Chicory Stout - Dogfish Head Brewery

bigpatvoodoodad

South Carolina

4.97/5  rDev +32.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A - Dark as night with a tan head.

S - Dark chocolate aroma.

T - Dark chocolatey, almost coffee with a hop afterbite. Very Nice.

M - Typical sticky stout mouthfeel. Nice.

D - This is a damned good stout and I recommend it.

Overall I think this is a great stout and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the stout style.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2010 22:34:28 | More by bigpatvoodoodad

Murrdogg

Ohio

4.9/5  rDev +30.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: Dark, no other color in the light. Light and creamy head

S: All I got was roasted coffee, but not too strong

T: creamy and smooth, slightl malty sweetness. Delicious. light and stouty-coffee aftertaste

m: smooth and creamy and easy to down. Very light in the stout realm.

D: smooth as heck and easy to down.. one of my new favourite stouts!

Serving type: on-tap

02-12-2011 05:20:41 | More by Murrdogg

OStrungT

California

4.85/5  rDev +29.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours the color of melted dark chocolate. It boasts a thick, fluffy brown head, fading slowly, leaving no lace.

This beer smells of bittersweet chocolate. It also has some coffee aroma. It has a slight toffee aroma, with some caramel. It has a slight vanilla aroma. as well.

This beer tastes like it smells. Chocolate and coffee up front with some caramel and toffee notesin the finish. I can taste a slight woody flavor as well.

This beer is full bodied. It goes down smooth, leaving a bittersweet chocolate aftertaste. Low carbonation suits the style well.

This beer would probably make a great session beer. It isnt too high in alcohol, and the flavor wouldnt get booring too quickly.

Overall: This beer is great. It is everything I expected and more. Trust Dogfish Head to make a winner.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2009 01:40:23 | More by OStrungT

BeaBeerWife

Michigan

4.83/5  rDev +28.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Fun! So dark, real nice carbonation, although little head. No typical dry stout bittering at the end at all. Smells like a nice coffee brew, and tastes great. I used to drink chicory coffee, so this was a nice brew to find. You can best taste the chicory tones at the aftertaste. I like this one a lot, probably the best 'java stout' I've had thus far.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2008 00:19:55 | More by BeaBeerWife

vette2006c5r

Wisconsin

4.8/5  rDev +28%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Had this beer from the bottle in a pint glass. This Dogfish Head Seasonal had a great taste, but might be a little heavy for some. You could pick up the extra hops, chocolate, and coffee flavors, but unlike some other stouts, no one flavor was overpowering, everything blended perfectly. GREAT stout, would recomend

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2009 01:53:50 | More by vette2006c5r

colsandurz

Massachusetts

4.8/5  rDev +28%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This is certainly only of the better DFH beers. All too frequently I find myself disapointed by DFH. For example, the Palo Santo Marron I found to be quite bad, along with either of the raison beers. However, when DFH keeps to the more simple beers - the IPAs, the India Brown Ale - they usually create an exceptional beer. This is no exception, there is really just a combination of two flavors: stout and chicory.

Head: thin, light creme colored, some lacing, dissapates
Color: dark, cannot be seen through
Aroma: a good combination of chocolate aroma along with chicory-smokiness
Taste: lots of good smoky flavor
Body: the stout flavors come in here, finish is like a very dark chocolate... very complex
Finish: A an exceptional combination of flavors!

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2010 07:21:33 | More by colsandurz

wildvikes

Minnesota

4.8/5  rDev +28%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Found this at a restaurant in a strip mall in Tavernier, Florida.
Not well lit, but seemed to pour as you'd expect a stout to. Very smooth. Have no idea what chicory is supposed to taste like, but this was good - nothing overpowering about it.

Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2010 04:07:52 | More by wildvikes

DuqTroops

Texas

4.72/5  rDev +25.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: pours very black (had a porter last night, this is definitely darker)

Smell: woodsy smell with lots of coffee and oaky flavors

Taste: chocolate and coffee in flavor. very very delicious as a late nightcap drink

Mouth: easy on the mouth

Drinkability: very very good, well worth a nightcap drink. best stout this year easily.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2006 03:48:44 | More by DuqTroops

rtratzlaff

North Carolina

4.7/5  rDev +25.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer poured a very dark black with not much head or lacing. The smell was roasted malt, coffee, and slightly chocolate. Taste was same as smell with a good smooth mouthfeel. Of the Dogfish beers, this was what a I expected: a top-notch beer. I was a bit worried about the chickory, because I tend to not like coffee with chickory, but it worked well in this beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2006 20:27:49 | More by rtratzlaff

StevenBilodeau

Connecticut

4.63/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Wow...

Pours, dark...black... slight brown. Midnight black, in normal lighting.

The beer smells burnt, roasted, burnt vanilla, milk chocolate...

medium full body, nice consistency...

Flavors of Burnt vanilla, roasted coffee...and burnt malt... I love it

This beer is amazing!

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2011 21:35:22 | More by StevenBilodeau

nortmand

Virginia

4.6/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours dark brown, with a fleeting head that leaves a "ghost" on the surface of the beer.

Complex smell. Roast notes intermingle with caramelized sugars and licorice. Kind of herbal.

Very herbal flavor. A minty-licorice flavor dominates throughout. A bit chocolatey and ends with a soft roast kick.

Huge, thick body, like a Grade A amber maple syrup.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2006 00:45:05 | More by nortmand

GreenJetta912

Pennsylvania

4.6/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

I wasn't planning on reviewing a brew 2night but this was so good I felt obligated to.

The least impressive characteristic of this beer is the appearance. It's damn near pitch black but not quite. There's less than a finger of head and the color of the head is a "stained wood", dark beige color.

Nose reveals an up-front yeasty, spicy character. in the background, the normal flavors that one would associate with a "regular" stout come out, but it's a subtlety. Those flavors would be coffee, chocolate, and malts ("regular" stout flavors). slighty alcohol/booze pungency, but thats the last thing you pick up.

The middle is malty and stout-like but a main flavor component is the root-like flavor. It reminds me of the KIND of flavor a root beer or birch beer creates. It's carmely sweet and a bit roasty.

The finish is dry (coffee esters?) very coffee-like in the finish but not out of balance. slightly sweet and highly chocolatey (dryer cocoa and less sweet choc. flavor). The "rooty" flavor is the main event in the middle but in the finish it is only noticable at the very end.

Overall, this bastard of a brew is unique and DFH really differentiates themselves against other stouts with this here beer (great, off-the-wall flavor combination of highly "un-traditional" ingredients) . This is the last seasonal DFH that I've tried and I've had all but 2-3 of them that they will brew this year. As with everything they do, I think they almost created their own style here.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2011 04:45:14 | More by GreenJetta912

Blueribbon666

Ohio

4.6/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Review from notes. This is from my 1st bottle tasting after 1st enjoying on tap @ FatHeads. Pours a rich, dark cola color with a little head of tan bubbles into dimpled mug. Smells of the mexican coffee listed as well as dark cocoa and malt. A good full bodied flavor in the mouthfeel up front with the coffee and cocoa mixing with the chicory for a wonderful roasty finish that's spicy but fades fairly cleanly. IMO very well done offering from the normally IPA heavy DFH. I will seek this out again. Good stuff, good stout.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 15:08:00 | More by Blueribbon666

spitInTheOcean

Michigan

4.6/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

black. opaque. ruby highlights. deep brown head. great head retention. good lacing.

aroma of malt, and malt. a little toasted. come chocolate. and the coffee comes through too. no hop aroma.

very malty flavor. tastes about the same as it smells. malt. coffee. chocolate. not so much sweet up front as it is almost bitter from the roasted malts. bitter finish from the roasted malts. no hop flavor.

medium mouthfeel. medium body. soft carbonation. very smooth.

this really is like the perfect stout. incredible flavor. great balance. great complexity. and best of all its sessionable. its not an imperial which is always a surprise coming from dogfish head, but a happy surprise. great great beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2012 03:51:29 | More by spitInTheOcean

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.58/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thick, rich cocoa-colored head, black as the night. Aroma: WOW!!
Chocolate, and so much more, like vanilla, bananas, nuts, coffee, loads of dark, but sweet, flavors. One solid stout! Very mellow, beautiful, and tasty as they come! An utterly unique invention!

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2003 15:17:19 | More by feloniousmonk

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

4.55/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout purchased at Boo's in Columbus, Ga.
appearance - Beautiful almost pitch black with a coffee colored head.
smell - wow! I guess that's chicory...coffee, chocolate, vanilla, banana. I usually patiently savor the nose but I had to get to this.
taste - there's plenty going on and it's amazingly mellow.
I could gulp this all night.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2009 00:44:40 | More by cindyjeffsmith

becktone

Ohio

4.53/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

The Chicory Stout pours to be a pitch black color. It has a small brown, creamy head which quickly dissipates to a thin lacing around the inside of the glass. It has little to no head retention.

The aroma of this beer is very strong. I can easily detect a very strong chocolate smell. Among other aromas I detect are a roasted barley smell and a coffee bean smell. Overall this stout has a rich aroma that outlines the malts used in this beer.

This beer has a great taste. To begin with the way this beer tastes is very complex, there a many flavors incorporated into this beer. Once the beer enters your mouth the first thing you taste is the hop influence on the back of the tounge and a chocolate taste in the middle of the tounge. Once swallowed the hoppy and chocolate characters remain but fade as the remaining beer and the feeling of carbonation fade from the mouth. When this happens the bitter flavor "slides" into a roasted flavor. The roasted flavor doesn't last for long before it slides into a coffee flavor. The overall taste left in the mouth after a drink is a strong coffee bean flavor which reamains for a good amount of time.

This beer, in addition to tasting great also has a great mouthfeel. To me once swallowed this heavy bodied brew seems to "slide" into different flavors. The carbonation, not quite so apparant at first, becomes more evident the longer the beer sits in the mouth. However once swallowed it gradually diminishes via gradual slide from front of tounge to back.

This beer is very drinkable, I don't think that it is something to be quickly drained, but it isn't something that needs to be sipped either. This is a beer that I would definitely buy again.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2005 18:29:54 | More by becktone

wahhmaster

Virginia

4.53/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a pilsner glass.

Appearance: Pours a deep black color with a large tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves some spotty lacing.

Smell: Has a strong smoky, woody smell from the chicory backed by a nice maltiness.

Taste: Tastes mildly hoppy with a significant dark, malty, chocolately flavor backed by the chicory woodiness.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with a nice smoothness.

Overall: A great beer from DFH and one of my new favorites. Definitely give it a try.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2011 02:10:48 | More by wahhmaster

JerseyKirk

New Jersey

4.53/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: 1/2 finger khaki to slight brown head. Tight and medium bubbles. Laced decently. Dark black body with deep red coming through on the sides of the glass.

S: coffee, chocolate, cream, milk, chocolate milk, hot cocoa, burnt, slight bitterness from darker malts.

T: sweet, roasty, bitter black coffee, chocolate. Sweetness on tip of the tongue. Very nice.

M: medium body. Sweet not dry. Malt bitterness does give a drying quality though.

O: this is a great session beer from dogfish. The aroma is slightly better than the taste but overall its wonderful. Really nicely designed beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 19:39:45 | More by JerseyKirk

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Excellent brew for what this is - a sessionable stout. Appearance is black - held up to light, nothing shows through. Healthy and creamy head that lingers - nice cream color. Some lacing on the glass. Aroma is coffee and a faint smokiness. Flavor is heavy on malts - some chocolate is present, and the coffee re-appears. Mouthfeel is nice with finer carbonation. Excellent brew when stacked against other "mild" stouts.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 21:44:35 | More by Oakenator

Scooter77

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Yes sir, I like it. I like it a lot… It pours a dark, midnight black color. Upon the initial pour, a huge rocky head presented itself, then over a period of about 5 minutes, it faded away leaving a 1/4-inch cap and several thick, sticky rings on the glass. The nose is full of coffee and chocolate aromas with undertones of toasted malt, no hops are detected. There is also a nice smokey aroma that seems to push it’s way through. The first flavor that hits my tongue is a slight bitterness of hops, ahh...there they are. The next thing I tasted was a perfect blend of rich coffee and bittersweet chocolate, all the while still maintaining that same smokey quality that’s in the aroma. There was a bit of a dry finish on this beer, but it wasn't too bad. This is a very smooth and well-balanced beer. I will definitely purchase this one again.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2003 18:40:21 | More by Scooter77

pmcadamis

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +20%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This black brew has only the slightest deep purple hue when held to the light. Topping this dark beer is a 1/2 finger Yoohoo colored head that reduces to a collar within a few minutes and dissapearres entirely after a few more. Leaves a bit of chocolate milk lacing on the glass at first, then nothing.

This smells very unique! Toasted marshmallow s'mores, rootbeer candy, strong coffee, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, Count Chocula cereal. Man o man! The list goes on! There is alot of complexity in this deeply aromatic bouquet!

Wow. The taste is on par with the nose! I taste chicory coffee with deep chocolate undertones. The initial espresso and chicory bitterness is supported by chocolatey malts and a smokey-earthy-peaty flavor comes later. I really like the roasty firewood flavor! Great for BBQ's and fall bonfires!

Mothfeel is on the thin side, carbonation is good, and drinkability is off the scale. This is one of the top stouts in America IMO.

The unique and powerful flavor of this masterpeice may not appeal to everyone, but for coffee and chocolate lovers like me....this is heaven in a bottle

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2006 16:51:49 | More by pmcadamis

schoolboy

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this at the brew pub in Rehoboth Beach. Very nice. I have never had this in a bottle and unfortunately they didn't have any to take with.

Complex, interesting, drinkable. Nice stout. Maybe nice isn't good enough. Exceptionally good stout (remember, I had it on tap - my palate is alway a bit happier with draft beer),

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2007 18:57:57 | More by schoolboy

marcpal

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +20%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

On draft at the brewpub in Rehobeth. First time that I have had the chance to have this, and really enjoyed it. Not overpowering but quickly become one of my favorites.

A: Deep pitch black in the glass with minimal to no tan head. Lacing was apparent but not as much as I had thought based on description.

S: Creaminess, espresso, and coffee malts. Really good flavors.

M: Carbonation not there but very silky smooth between each sip. Nice.

T: Sweet espresso malts that tightly matches the aroma. There is some sense of hops here but the roasted malts are terrific. Not what I would describe as a typical stout which is what I would expect from DFH, good job on it. As the beer was put away, the chocolate tastes really came through and was a pleasure to drink along with a solid fall dessert.

D: Great taste and the ABV pairing made this amply delicious at the same time as being able to enjoy many without fear. Not a stout that is limited to cold weather but can surely be enjoyed now.

Purchased a case to bring on home with me- good stuff. Look forward to enjoying with variety of desserts. Odd at first following the World Wide but a nice match in hitting a variety of stouts.

Serving type: on-tap

11-12-2007 01:24:59 | More by marcpal

bamadog

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

All my numbers for this came out the same, which I think is kind of odd (4.5 for everything?!). This is a solid freaking beer and I am definitely NOT disappointed.

Appearance: Light tan head, started at about 2 fingers but disappeared quickly to not much of anything at all. Not even a lacing coating the glass -- very smooth. Near black in color, entirely opaque. Not a bit of light was coming through this bad boy.

Smell: Smells creamy. Malty/Chocolatey scent was very pronounced. A litle bit of a roasty scent in the back as well, that matches the taste.

Taste: Wow. Creamy and chewey -- malty and chocolatey goodness abounds. A nice roasty flavor follows it lightly through your mouth -- pretty wonderful. A little reminiscent of The Poet from New Holland, but the biggest difference between the two would have to be the mouthfeel...

Mouthfeel: Solid carbonation -- couldn't believe how strong it was. Added a nice touch to the palate. It was also chewy and coated well. A wonderful drink.

Drinkability: This is a great beer, as I mentioned at the heading of this review. I'm very pleased with it. I've had a ton of luck with the American stouts and feel I've almost been too fortunate with them. I hope my luck continues.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2008 01:44:37 | More by bamadog