I ventured over to Zipp’s Liquor sometime in late September, early October to track down some Surlyfest. It was my first time there. While I snooped around there beer selection, I stumbled across this bottle of Double Dead Guy Ale. It being the last one, and me not knowing anything about it, I bought it in case it was the last of some magical brew, never to be seen again. Further research determined that it was not magical, but it was a single batch brew. The bottle looks awesome and I have never seen another, either before or since.

For weeks it has sat in my bedroom, tempting me, testing me, persuading me, until today.

Appearance

The color is a deep amber, slightly red, with an approximate color of 15 SRM. Large opaque head formation, very thick and clumpy. Decent lacing as the beer is drank.

Smell

The smell is a mixture of dough and caramel or molasses or really good maple syrup. Reminds me of an Old/Stock Ale. No hop presence.

Taste

The taste has the same caramel flavor as the scent. Notes of roasted malt are present behind the caramel. A very slight aftertaste of hops is present, subtly bitter, without any citrus or floral notes. No bite from the alcohol whatsoever- possibly a bad attribute for a 9% brew.

Mouthfeel

Thick and flat. The beer is reasonably carbonated, but feels very viscous and heavy on the tongue. Again, it is reminiscent of a molasses or syrup, albeit a very thin, very alcoholic one.

Drinkability

Should definitely be a sipper, at this size. The richness helps to limit the pace at which I can drink a glass. It is very smooth however, with nothing to disagree with. I could drink several of these on a cold night, but I might regret it in the morning.

Summary: An excellent brew, very similar to Thomas Hardy’s Old Ale, although a bit thinner, and a slight bit less caramelly (not sure if that’s a real word, but it’s a good one). Rouge’s site lists the beer as being 20 degrees plato, 60 IBU, 78 apparent attenuation, and 25 degrees lovibond. They include tastes of apricot and spice which I did not pick up upon. They list the hops as cascade, which would explain the grapefruit taste. I believe I did not pick up on this, either because I am a simple plebeian or the bottle is old enough to have lost some hop flavor (it degrades relatively quickly).

The label says that it pairs well with pork, so I went to Burrito Loco and got some pork tacos. The tacos were good, and the beer was good, but I didn’t feel like they enhanced each other very well. I imagine the brewers were thinkin more of pork roast or a pork chop than they were of these tacos. Oh well.