Palo Santo Marron – Dogfish Head

Palo Santo Marron. A fine brew aged in handmade 10,000 gallon wooden vessels made with Paraguayan Palo Santo wood. There is nothing better than when someone has a bottle of beer and says, "Here take this home and try it." And when it is a beer that I've never had before, it is even better.  This time, it is a beer brew crafted by Dogfish Head called Palo Santo Marron. The bottle states that it is a brown ale.  It is unfiltered and aged in 10,000 gallon handmade brewing vessels with wood from Paraguay  called Palo Santo.  When I poured it into a glass, it has a black color and has a dark clarity to it.  The head is large, foamy dark brown in color.  I didn't get a lot of lacing on the glass. As soon as you lean in and take a smell of Palo Santo I get notes of wood right up front. Then I get toffee and chocolate with a hint of vanilla. It smells complex. The first sip of this ale has a strong presence of alcohol and a malty sweetness. This is then quickly followed with flavors of slight chocolate, strong vanilla and dried fruit.  The alcohol taste is not overpowering and is controlled to the point that you don't realize that the ABV is high.  The full flavors of the beer take over and help tone down the alcohol.  Palo Santo Marron has a strong malt character and is a full-bodied brew. This is one of those beers that is perfect to sip on in front of a fire. This is a great beer and one that I will have to have again. ABV = 12.0%

The Brewscale Score

APPEARANCE - 9
AROMA - 9.4
TASTE - 9.5

9.3

Chalices

10 is perfection, and is almost unattainable. Anything below a 6 is undrinkable.

9
Palo Santo Marron.  A fine brew aged in handmade 10,000 gallon wooden vessels made with Paraguayan Pal Santo wood.

Palo Santo Marron. A fine brew aged in handmade 10,000 gallon wooden vessels made with Paraguayan Palo Santo wood.

There is nothing better than when someone has a bottle of beer and says, “Here take this home and try it.” And when it is a beer that I’ve never had before, it is even better.  This time, it is a beer brew crafted by Dogfish Head called Palo Santo Marron.

The bottle states that it is a brown ale.  It is unfiltered and aged in 10,000 gallon handmade brewing vessels with wood from Paraguay  called Palo Santo.  When I poured it into a glass, it has a black color and has a dark clarity to it.  The head is large, foamy dark brown in color.  I didn’t get a lot of lacing on the glass.

As soon as you lean in and take a smell of Palo Santo I get notes of wood right up front. Then I get toffee and chocolate with a hint of vanilla. It smells complex.IMG_1821

The first sip of this ale has a strong presence of alcohol and a malty sweetness. This is then quickly followed with flavors of slight chocolate, strong vanilla and dried fruit.  The alcohol taste is not overpowering and is controlled to the point that you don’t realize that the ABV is high.  The full flavors of the beer take over and help tone down the alcohol.  Palo Santo Marron has a strong malt character and is a full-bodied brew.

This is one of those beers that is perfect to sip on in front of a fire. This is a great beer and one that I will have to have again.

ABV = 12.0%


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Ales · Beer Reviews
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Comments

  • I’ll have to look for this. Looks like a winner.

    Mike W December 4, 2014 7:54 am Reply
    • Mike, this is one that you need to try. Buy two because you will want to have it again.

      Brian December 6, 2014 11:07 am Reply
  • Looks Yummy

    Ken December 4, 2014 9:01 am Reply

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