Poppaskull - Dogfish Head Brewery

Vdubb86

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a Sam Adam's Perfect Pint Glass

Thanks to TMoney2591 for actually spotting the one bottle in the store.

This beer pours a golden color with a light lacing of it's white foam head. The smell is holy god nutmeg and cinnamon. Way too much of it. This is like a failed homebrew I made. There may be orange in the background, but there is so much spice that it takes away from this beer. It tastes of cinnamon. The clove esters come through only on the palate here, so it actually does have a belgian quality to it to warrant the style. There is a bit of champagne flavoring as well perhaps sour. This is drinkable, but there is too much going on here, and it's a big ol' mess as far as I'm concerned.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2010 22:45:23 | More by Vdubb86

larryi86

Delaware

4.43/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750mL bottle poured into a snifter

A- Hazy golden/orange color with a one finger fluffy white

S- Spices, granny smith apples, citrus, yeast, hints of oak and alcohol

T- Sweet fruit taste with nice yeast flavor up front. Solid malt backbone and oak and brandy in the finish

M- Full body, smooth

D- Easy to drink and enjoy. 9.5% ABV is well hidden. Reminds me of Unibroue beers that I have had. Will pick up more bottles this weekend

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2010 03:44:00 | More by larryi86

AgentZero

Illinois

2.35/5  rDev -38.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1

Stole some of Alex's when he stepped out for a bit.

A - An amber/gold beer, pours pretty clear, averaged sized head that drug down the sides of the glass.

S - Smells way over sweet-spiced, with something of a tea presence in there. Get a healthy dose of alcohol on this one, with some oak and vanilla.

T - Thought this was an FFF beer soley, took a drink and remarked "Yuck, this tastes like one of those horrible experimental DFG beers." Bingo. Super spiced with a sickeninly sweet spicey heat to it. Once you get past all of that, there is some surprisingly strong tea characteristics that did not get killed off by the spice. I really didn't like this.

M - Medium bodied, with a decent dose of carbonation.

D - Kept trying to force this down, but just way too hard for me to drink, taste becomes overpoweringly strong. Relly don't like this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

11-18-2010 15:43:32 | More by AgentZero

MasterSki

Illinois

3.35/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had this on-tap at Fountainhead last night. Served in a Dogfish chalice of some sort.

A - Pours with a two-fingered white foam that settles to a solid cap and nice glass-coating lace. The body is a nearly transparent golden color.

S - Cardamom, spices, zesty citrus, some faint estery alcohol, light brandy sweetness, and some nice vanilla from the barrel. Between the spice and barrel characteristics I don't get much in the way of the base beer.

T - The flavor has more Belgian yeast character, fruity esters, sugar, floral and tea-like spices, and huge cardamom.

M - Medium body, zesty carbonation that is active but lacks harshness. It's a touch watery, but otherwise it's not too bad.

D - It look me a long time to work through my glass. I liked Popskull a lot more. Just too much spice like most other Dogfish Head beers I've had.

Serving type: on-tap

11-17-2010 18:41:34 | More by MasterSki

KickInTheChalice

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap in a tulip at Fountainhead for 'Extraordinary Beer' night.

Appearance: Poppa Skull is a mostly transparent, robust golden color. A fluffy 3 cm white head forms upon pouring and retains nicely, especially considering the high ABV. Some sticky lacing clings to the glass.

Smell: Wow. The cardamom just erupts into the nose, even on tap. Yeasty Belgian spice, brandy, a bit of oak, and soft hops provide the aromatic support.

Taste: This starts out with a consistency and sweetness like tea with honey. The cardamom is incredibly strong and dominates the other Belgian spices. While apparent, I would prefer a bit more balance, although the cardamom is a great flavor as well. Some light caramel sweetness interacts well with the brandy flavors, which are apparent from the brandy barrel aging. Lightly bitter at the end, there is also a bit of an alcohol bite, not surprising given the 10% ABV.

Mouthfeel: Right away I notice the silky smooth carbonation. There is a slight dryness that is generally present in the Belgian strong pale ales, which works well with these flavors. A medium body, but that is fuller than most other beers of the style.

Drinkability: I really appreciate how unique the flavor of this beer is with the huge cardamom presence, but the novelty eventually wears off. I think I might be able to rate it even higher if thecardamom was touched down a notch and the whole batch was barrel aged, as opposed to one third of it. To me, that would allow the brandy flavors to stand out a little bit more. Definitely a great beer, though, and one I would order again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-17-2010 17:40:18 | More by KickInTheChalice