Birra Etrusca - Dogfish Head Brewery

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.46/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

Bottle shared by Jon, 750ml into a tulip.

Copper/bronze body, offwhite head that doesn't retain or lace. Nose has toasty breads, grains, herbal, honey and pomegranate are prominent as well. Taste is composed of pomegranate, herbals notes, grains, toasty and nutty character. Medium full palate, low carbonation. Sweet, and pomegranate lingers.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 15:37:54 | More by liamt07

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Dogfish Head pint glass. Pours a medium copper (bronze?!?) amber with a thin off-white head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass. Enticing aroma of honey, apple, stone fruits, root beer spices. Complex flavor that is hard to differentiate, but nice fruit, cherry, light wheat, bittering herbs, woody, both sour and sweet elements. Finishes dryer with residual sweet/sour fruit elements at the back of the tongue. Light to medium bodied, but good mouth feel from active carbonation. Definitely unusual and fun to drink. I have a suspicion that bronze age libations would actually be hard to take for modern tastes, but if they had anything like this, they were very lucky.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 04:34:28 | More by LiquidAmber

Boto

Connecticut

4.28/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Draught @ Birreria: This one was served in an interesting stem glass. It poured a clear, amber color. There was a small dense off-white head that left no lacing. It has an interesting nose: a nice spice that must be the myrrh. I also get a whiff of the pomegranate. It has a very nice taste. Spice, a hint of the pomegranate, and some wheat in the body. Somewhat dry, with a faint fruit sweetness in the finish. Really interesting!

Serving type: on-tap

02-03-2013 18:32:54 | More by Boto

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.59/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

Bottle opened on 1.8.13

A - Pours a clear dark copper with a two inch foamy light tan head with good retention.

S - Spicy and nutty, citrus and almost minty.

T - Lots going on here, spice, nutty, fruity, then the hazelnut, then floral. Not working for me.

D - Good carbonation with a light body.

O - Not sure how I feel about this one. Ok, but I wouldn't seek it out again.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 06:18:42 | More by HuskyinPDX

rudzud

Massachusetts

2.43/5  rDev -34.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Bought a bottle at Julio's...what a mistake. Poured in to my Duvel tulip.

A - Pours a crystal clear honey hue with a one finger fizzy head that fades quickly to leave no lacing and a minimal halo. Bleh.

S - Yep, goddamnit. A combination of fruit leather and real leather. Fermented honey sweetness, fruit skin, and earth.

T - Taste is super sweet, with lots of old stale raisin, super musty basement/earth/dirt, syrupy, and herbal.

M - Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, helps keep the syrup up off the tongue.

O - Overall this was a waste of money. Absolutely awful. I like some of DFH's Ancient Ales but this is not one of them. Not even close.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 02:34:19 | More by rudzud

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.76/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Slightly more than three fingers worth of audibly fizzy crisp off-white colored head with a slight honey colored hue... Decent retention gives way to a splotchy veil of lacing and slight collar... Carbonation is a mixed bag of sizes and speeds with no discernible patterns... The color is a rich honey amber when back lit and a medium bronze when not back lit... No lacing nor film is noticeable on the glass as the session progresses...

S - My initial thoughts are of incense that I used to burn back in high school... Once the aroma begin to separate a bit, there as a wide array of unique aromas... Honey... Hazelnut... Strong notes of fresh cut grass... Some light woody notes... Earthy... Unlike any other beer I've encountered... Very curious about how it will taste...

T - Sweet over ripened green grapes... Honey... Sugar cane... The hazelnut is a bit more subdued on the palate... Cherry... Hint of weak coffee... Apples... Pears... Just the slightest hint of vinegar... A rich mix of flavor over all...

M - On the lighter side of medium bodied... Limited carbonation... Sleek... Fairly smooth... Goes down very easily...

D - Definitely interesting and unique... Not remotely like any other beers I've encountered... I certainly enjoyed this one well enough, but I'm not quite sure it is something that I would seek out again or drink with regularity... I would recommend for those seeking out an experience and not afraid of tying truly unique brews...

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 03:41:12 | More by philbe311

Ryan011235

Ohio

2.9/5  rDev -22%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a Delirium snifter on 12/23/12

Bottled in 2012A

Clear, dark amber color with rust and copper highlights. The head reaches just shy of two fingers before crackling away; it sounds like AM radio static. Very little in the way of retention; no lace.

Floral pollen, honey, pomegranate juiciness and herbal tones (I'm guessing the myrrh and gentian root) are the more appreciable of aromas. Hints of wheat and a touch of dough. This smells sweet but fairly clean. It takes some time and digging to find the raisin notes, but it adds a layer of depth.

The taste starts off sweet and sugary with notes of raisin and pomegranates. Honey overtones last throughout. The after taste has a lingering herbal bitterness. There is some fruity tanginess, too. The mid section heavy toasted wheat and some herb tones.

The body is somewhere between medium and full and somewhat sticky from sweetness. Carbonation is lively, but tapers off quickly.

Overall, this one isn't too bad but a little goes a long way. 750mls is way more than necessary. Dang, this really grows tiresome after a while.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 21:16:26 | More by Ryan011235

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.81/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Served on tap in a 10 oz chalice glass

Appearance- The beer is served a brownish-bronze color with a reddish tint. Upon serving there are just wisps of foam on the top of the brew, which fade fast, leaving almost no lace.

Smell – The aroma is a big complex mix. The strongest aromas are of a fruity and wheaty aroma with the fruity being of orange, pomegranate, and wine grapes. Mixed with these aromas is a smell of honey as well as a yeast and some spice.

Taste – The taste starts out with a sweeter-fruitier flavor of pomegranate with some wheat and yeast flavors as well. As the flavor advances from the beginning, some notes of a honey sweetness as well as orange and clover come to the tongue. A light nuttiness comes to the tongue more toward the end along with some, floral and herbal hop and other spice flavors that I just can’t place. At the very end, a somewhat wine like flavor comes to the tongue leaving a slightly bittered but still fruity flavor to linger.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the thinner side in terms of its creaminess and thickness with a carbonation level that is rather average. The thinner body and moderate carbonation, of tiny carbonation bubbles, creates a very crisp feel for the brew with it being fantastic for the fruit, wine, and rather extensive list of other flavors that exist within.

Overall – A very interesting brew. It has an odd mix of flavors, which in the end work out rather well together. I would say this is one that is worth a try as it is quite unique and complex, but yet still very tasty and drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2013 00:43:53 | More by Darkmagus82

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Copper brew with great clarity and a thin bubbly lip of suds.

Smells of honey and stone fruits with some exotic spice elements. Sweet, and a little toasty.

Moroccan spices, dark honey, buckwheat, treacle syrup, and tangy fruitiness. Pomegranate is a bit of a stretch, but it's not entirely far-fetched. Warm booziness amplifies after the swallow.

Tacky sweet, a little too much so. Carbonation is medium or so.

Pretty interesting flavors. Glad I found it on-tap to avoid the big bottle. I like this Ancient Ale, but a second pour might prove difficult.

Serving type: on-tap

12-29-2012 02:32:29 | More by thecheapies

PorterLambic

Florida

3.54/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Arrives a dark copper color, clear with a white head with great retention.
Smell is medicinally sweet, malt, wood and ginger. Balance is decent.
Taste is malt, wood, pomegranate, some light dark fruits and graham cracker.
Smooth and warming, medium-full body with light effervescence. Pretty good but not memorable. Not one of DFH's better offerings.

Serving type: on-tap

01-10-2013 04:27:17 | More by PorterLambic

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.93/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: shiny dirty gold/faint copper, trace off-white head, no lacing

S: honey, nuts, fresh green grapes, trace of floral bouquet

T: big sweet honey, nuts, grain, earthy grape finish

M: med/light body, mild smooth/hint of bubbly mouth

O: Fascinating! Dogfish Head continues to push
our beer palates in new directions, well done.
Great party treat, share with others and discuss.
Rather sweet, some will like it and others not so much.

QUITE GOOD; INTRIGUING TREAT!

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 20:49:22 | More by BeerLover99

Dope

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a clear deep reddish-amber. Big but very fizzy tan head. Fizzes away quite rapidly in fact. Fades to basically nothing. Absolutely zero lacing. Almost no head retention at all.

S: Lots of honey. Peppery spices and some other unidentified spices too. A little nutty?

T: Again, sweet with honey. Kind of...wheaty? Light grainy malt regardless. Again, a bit nutty, mainly in the middle and into the aftertaste. Lots of grape skin throughout. Hard for me to give accurate descriptions overall but it's quite fruity and spicey throughout. Tastes like a belgian strong dark ale mixed with a mead if that tells you anything.

M: Medium bodied, smooth.

O: Interesting beer, wish I were more familiar with the ingredients and the flavors in general. It's very unique and certainly an interesting experiment. I give DFH credit for making this palatable, it's unlike any modern beer that's for sure.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 04:50:13 | More by Dope

TexIndy

Texas

3.68/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a nonic pint glass. "Bottled in 2012A" lasered on the neck. I picked it up the day it hit the market here so should be pretty fresh. It was a clear bronze color with good carb streams. It had a small head that quickly dissipated into nothing. No collar and no lacing.

The aroma is very floral and sweet with honey and pomegranate leading the way. Sorta sweet wine like in aroma. Saw one review mention potpourri aroma and I can see that a little. The taste is sweet from the start and doesn't let up. Floral tones to keep it from getting overly sweet but it's borderline as is. Light mouthfeel with low carbonation and a very sweet aftertaste.

Overall, an interesting beer and glad I tried it to see what some historical ales tasted like but it was too sweet and just didn't grab me. Avail here in TX. Rotation - one is enough.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2013 02:29:32 | More by TexIndy

Blakaeris

Iowa

4.38/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours brilliantly clear bronze with a very slight head that completely disappears in about a second.

Aroma is initially dark fruit and alcohol heat. Then a wheaty complex spice quality becomes quite apparent. Musty and herbal with an underlying sweetness.

Taste is what the nose lead me to expect. Dense malt, with excellent fruit qualities – raisin, date, cherries, and apple. Very herbal with a mild honey sweetness before the surprisingly peppery yeasty spice takes over. Alcohol warmth lingers throughout. Finishes with a woody cedar dryness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied. Slick and resinous.

Overall a complex, layered, and interesting brew. Definitely something off the beaten path and well worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 02:48:55 | More by Blakaeris

DovaliHops

California

4.25/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a clear, reddish amber color with a medium white head that disappears quickly. Scent is different than any other beer my nose has stubbled upon. Immediately, I get the sense that this beer has wheat in it. Wheat-like aroma with dark fruits...raisins and prunes. I also get red grapes and the green apple comes through very nicely in the end of the aroma. Sweet honey with some ginger and cinnamon. I don't really pick up any pomegranate in the nose. Belgian yeast...with wine-like aromas. Taste is just as it smells, but a bit more vinous. This beer has some lovely wine characteristics with the grape flavors. Belgian yeast with tart red grapes and tart green apple flavors. There are tart flavors, but the beer is not tart overall. The raisiny dark fruit flavors mellow out the tartness. Honey flavors with a pomegranate juice-like finish. Such a complex beer. Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated and juicy at the same time. Just a little sticky. Drinkability is high, ABV is definitely there, but doesn't affect drinkability. Overall, this is a very complex, unique, tasty brew from DFH. I love BDB, so I'm sure they had a lot of influence on this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 06:28:03 | More by DovaliHops

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +21%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A-copper with a nice light tan head. pretty looking.

S-amber belgian sugars and dark honey. certain foreign spices i can't quite put my finger on. strong scent, really hits the nose. fairly unique.

T-comes in with a really unique taste of creamy tart cherries and various berries. Has an odd flavor reminiscent of pachouli. It's a strong and bright flavor, that really leaves the nose aside from the odd (but appreciated) foreign aspect. Ends with a pretty good dark belgian taste along with some maple and smokiness and some tartness. I like this a lot.

M-creamy with a medium carbonation.

O-This is one of those weird Dogfish experiments that gets it right. i think every time i take a sip, i get a new flavor, and they're all flavors i enjoy and find to be a nice surprise in beer. It's just a super enjoyable and fun beer to drink. Please go out and try this and share this!

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 20:11:42 | More by AdamBear

rlee1390

Indiana

3.79/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A-Clear amber, slightly ruby, not much carbonation, head doesn't last long.

S-Honey, grapes, apples and wheat.

T-An unbalanced mixed of honey, grapes, apple and vinegar. Spices and some slight pomegranate.

M-Light to medium bodied, but no carbonation.

O-Another interesting beer from DFH. Nothing great but I'm glad they make the Ancient Ales.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 21:28:27 | More by rlee1390

peabody

Kentucky

3.51/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Definately a bronze color and almost reddish brown with a finger of off-white suds. Some lacing around the glass.
Smell is all over the place. Mostly I get belgian spice with a peppery note then some fruit in the grape/pommegranet family. Can really smell the sugar and just a hint of the alcohol.
Taste is sour and sweet and bitter and hard fruit candy all at one time. The spices do come in towards the end of the sip along with some phenol notes.
Mouthfeel is pretty sticky and the aftertaste of grape skin and belgian spice.
Overall this isn't bad but it has way too many things going on for my palate. Good to try once but would not visit it again.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 00:51:50 | More by peabody

shand

Florida

4.09/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Time to pop a new Dogfish 750 ... time for things to get weird. Birra Etrusca pours out a copper color with a finger of persistent head. The aroma is sweet, floral, fruity, yeasty, and malty. There's a lot going on with the nose, and it's hard to figure it out until you take a sip. And even then, it's not easy, as an initial strong spiced floral apple gives way to a more bitter pomegranate along with some other vinous sweet fruit flavors. Some honey sweetness makes it's presence known as well, along with some Belgian yeasts. As the beer approaches room-temperature, the yeast and floral aspects begin to dominate. Quite a lot going on here, but it's tasty. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a moderate carbonation level, and the drinkability is solid enough. Overall, another interesting big bottle from Dogfish Head.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 04:44:39 | More by shand

MrHurmateeowish

New Hampshire

3.71/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

750ml bottle purchased at Tully's in Wells. Pours a fairly clear copper with nearly an inch of khaki colored head. Smells crazy - fruity, spicy... Liquoice and root beer notes. Spicy and fruity. Pomegranate, cherry, anise. Medium in body and carbonation. Pretty good. Interesting. Unique.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2013 01:50:02 | More by MrHurmateeowish

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.76/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

a beautiful clean copper/brownish color with 2 fingers of head which quickly dissipated.. tons of visible carbonation. fruity scent of grapefruit, grapes, strawberries, coriander, lemongrass.. lots of yeast is present, pretty funky. the flavor is a mix of bready yeast, wheat, nuts, grapefruit, lemongrass, chocolate. kind of a weird mix of flavors leaves almost a rust-like feel lingering in the mouth. high carbonation, medium body.

not one of my favorite dfh ales, but also not terrible. it's always a good thing to at least try each beer they make once you never know how pleased a strange beer like some of these ancient ales, will make you.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 00:19:39 | More by facundoCNB

n2185

North Carolina

3.4/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a clear copper with two fingers of beige head that recedes into a thin ring with no lacing.

S: Sweet Belgian yeast-like aromas with spices and bubblegum dominating. There are notes of vanilla and caramel, as well as some that I can't quite put my finger on (probably from the unique ingredients used).

T: Sweet Belgian spices and bubblegum here as well followed by a fruity tartness that is slightly bitter, like the aftertaste of cranberry juice. I imagine this is again from the unique ingredients. The finish is clean and slightly tart.

M: Medium-light body with lowish carbonation, this beer avoids being watery but could use more of a carbonation bite.

O: An interesting and decent beer overall. Not bad or particularly offensive by any means, but this is definitely a unique beer with a many aromas and flavors that I can't really name. Still, it is enjoyable and more successful than some of their other Ancient Ales series.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 02:57:04 | More by n2185

jtierney89

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +21%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Burnt copper with a big active head. Smells really nice. Very rustic like a farm in fall. Some spice box and fruitiness. Dark bread with Apple jam. Some Belgian funk.

Flavor is much like the nose but with a lot of tart Apple flavor. Big creamy body Belgian candi flavors, just enough carbonation. Funky with a tart and herbal finish. Really good, I like it.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 00:41:03 | More by jtierney89

ckollias

Maryland

3.73/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed this 750ml bottle out of a tall pint glass.

A: Pours a light amber hue with a thin, 2-finger, white head that quickly dissipates into a wispy lace leaving no trail down the slide of glass.

S: Fruity aroma and I can smell the pomegranate and juice.

T: Very sweet and fruity taste – almost juice or wine like. Raisin taste is in there and finishes on the sweet side.

M: Medium body and medium carbonation

O: Very fruity beer. It was worth a try but nothing I would grab again.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 02:38:09 | More by ckollias

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

3.74/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Maybe it's the long hours, maybe it's the food coma I just went into but the label on the bottle didn't make a hell of a lot of sense to me. I got 8 B.C Tuscany, pomegranate, bronze and a bunch of ingredients I've never heard of. I've come to appreciate the Ancient Ales series as something new that I'd probably never try without it. With that said, a lot of these ingredients don't really change my life one way or another. I appreciate the history behind the label more than what's in the beer.

Anyway...

Crystal clear burnt copper. Half finger off white head disappeared to nothingness. No lacing, just a single row of tight bubbles around the rim.

Definitely getting the hazelnut flour and the pomegranate. Aside from those I smell a lot of caramel, brown sugar, raisins and some sweet malts.

Pomegranate, raisins, apple skins, some leather and caramel. There is a powdery flour feel along with a taste associated with it. Slightly metallic tastes (most like from the malts not the bronze lol) The taste transforms from great, to bad, to good. It's hard to explain.

Light body, medium to high carbonation.

It has an aftertaste I can't put my finger on. I've had every ancient ale except Ta Hanket (zero interest in that one really) and this ranks probably the low middle of the spectrum of those releases. It isn't necessarily bad, just not necessarily great.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 23:44:46 | More by korguy123