-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Noble Rot
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
- From:
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
- Delaware, United States
- Style:
- Saison
- ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.85 | pDev: 12.99%
- Reviews:
- 344
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Feb 15, 2022
- Added:
- Feb 20, 2011
- Wants:
- 123
- Gots:
- 241
This saison-esque science project gets complexity and fermentable sugars from two unique wine grapes sourced with our friends at Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Prosser, Wash.
The first addition is unfermented juice, known as must, from viognier grapes that have been infected with a benevolent fungus called botrytis. This noble rot reduces the water content in the grapes while magnifying their sweetness and complexity. The second is pinot gris must intensified by a process called dropping fruit, where large clusters of grapes are clipped to amplify the quality of those left behind.
Noble Rot is brewed with pils and wheat malts and fermented with a distinct Belgian yeast strain. It has a spicy white wine body and a dry, tart finish.
The first addition is unfermented juice, known as must, from viognier grapes that have been infected with a benevolent fungus called botrytis. This noble rot reduces the water content in the grapes while magnifying their sweetness and complexity. The second is pinot gris must intensified by a process called dropping fruit, where large clusters of grapes are clipped to amplify the quality of those left behind.
Noble Rot is brewed with pils and wheat malts and fermented with a distinct Belgian yeast strain. It has a spicy white wine body and a dry, tart finish.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by HattedClassic:
Reviewed by HattedClassic from Virginia
4.04/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
The beer pours a nice white and foamy head that dissipates quickly but looks nice if kept alive by a glass with a nucleation point. The beer itself is a clear pale gold bordering on a golden straw.
The beer smell is absolutely wonderful. The smell has both the qualities of a saison and a white wine (pinot gris and viognier). The saison smell comes from a nice bitter hop smell and earthy wheat smell. The wine grapes add a nice fruit and tartness to the smell. Instead of working against each other, the smells combine quite nicely to give off a tart and sweet smelling saison.
The beer taste is also pretty good. Even though the beer has the same notes as the smell, the tartness from the grapes seem to be pretty strong. However, it complements the hop and wheat rather than overwhelming it. The taste also has a slight alcohol note.
The mouthfeel is decent. The main issue is that it feel heavier than a saison should be and the experience suffers a little. The beer has very little carbonation to it but enough to give it a little texture. The beer seems to be somewhere between a wine and a beer. Too smooth and heavy for a beer but too much carbonation to be a wine.
Overall, a fairly good offering and a nice saison for the colder warm days.
Apr 13, 2015The beer smell is absolutely wonderful. The smell has both the qualities of a saison and a white wine (pinot gris and viognier). The saison smell comes from a nice bitter hop smell and earthy wheat smell. The wine grapes add a nice fruit and tartness to the smell. Instead of working against each other, the smells combine quite nicely to give off a tart and sweet smelling saison.
The beer taste is also pretty good. Even though the beer has the same notes as the smell, the tartness from the grapes seem to be pretty strong. However, it complements the hop and wheat rather than overwhelming it. The taste also has a slight alcohol note.
The mouthfeel is decent. The main issue is that it feel heavier than a saison should be and the experience suffers a little. The beer has very little carbonation to it but enough to give it a little texture. The beer seems to be somewhere between a wine and a beer. Too smooth and heavy for a beer but too much carbonation to be a wine.
Overall, a fairly good offering and a nice saison for the colder warm days.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway
3.23/5 rDev -16.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.23/5 rDev -16.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Bottle, from Costco, Sacramento. Golden color, white head. Aroma and flavour of American hops, saison yeast and grape must - an unusual combination, more interesting than really great. Not a bad beer though.
Apr 30, 2021Reviewed by imnodoctorbut from Texas
4.25/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
"saison-esque" is certainly right.
very musty, no doubt thanks to the copious amounts of wine grapes added.
I absolutely loved the addition of Belgian yeast, which added to the already Paradigm-level of funk.
the brew was also quite spritzy and citric, layers of mellow tart upon the funk.
This was all gathered from my notes; I absolutely loved this phase of Dogfish where they went full blast with experimentation and digging up old and forgotten styles.
Jun 11, 2020very musty, no doubt thanks to the copious amounts of wine grapes added.
I absolutely loved the addition of Belgian yeast, which added to the already Paradigm-level of funk.
the brew was also quite spritzy and citric, layers of mellow tart upon the funk.
This was all gathered from my notes; I absolutely loved this phase of Dogfish where they went full blast with experimentation and digging up old and forgotten styles.
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania
3.59/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.59/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
22oz bottle into a tulip. Bottled on date has worn away, but this is several years old at least.
Clear yellow body with a small white head leaving a little lacing. Decent carbonation.
A very faint light malty aroma.
Initial bitey on the tongue, this quickly fades away to reveal a slightly dry and somewhat sweet grapiness. The Saison base is merely a suggestion.
Mouth between medium and full. Finish a grapey wash.
Overall, and I freely admit to not being a big fan of grape must in beer, the grape factor dominates, and I got tired of this beer pretty quickly.
Jun 07, 2019Clear yellow body with a small white head leaving a little lacing. Decent carbonation.
A very faint light malty aroma.
Initial bitey on the tongue, this quickly fades away to reveal a slightly dry and somewhat sweet grapiness. The Saison base is merely a suggestion.
Mouth between medium and full. Finish a grapey wash.
Overall, and I freely admit to not being a big fan of grape must in beer, the grape factor dominates, and I got tired of this beer pretty quickly.
Rated by BillRoth from Maryland
4.02/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.02/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Had on tap at DFH Rehoboth Tap House
Aug 19, 2017
Noble Rot from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
1585 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!