Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Robert Johnson's Hellhound on my Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Robert Johnson's Hellhound on my Ale. In an attempt to get caught up with beers I drank a while ago, took notes on, but never “officially” posted the review I’m going to try and get up to date…starting with this review.

From the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery website: "2011 would have marked the 100th birthday of Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, who according to legend, sold his soul down at the crossroads in a midnight bargain and changed music forever.

Working again with our friends at Sony Legacy (yup, the same folks we did our Miles Davis-inspired Bitches Brew with), Dogfish Head paid tribute to this blues legend by gettin' the hellhounds off his trail and into this finely-crafted ale.

Hellhound is a super-hoppy ale that hits 100 IBUs in the brewhouse and 10% ABV. It's dry-hopped with 100% Centennial hops at a rate of 100 kilos per 100 barrel brew-length. Can you tell we're stoked for this mighty musical centennial?

To accentuate and magnify the citrusy notes of the Centennial hops (and as a shoutout to Robert Johnson's mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson), we add dried lemon peel and flesh to the whirlpool."

Let’s get started!

Appearance:  Pours a burnt copper color with a large white head and sticky lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, citrus, citrus with a touch of roasted and caramel malts.

Taste: Citrus hops, lemon zest, toffee, roasted and caramel malts.

Overall: Being a fan of Robert Johnson it made a lot of sense to me to pick up Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Robert Johnson's Hellhound on my Ale.  At 10% ABV this big beer isn’t boozy, but does have a slight alcohol presence.  Not sure I’d drink it again, but I did enjoy it while it lasted.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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