Faithfull Ale - Dogfish Head Brewery

stckhndlr

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- clear orange color with a light white thin head. If it wasn't for the head on it you would thing it was a chardonnay wine.

S- has a real fermented smell to it. kind of offputting.

T- Taste like a cross between a chardonnay and a belgian ale. Has a "jammy"ness to it. Pardon the pun.

M- Thin but with a good carbonation.

O- it's not a bad beer. the smell turns me off but the flavor is pretty good and it's easy to drink. Still a let down coming from DFH

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2011 18:25:25 | More by stckhndlr

BWH999

California

3.75/5  rDev +10.9%

05-19-2013 21:13:02 | More by BWH999

jbarletto

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-18-2013 20:59:43 | More by jbarletto

megamass

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-18-2013 04:03:02 | More by megamass

NickThePyro

Washington

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-16-2013 03:23:14 | More by NickThePyro

Bonko_the_sane

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +25.7%

05-13-2013 05:09:44 | More by Bonko_the_sane

BDstripp

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-10-2013 18:16:34 | More by BDstripp

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-10-2013 17:54:32 | More by twenty5

BMan33

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +25.7%

05-10-2013 03:40:03 | More by BMan33

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -18.6%

05-08-2013 02:56:35 | More by tommyguz

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.79/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

We pour a brew of rosy, brownish pumpkin coloring. It holds a one and a half finger tall head of soapy white bubbles, showing okay retention. Speckled lacing is left around the glass as it goes. A chill haze cuts clarity, while thick bands of sediment are noticed all throughout the liquid. Carbonation appears to be active. The aroma gives heavily pale malts, reminiscent more of your standard American Pale Ale, with thin hints of golden Belgian malts, mildly clovey phenols, wet wheatiness, and metallic yeastiness. With warmth the grain calms down quite a bit, giving room for orange flesh, apricot, and red cherry fruitiness, honey and vanilla icing sweetness, with slight grassy hops to balance on the back. Booze mixes to add bitterness, while the black currant sits subtly in the background giving flashes of tartness. Our first impression is that the flavoring is much more interestingly tart than expecting, with less of that sweeter “fruit beer”-ness to challenge. As we sip, bittered and chalky Belgian pale malts, soft Belgian yeastiness, gravel, lemon zest and orange peel bitterness, and soured black currant and raspberry bite start things off. Enhancing bitterness pulls us to the peak, where spice of coriander and clovey phenols meet with more bittered orange peel, lemon rind, vanilla cream, and honey syrups, much like a mildly sweeter, more soured Wit. Marking the transition to the finish are those currants, giving the bulk of their tartness here. To balance is additional bitterness of pilsner grain, juicy yeast, browned apple sweetness, those aromatic grassy hops, lemon and orange citric fleshiness, more vanilla buttercreaminess, and a final wash of cheaper metallic pale grain. The aftertaste breathes citric fruitiness, grassy and lightly herbal hoppiness, mildly adjuncty pale grain, metallics, sweaty wheatiness, lemon ice pops, spicy booze, and light buttery warmth. The body is medium, and the carbonation is on the high side. Each sip gives soft and nicely contributory slurp and smack, with fresh cream and froth to the lip. The mouth is initially cooled and coated, but eventually pulled to a mildly astringent dryness and pucker along the lines of the hard palate. The abv is appropriate, and the beer drinks easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was the flavoring. The nose actually started out a bit cheap, with the grain taking on a pseudo-adjuncty feel. This thankfully faded with warmth, giving more genuine grain, fruit, and sweetness. With the inclusions of the black currants we were expecting a much more fruity beer, but instead were delivered something much more akin to a sour when it comes right down to it. This is not to say that this was a wild/sour, but the tartness of the fruit took us off guard. To note we are drinking a Batch 1, November 2011 bottling, so the sweetness has had time to settle, with the grain coming much further to the front. With warmth this beer gets better, remaining dynamic and something unique for the brewery.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 01:55:53 | More by TheBrewo

kangarooAdam59

Pennsylvania

3.76/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

2011 bottle:

Poured into 2 wine snifters (stemless) closest thing I could find at my dad`s house:

A: somewhat hazy golden yellow body with a finger`s worth of white foamy head that died within thirty seconds, some yeasty looking sediment floats around for a bit and then settles after about a minute, moderate yet foamy lacing clings and then spiderwebs and then slides after a good five minutes

S: spicy through the currants, becomes slightly sweet as it warms - slight apple perhaps

T: spicy yet sweet, becomes balanced between the two - more so as it warms

M: medium, somewhat sessionable, sharp carbonation but acceptable for the style

O: I say this is good for the style, and good for me

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 22:20:13 | More by kangarooAdam59

Kelp

New Hampshire

3/5  rDev -11.2%

04-23-2013 04:35:30 | More by Kelp

civicm87

New York

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

04-20-2013 15:34:31 | More by civicm87

AlphaKingKegger

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

04-16-2013 04:33:20 | More by AlphaKingKegger

thegerm87

Connecticut

2.25/5  rDev -33.4%

04-14-2013 15:12:46 | More by thegerm87

Skott1123

Ohio

1/5  rDev -70.4%

04-13-2013 18:39:54 | More by Skott1123

hef

Maryland

3/5  rDev -11.2%

04-13-2013 15:08:01 | More by hef

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +10.9%

04-08-2013 00:50:52 | More by WanderingFool

AaronBurr

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

04-06-2013 03:55:16 | More by AaronBurr

gillagorilla

Maryland

3.35/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle into a Chimay Chalice/Goblet (about a year and a half old)

A: A quite cloudy golden brown with a light head.

S: Smells like a "standard" beer to me since I mainly drink stouts, barleywines and ipas. There is a slight sweet/tart smell. Mainly malt smells.

T: It goes down very easily and the taste is very mellow. I get very little fruit notes but they have probably died down by now.

M: Very smooth with very little carbonation in the mouth.

O: This would probably have been much better fresh; however, I don't know the style very well but it tastes decent. I bought this because it was a DFH brew that I hadn't had yet. I was surprised to find it. Today was a bad day for beer but this was probably the best of the night.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 05:00:31 | More by gillagorilla

ryan1788a5

Massachusetts

3.66/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle poured into a New Belgium globe. This bottle is about a year and a half old at the time of consumption.

A: Pours a hazy golden-orange. Bone white head settles very quickly. Lacing is small and spotty.

S: Very juicy on the nose with fruit forward aromas of currant and ripe raspberries. Undercurrent of musty and chalky yeast. Malt scents of shortbread, pie crust, and a slight hint of toast. Pineapple esters and a ghostly trace of alcohol.

T: Strong but even pull of currant throughout. Very mild balancing hop presence comes through with a subtle oily and herbal taste. Light clovey phenol spike. Gentle touch of peppery alcohol. Yeasty chalk and must far in the background. Malts are reminiscent of pie crust, shortbread, and toast. Short, forgettable finish of currant juice, pale malts, and a ghostly alcohol presence.

M: Medium-thick body. Somewhat firm and creamy, very smooth. Low carbonation. Light tickling alcohol warmth.

O: The nose is very fruit-forward and sweet, but thankfully Faithfull Ale shows more balance in taste. The Belgian aspects of it are very downplayed, as the yeast takes a passive role. Complexity suffers as a result, and it feels a little dumbed-down. A decent beer in the end, though Dogfish Head perhaps played this one a little more safely than they should have.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 01:18:11 | More by ryan1788a5

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -11.2%

03-30-2013 02:04:04 | More by DaPan

alamode

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

03-28-2013 01:15:33 | More by alamode

CasanovaCummins

Nevada

3/5  rDev -11.2%

03-26-2013 00:47:30 | More by CasanovaCummins