Dogfish Head Siracusa Nera
Combining a roasty Imperial Stout with a jammy Syrah wine, this beer is bold and complex. Notes of coffee, dark chocolate and anise from a blend of roasted malts meld with flavors of plums, cherries and stewed fruits from Syrah grape must in this jet black stout. Aged on American oak to add some light toasty vanilla to the mix.
3.8
159 reviews
Milton, United States
Community reviews
I wish I could have tasted this beer without the shot of Syrah. I definitely picked up the coffee and chocolate notes, but the dry red wine aftertaste just ruined it for me. I was seriously debating returning the $16 4-pack to Wegman’s with the open half full bottle, but it honestly wasn’t worth my time. I finished the bottle, ate some bacon-wrapped scallops, then tried another. Still hated it. Guess I’ll save the other two to serve to beer snobs who will be impressed by the price and probably refuse to accept that it tastes like crap.
I wish I would have bought another pack of Blue Mountain Dark Hollow. Thankfully I did buy one in addition to this abortion.
Get over yourselves, DFH.
Roasty malt with a hint of dark fruit. Smooth and not overly charred. The hint of oak from the aging is there, but not terribly strong.
Every time I rate a new Dogfish Head I'm reminded of the annoying fact that my branded DFH glassware was accidentally shattered by a very weak fall into the sink one day. So instead I poured this one into a Guinness 250th Anniversary glass. 12 oz. bottle, from a 4-pack stating it is a "limited, occasional release."
Complex, roasted malt nose with bright, slightly sour fruity notes of fermented grapes that remind me of wine... which incidentally I don't drink. As with most DHF beers, there is a unique gimmick or hook, which I tend to enjoy. The grape must really shines here, especially in the nose. It's unique to any imperial stout I've tried.
Pour was black with moderate tan head. Deep taste of spicy chocolate, toffee, anise and caramel. A good balance of sweetness and burnt roastiness, with the finishing tart grape must character. A very well put together beer. High marks.
This pitch black thick beer runs like oil into your glass. If you are rough, you have some foam.
Who cares. Wine also has no foam! For me this might be a missing link between Wine and beer. It is an imperial stout but the oak taste smoots out the typical bready chocalate and coffee tastes and the grapes add a freshnes to this beer. You hardly notice the High alcohol.
I did expect something like Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Brett Stout but this is a different beer. Not as sour but also not sweet Not sure which one I like most.
Bottle. Pours black with dark tan head and lacing. Nose of chocolate and strawberry and grape preserves. Chocolate upfront followed by grape and a hint of vanilla and subtle wood. Medium-full body. Medium finish.
12 oz. bottle from The Beer Store. Pours black with some ruby edges. Almost no head. Just a tan ring. Red wine aroma with secondary dark chocolate. Sort of sweet. Dark malt, grape juice, wine, oak wood, raisins, it's all in there. Body could be heftier. Pretty tasty.
A very intense beer. Deep and dark chocolate character, some licorice and dark fruit. Tried with Jess and Ryan at the Crescent Moon in 2019.
Pours a jet black with a tan foam head. Aroma is grape, fruit, roast, and chocolate. Flavor is sweet grape, chocolate, and roast - oak is maybe present. Well-carbonated with a full body. A nice blend of wine and imperial stout, though perhaps more on the wine side than I would like. Still, pretty well-balanced and tasty.
12 oz bottle. Pours an opaque black with a tan dense head. Sweet smells of grape set off by some dry chalk smells. Big round tastes of sweet balanced by a solid backbone of dry malt for a net licorice effect and a lingering nice bitter finish all balancing the acohol edge. Really distinctive and good.
Bottle. Pours black with a thin tan head. Aroma of chocolate malt, roasted malt, light fruits, grape, apple, raisin. Flavor of roasted malt, charred malt, roasted nuts, red wine, dark fruits. Interesting beer, not super heavy on Syrah but it’s definitely there. Very enjoyable.
8/4/8/4/15 (3.9/5)
Pours a three-finger tan head that fades slowly leaving some lace. Black color, no highlights. Good carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Chocolate and coffee nose and flavor is chocolate, some coffee. Higher ABV (10%) is hidden. $13.99 for a 4-pak of 12oz bottles from Smiley's Discount Beverage Dover, NH.
12-ounce bottle pours nearly opaque black with some brown highlights and just a trace of tan head and lacing. Aroma: molasses, lavender, grape juice. Flavor: brown sugar, molasses, figs, plums, currants, concord grapes, ashtray, black pepper, leather, tobacco, strong black coffee, chocolate, vanilla, wooden char, Fisherman Friends's cough drops. Mouthfeel: medium- to full-bodied.
12 ounce bottle into signature tulip glass, bottled on 9/27/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, currant, berries, red grape/wine, toasted oak, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of vanilla, licorice, wood smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts; and light-moderate grape must, earthy hops, fruity yeast, and oak notes; with great strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, currant, berries, red grape/wine, toasted oak, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of vanilla, licorice, wood smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine, woody, herbal, peppery hop; roast, charcoal bitterness; and slight grape tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, dark fruit, cherry, currant, berries, red grape/wine, toasted oak, dark bread/crust, vanilla, licorice, wood smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish fora while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts; and light-moderate grape must, earthy hops, fruity yeast, and oak flavors; with a great hop/char bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, fairly sticky/chalky, and lightly tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 10%. Overall this is an awesome fruited Russian imperial stout. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts; and light-moderate grape must, earthy hops, fruity yeast, and oak flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV with the modestly bitter/drying finish. Not overly aggressive. Awesomely rich malt complexity and balancing earthy hops; with complementing grape must, fruity yeast notes that aren't overwhelming at all. A really enjoyable offering, and spot on base style example. Was expecting more grape character initially, but what they ended up with was really impressive. Will age/mellow nicely on the hop character, and bring out more dark fruit complexity.
On tap at Gillys in Rockville, MD.
Opaque, near-black with a fine tan head and very good lacing.
Aroma of sweet dark fruit, coffee, red wine and chocolate.
Taste of shiraz/syrah wine, sweet blackberries, roasted coffee, chocolate, plums, roasted malt, cherries and touches of molasses and vanilla.
Medium/full body and medium carbonation.
The delicious syrah flavor comes through strongly. The underlying imperial stout is excellent, too. I'm less fond of drinking a blend of wine with beer, but I have to admit this one is done well.
Bottle. Dark pour with thick beige head. Sweet and smooth. Incredibly drinkable. Subtle grape, nice oak.
4/4/18. 12oz bottle from Five Points. Jet black pour with a nice tan/khaki head that sticks. Rich aroma of jammy red wine, dark fruits, ash, coffee, dark chocolate, a hint of black licorice. Rich flavor as well, ashy dark roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, red wine, leather. Tasty enough!
Pours thick black with a three finger, dark tan head. Aroma is dried fruit and roast. Taste is chocolate and brown sugar, moving to heavy roast and wood, with red wine building in. Finish is red wine and roast. A good stout.
12oz bottle. Pours black with a moderate light tan head. Aroma is oak, vanilla, cocoa, some coffee, anise, and some grape. Taste is oak, plum, caramel, cinnamon-like spice, dark chocolate, roast, light vanilla, some licorice, and some red wine. Moderately bitter finish. Medium-full body. Soft-to-moderate carbonation. Inky mouthfeel.
Bottle. Nose dark, dark roast, earthen and chocolate but getting that rare nut butter character (peanut). Pour dark brown collecting to inky black, head is sudsy light brown. Taste light-medium sweet with medium bitterness, lots of roast, alcohol to warm the chest quickly and slightly burn if you drink too quickly, but not terribly un-smooth; heavy roast, heavy coffee, some chocolate and earth, some light wood and tannins, but the fruit is really pushed to the background at this stage. Aftertaste dominated by coffee bitterness and roast, some black scorch notes, maybe a hint of anise but that's light. Full, heavy body, sticky lips. Bitter but not astringent, this does occupy the brutal side of the continuum I always say I like in stouts, but honestly it's a little hard to finish even as the first beer of the night. Just kinda sludgy, really could have used some bright top notes or fruit to open it up. [2018.11.11: 3.3]
Sent to me by Strykzone/ Thanks Dave. Pours black with a tan head. Nose is strong and complex and includes chocolate, coffee, and dark ripe fruit. Bod is very full. Roch creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is a chocolate and molasses along with plum and grapes. Finishes woody and dry. Really delicious. Dogfish Head beers are fun.
On tap at Grizzly’s. Pours black with a dark brown head that dissipates slowly to the edges. Aroma has dark grains and light roast with oak and dry red fruits underlying. Aroma has dark grains and dry red fruits with oak and roasted malts underlying.
12oz bottle from Bottle Shock in Port St Lucie, cellared for 3 months. Pours a very dark brown with a brown/tan head leaving a lot of streaky lace. Aroma has grapes and big sweet malts, molasses, some roast and some caramel. Taste is of smoky malts, tangy sweet molasses, roasted malts, some caramel, some cocoa and a bit of dark fruits. The grape lead in the nose is really swallowed up by the thick malts. Full bodied, the blend is fine and there is a bit of an alcohol presence. Finishes to the sweet side of that bitter-sweet scale, but - a bit surprisingly - the bitterness for balance is pretty solid. As ever with DFH, not a standard version of a style. This one has a solid traditional base with some good stuff in it, and builds from that. 13.7
Bottle. Black pour with a medium, dense brown head. Aroma is dark fruit mixed with big roasted malt notes and burnt caramel with soft charred oak and hints of wine. Taste is big roasted malt, dark fruit, charred wood, burnt caramel, light coffee, some dark bittersweet chocolate and light wine notes. Body is medium with a strong, effervescent carbonation. Ends with more roasted malt, dark fruit, dark coffee, bittersweet chocolate, wood and light wine notes.
Pours opaque coffee with a thick and frothy dirty tan head. Aroma presents roast malt, woody, molasses, wine, a hint of - yes, vanilla. Flavor yields roast malt, dark fruit, wine, oak, molasses and subtle vanilla tones. Now that's a stout! Texture features firm, viscous body and jazzy fizz. J'siracusa!
Oxford tasting
Black color. Dusty and earthy strong Stout, a bit boozy, with some red wine, burning and roasty; not an example of elegance.
Very oak forward. As advertised with dog fish they really hit all the notes ln the discription. Grape must is also a highlight. Really great beer. A little barrel forward.
Bottle. Pours jet black with a thin tan head. Aroma of grapes, chocolate, oak and coffee. Flavor of chocolate, roasted malts, grapes, oak, coffee, light vanilla and had a hint of licorice.
Bottle, 2017 vintage. Nice roasted malt aroma with notes of red wine, dark fruit, licorice, chocolate and oak. Pours dark brown with a thin mocha brown head that has excellent retention and lacing. Starts with roasted malt, dark fruit and chocolate flavors as well as a rich, full body and slick, viscous mouthfeel. Finishes very smooth with red wine, licorice and oak flavors. Really nice imperial stout.
Shared a 12 oz bottle. This is an interesting beer, it pours black with a tan head that disappears very quick. The aroma is sweet and malty. The flavor is chocolatey and sweet. There is subtle grape flavor followed by oak aged flavor, good but interesting.
Viscous black pour. Jammy, roasty, dark, molasses, chocolate, hint of licorice. Full and thick. DFH has been so good for so long, and consistently puts out creative beers that almost always hits the mark, that I run the risk of taking them for granted.