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA. From a personal taste perspective, I hope this beer was better than its brewery brother. My primary opinion of this beer is not an opinion I thought I’d ever have about anything from San Francisco: ordinary. The color was beautiful when I poured it, quite possibly the best I’ve seen so far in the competition. I remembered thinking to myself that this would be one outstanding beer. And as for an IPA, it was exceptional. This beer could very well be the picture Wikipedia shows for an India Pale Ale because it fits the description to a T. The flavors were hoppy although predominantly malted which I found interesting. The beer itself was smooth, although thick, which is to be expected from an IPA coming in at just over 7% ABV. I wouldn’t call it a strong beer per se, but it definitely carried a little kick with it which I was not expecting. This was a very good IPA which makes the Decision difficult, but this was just an IPA and I couldn’t taste much creativity.