Sah'tea

Tasted with David and Jennifer Misewicz following an excursion to Limestone Brewery Sunday night.  Drunk from the extra tasting glasses that complement my wooden tasting flight that I received for my birthday.

Appearance: Exhibiting a clouded blonde color with a straw yellow hue. Minimal head, if any only revealing a slight white foamed ring. Carbonation is high as it rapidly rises to the surface of the beer. There are suspended particles visible as well which may be leftover adjunct or conglomeration bundles of yeast. By the end, the sediment really is apparent in the beer, showing big clumps of coagulants.

Aroma: Very tea smelling with a mild honey and brown sugared aroma. The spices are mostly resembling cardamon and even nutmeg/ginger. Some pungent breadiness, but extremely light.

Taste: My initial thoughts were of a tart palatable taste reminiscent of concentrated apricots and other sour fruits. Immediately the flavor transitions to mellow toasted chai tea and maple. Honey and other sugar adjuncts contribute a mild sweetness. Some pine-ish flavors emerge at a pinprick of the finish. Some alcoholic taste also briefly appears which makes me (us) think of a delicate mead, but with carbonation. Spiced finish that resembles rye and coriander. This is almost exactly what my mead smells and tastes like, only without carbonation. Ginger and clove finish the beer off in both a highly apparent, but mellow taste.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is at a high, especially in the foretaste, but nicely complements the texture. Medium body, but also an un-tacky finish. A little dryness. One would think that the aggregate sedimentation would add to the body, but it is relatively lighter than sensationally perceived.
Overall Impression: A very interesting, sweet beer that has a nice complementing sweetness at the finish. Jen says "Nummy." Some lemon emerges at the end with the complementation of tea and tart. A very interesting beer with a well balance of the chai tea, which could easily be made aggressive if overestimating the spicing. Generally I think this is a delicious beer for the sweet-a-holics, and a nice vacation from the common bitterness. We applaud Dogfish Head for the complexity of flavor, no need to start with easy introductions, go big, or go home. Definitely an introductory beer for a girl who wants the fluffy cranberry vodkas and slushy margaritas, but nevertheless maintains a delectable flavor of beer.