Immort Ale is the finest beer in the world!
Immort Ale is brewed and bottled by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Lewes, Delaware. The text on the front of the label reads "Vast in character, luscious and complex, this smooth, full-bodied ale reveals interwoven notes of maple, vanilla & oak."
Now I know that beer and wine makers work long and hard to come up with hokey verbiage for the bottle. But this one is spot on. Normally, I'm a stout kind of guy -- the thicker and darker the better. But here we have an ale that turns out to be my favorite beer.
I first found this beer on the top shelf in the refrigerator case at Petrock's Liquors in Hillsborough, NJ. They wanted $14 for a six pack -- Damn! I had to try it. I took it home, popped the cap off, poured it into a glass, sniffed it a few times and filled my mouth. And spat it in the sink! This wasn't what I was expecting. Ugh! But I spent $14 on it so I kept at it. By the end of that bottle I was dubious about the other five. But I spent $14, so I persevered. The next day I opened bottle number two and found that I didn't hate it. The next day, I quite enjoyed bottle number three. I finished that six pack and found myself wanting another. That was fiftyish sixes ago. I still buy new stouts when I find them, but I keep going back for Immort Ale.
It really is vast in character. And alcohol! It's 11% alcohol by volume and packed with flavor. It hits the inside of your mouth with an initial buzz from the carbonation and alcohol. next, the flavor and warmth hits. The flavor mellows over the course of the swallow as you continue to taste it half way down your throat.
Immort Ale is "brewed with peat-smoked barley, this strong ale undergoes two fermentations; the first on ale yeast and the second on champagne yeast. It is brewed with organic juniper berry, vanilla, and pure Massachusetts maple syrup. It is then aged on oak for at least two months. Dogfish Head Immort Ale was named 1997 beer of the year by The Philadelphia Daily News. 11% ABV 40 IBU"1
If you live within a couple hundred miles, or visit the area, see if you can find this beer. Only about one out of ten of the liquor store in my area stock it, but if you're shooting for a full-service shop, you'll have better luck.
1) From the Dogfish Head web page -- www.dogfish.com