Festina Lente - Dogfish Head Brewery

DagFishHead

New York

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750ml bottle that was a part of the batch known to have the low/no carbonation problem at DFH. Stored bottle in warm room for 4 weeks after purchase.
Appearance: First, the bottle opened with a very crisp (and reassuring) pop! Slightly hazy, straw-gold body with orange/peach highlights. A one-finger, frothy pure white head formed and held briefly leaving no lace.
Smell: Oak, earthy, grassy. Wow: sour peaches. A whiff of urine, farm animal sweat, musk and wet wool.
Taste: Big tart peach up front. Tartness expands with carbonation to a fluffiness at the top. Finish dries with earthy/grassy hops and aftertaste is acidic, blood-metallic and moldy sour grapes.
Mouthfeel: Light-medium body. Light carbonation and sour fruit tingle. Puckery in the aftertaste.
Drinkability: As I gain experience with more beer styles, I now find myself giving a 4.0 score for a whiff of urine? This was a fun beer that I will be trying again.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2004 03:15:07 | More by DagFishHead

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml corked and caged bottle into a Cantillon tulip. Shared with capra12 and schen9303.

Pours a .5 finger foamy white head with poor retention. Beer is crystal clear goldenrod that reveals ample carbonation. Spotty lace with oily legs. Not great head, lacing, or legs but the color is amazing.

Nose is sour peaches, acetone, lemon rind, and vinegar. Decent. Lets you know you're in for a sour experience.

Opens with huge peach notes. Acetone and vinegar in the middle. Mild fruit sweetness comes through a touch as it lingers in the mouth. Finishes super sour peach skin and vinegar. Aftertaste of sour peach skin. Solid considering the age. Amazing that the fruit character is still so prominent here.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Slick with a touch of bubbles in the mouth. Filmy and slightly dry going down. Finishes messy with a long, lingering aftertaste. Very good for the style.

A decent beer overall, again considering the age. However, this is a touch too sour for me. Amazing that the fruit characteristics are still very prominent. Worth seeking out for the experience but don't expect flavors or body that will blow you away.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 02:28:36 | More by SpeedwayJim

POTABLE83

New York

4/5  rDev +2%

07-06-2012 21:28:49 | More by POTABLE83

sideshowe

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

04-12-2012 13:19:45 | More by sideshowe

russwbeck

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Opened at Monk's Cafe Beers of the Cellar event. Pretty sure this is from the first year. It pours out hazy yellow with no head. The aroma is really focused on the peaches, which I'm pretty impressed have remained this prominent. It hints towards sour and funky. The taste is delicious, why did they stop making this? Peaches and funk, very fruity overall. Very well carbonated still and nicely drinkable. It smells exactly like the taste. One of my favorite from DFH.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2012 22:47:18 | More by russwbeck

jfcaa193

Connecticut

5/5  rDev +27.6%

02-14-2012 01:50:06 | More by jfcaa193

imperialking

Illinois

4/5  rDev +2%

01-07-2012 02:07:28 | More by imperialking

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

12-30-2011 08:53:38 | More by ygtbsm94

Beertracker

Oklahoma

5/5  rDev +27.6%

11-29-2011 05:06:01 | More by Beertracker

THECPJ

Delaware

5/5  rDev +27.6%

11-23-2011 01:52:27 | More by THECPJ

corby112

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +27.6%

11-22-2011 03:30:18 | More by corby112

tprokop7

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +27.6%

11-17-2011 22:22:08 | More by tprokop7

ROGUE16

Delaware

4/5  rDev +2%

11-17-2011 04:55:44 | More by ROGUE16

SummitVA

Maryland

5/5  rDev +27.6%

11-14-2011 15:35:49 | More by SummitVA

aerozeppl

New York

4.58/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Finally...2003 Bottle

A: Poured almost still. When the cork came out it barely made any noise at all. Color was very clear with no carbonation or head. Really nice bright orange color. Little bit of gold thrown in as well.

S: I was shocked there was still this much peaches in the nose. It smelled fresh. Quite a bit of sourness as well. Not really and bret or funk smells but plenty of lactic acid. Overipe peaches.

T: God damn this is a sour beer. A friend at the tasting said he had this beer in 2007 and remembered it being the most sour beer he had ever had and declared this more sour then he remembered. Again I was shocked at the amount of peach that came through. Lots of lactic acid. Just a touch funky but it again came across as overripe fruit.

M: The beer was almost still. Just the slightest hints of carbonation after an extremely aggressive pour. Medium body. It could have used a bit more carbonation.

D: This beer is doing just fine. The peaches have held up amazingly well as this is SOUR. When you poured the bottom of the bottle in it became even more sour. From what we could all remember they let this spontaneously ferment with unwashed peaches. The level of fruit and sourness is something to behold. A real treat.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 01:37:04 | More by aerozeppl

mrmanning

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to IMTHEOPTIMATOR for sending this one my way! Pours no head, flat and still looking. Cloudy orange body.Apricot, sour brab apples, and yeasty esters fill the nose. Flavours are sour fruit, semi-tart apricots, and lemon jiuce. Tart aftertaste. Alcohol no noticable. A well made American Lambic that keeps up with most of the belgian ones I have had. 04' Vintage.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2010 00:26:57 | More by mrmanning

tuckevalastin

Delaware

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2003 Bottle

A: Translucent orange with no head to speak of

S: A strong sour peach smell dominates

T: It's like drinking a not yet ripe peach. Sour, acidic, and dry. The peachiness is obvious but it hides behind the sourness.

M: Feels alot like drinking a dry wine. No carbonation on this one.

D: For a sour it's very easily downable. Although the sourness makes it lean towards a sipper.

Overall it's a great representation of a sour beer. Wonderful summer beer or dessert beer. Can't speak for the taste of a fresh bottle, only had this aged one.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2010 03:08:47 | More by tuckevalastin

LilBeerDoctor

New York

4.43/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed on 6/11/08. 2004 bottle at Spuyten Duyvil. Pours a light orange with no head. Aroma of sweet peaches. It tasted just like biting into a sour, juicy peach. Very smooth, extremely drinkable, and quite delicious.
Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavor: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20
(4.1/5)

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2008 01:06:06 | More by LilBeerDoctor

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Brewed in 2004...
Appears a hazy, orange toned amber with a spritzy, white head that quickly fades away. Scattered spots are left around the glass. Small streams of CO2 slowly rise to the top.
Huge aromas of brett, vinegar, sweaty clothes, horseblanket, peaches, and citrus.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with a mouth puckering vinegar smack that reminds me of a hand full of sour patch kids. Very tart up front with some candy sweetness that is buried way in the background.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, spritzy, finishing thin and dry with my lips still smacking together at the thought.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2008 16:19:00 | More by weeare138

MuenchenerKindl

Germany

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a mag by beerbeing after DLD 07 in the hotel. The liquid was a light pale yellow with very fine carbonation. The head was small and fizzy very wine like.

The smell was strong, sour and peachy.

The taste was no suprise, a puckering sour peach brew, acidic and dry. The taste was good to be sure as the bottle did not last long.

The mouthfeel was light and airy like a sparkling wine

The drinkability was tough. Eventhough the brew's taste was interesting and drew you in for more with each sip, the acidicness and the sourness made it hard to have a lot.

Thanks again to BB for the taste of this rare brew. MK

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2007 08:18:28 | More by MuenchenerKindl

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Wow, this beer is sour. I bought a corked bottle in 2004 and just opened it this past weekend July 22, 2007. Poured it into 2 oversized red wine glasses. The first thing you notice is the lack of carbonation, not fizz at all and a very very minimal head that disappeared in an instant. It has a great peachy lambic smell to it. The first sip almost knocked me out, though. One of the most sour beers I have had in a long time. I expected this from a Belgian perhaps, but not from DFH. Kudos to them for taking a chance and making a beer true to its style. There was no way I'd be able to drink the whole bottle, so it was nice to split. Lente was quite a nice treat and went well with some nectarine cobbler we had for dessert.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2007 23:05:50 | More by morebeergood

OStrungT

California

4.7/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a cloudy straw yellow, with almost no head. What head is present, is white. It leaves a surprising amount of lacing, considering the fact that almost no head is present.

This beer has a pleasent spur aroma. I smell some fruit. Peaches and pears. It has a slight citrus aroma as well. Although that is pretty much all the aroma, it smells great.

This beer has a sour flavor. It tastes great. Some fruityness is also present. As with the aroma, I taste mostly peaches. It has a slight earthy Belgian yeast flavor to it also.

This beer goes down smooth leaving a crisp sour aftertaste. It has almost no carbonation to it at all.

I think this beer might make a good session beer, but it might get a little overbearing after a while since it is so sour.

Overall: I really liked this beer. Thanks so much to ggaughan for this great beer. I owe you. Hats off to Dogfish Head.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2007 01:30:42 | More by OStrungT

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

An aged version. Label says it was brewed in 2004.

This beer has a light golden tone that is ever so slightly hazed. Bubbly head, but not much of it. Lacing is nearly absent. The aroma offers smells of peaches and barnyards and acidity. The tartness hits my palate first with a refreshing blast of peaches following. Almost a residual sugar coated fruit sensation after the swallow. But just for an instant before the acidity washes it away. Some definite Brett character here. This is a dry beer. But not as dry or mouth puckering as the lambics I've tried from Cantillon. I'm no expert in this area of beerdom, but this seems to be a pretty damn good representation of the style.

Gotta give props to my man in Long Beach for setting me up with a nicely cellared beer like this. Thanks much Darren.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2007 03:52:22 | More by Bighuge

barknee

New York

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Festina Lente pours a slightly cloudy 14 K gold with a light head and micro carbonation.
A splendid nose of sweet & sour peaches and apricot, with a magnificent stewed sour peach compote aroma that soars from the glass. The taste is slightly sour with some wild yeast elements; sour peach teamed with citric fruits makes for exiting drinking. Wonderful light fizzy carbonation easily detected in the mouth, not unlike a bottle of Riesling wine. Very refreshing on the palate; this is a romantic-sexy brew perfect for a summer picnic, to share with a loved one, or simply to bogart all by yourself!
DFH does it again with a unique and wonderful beverage. Bravo!!

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2006 23:03:59 | More by barknee

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 750ml flat bottomed brown glass bottle, sealed with a plain thumbed cork restrained with a black steel cap and a gold colored wire cage. Label clearly states options “2003 2004 2005" with the words "Year Brewed” on the right hand side and the “Packaged in” code is left blank and free of nicks. So no markings at all, as such it is hard to say how old this one is, I suspect 03 or 04. Listed as “A right musty ale made with honest to goodness peaches”. 7% ABV.

Appearance: Hazed body with an unnatural bubbling head which very quickly rescinds to nothingness. Very low carbonation, yet this exhibits a striking look which has a very reminiscent aura of a straight lambic.

Nose: Fresh peaches, and lots of them, with a ‘just cut’ sweetness which melds with a hint of apricots and some sourness to offset the sweet flesh of the peaches.

Taste: Lots of peaches, sharp with a sweetness that crushes the sourness. As you work your way through the sweetness from the fresh peachy flesh soon fades and the sourness builds. Light on the funk, which could be a nit-picking comment, but I like the fact that this is high on the acrid fruity aspects rather than the funk. Gentle Brett tickles but never forces itself out of hibernation, yet it contributes to overall lambic character that this exhibits.

Mouthfeel: Refreshing crisp with a soft light body which adds a ‘sessionable’ quality to this sharp fruity-beauty. The lack of carbonation does not really detract from this one, though a little more oomph in the conditioning would have been a bonus.

Drinkability: Incredibly refreshing, it exhibits this single aspect of lambics incredibly well. Soft, yet sharp, with a tart twist in the finish. Biting satire licks the ending whilst a sarcastic introduction has you begging for more. I had a 750ml but it still didn’t feel like enough.

Overall: I have been lucky to try this one several times, from the first time at the 2004 BA Extreme Festival in Boston to sampling some recently this year at the Mondiale in Montreal. It is always an enjoyable libation and a favorite tipple. But until recently I never managed to snag a bottle of this all to myself, that was, until now. Thanks to BA Erica for snaffling a few of these for me. Much appreciated.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2006 05:34:45 | More by TheLongBeachBum